-
Battle of the Atlantic
Early in World War II, the British (and the Americans0 didn't have enough vessels to form effective convoys. The Germans also developed new tactics to increase U-boat effectiveness. One was called wolf pack, in which U-boats hunted in groups and often attacked at night. The German U-boat fleet enjoyed "happy hour" in 1940 and 1941, U-boats sent hundreds of ships and tons of supplies to the bottom of the sea and the German navy lost only a few dozen U-boats. -
Battle of the Atlantic Continued
Germany declared war on the U.S., U-boat attacks on American shipping increased. There German submarines made easy pickings of merchant ships that sailed from American ports without the protection of a full convoy. In short months, 360 American ships were sunk compared to just eight German U-boats. Americans fought back and formed larger, better-equipped convoys, which cut down the effects of U-boat attacks. Allied aircraft protected convoys. Germans referred their ships as iron coffins. -
Battle of the Atlantic Continued
By war's end, some 70 percent of the Germans who had served on a submarines were dead. The Atlantic belonged to the Allies. -
Battle of Britain
After Germany and Hitler had conquered most of Europe, including France, the only major country left to fight them was Great Britain. Germany wanted to invade Great Britain, but first they needed to destroy Great Britain's Royal Air Force. The Battle of Britain was when Germany bombed Great Britain in order to try and destroy their air force and prepare for invasion. -
Battle of Britain
Germany needed to prepare for the invasion of Britain, so they first attacked towns and army defenses on the southern coast. They soon found that Britain's Royal Air Force was a formidable opponent. The Germans decided to focus their efforts on defeating the Royal Air Force. This meant they bombed airport runways and British radar. Although the German bombings continued, the British did not stop fighting back. Hitler began to get frustrated at how long it was taking to defeat Great Britain. -
Battle of Britain
Although the Germans had more planes and pilots, the British were able to fight them off and win the battle. This was because they had the advantage of fighting over their own territory, they were defending their homeland, and they had radar. Radar allowed the British to know when and where German planes were coming to attack. This gave them time to get their own planes in the air to help defend. -
Battle of Stalingrad
When spring returned to the Soviet Union, the German armies renewed their assault. A major target was the city of Stalingrad and the Germans attacked the in August 1942. It was the bloodiest fight in the history of warfare, the Soviets refused to let Stalingrad fall. Germans failed to take the city and they also exposed themselves to a Soviet counterattacked. 25,000 Axis soldiers were trapped by Soviet forces. Hitler had suffered a defeat. -
Battle of Stalingrad
Stalingard marked the beginning of Germany's collapse in the Soviet Union. Soviet forces began to push German forces back toward Germany. Hilter's forces suffered losses of 2 million, and the Soviets paid an evene higher price-12 million soldiers and millions of civilians died. The Soviet Union had survived and nown it was fighting toward the final defeat of the Axis. -
Battle of El Alamein, Egypt
Italian forces based in Libya tried to drive the British from their stronghold in Egypt and they failed. The Italians were beaten badly and driven backwards. Hitler was forced to send troops to support the Italians in early 1941. The head of these forces was Erwin Rommel. Through 1941 and 1942, Rommel's forces and the British fought a back-and-forth battle for control of North Africa. Rommel's nickname was desert fox. The Britsh handed the Germans a major defeat. -
Operation Torch
When the U.S. entered the war, President Roosevelt was anxious to make a contribution quickly. The commander of what came to be called Operation Torch was a U.S. lieutenant general named Dwight D. Eisenhower. The plan called for American forces to invade the North African countries for Morocco and Algeria. France took controlled before 1940. The Allies met little resistance upon landing, and French forces soon joined them. -
Operation Torch
Allied forces turned east to fight the Germans. Some 20,000 Americans were killed or wounded in the six months of North Africa fighting. Stalin continued to push for European invasion of France. Allied leaders prepared to cross Mediterranean and knock the Italians out of the war. -
Invasion of Sicily/Italy
Roosevelt and Churchill asked the people if they want to die for Mussolini and Hitler or live for Italy and civilization and they chose life. By the end of the month, they had turned against dictator Benito Mussolini and forced him from power. The Allies took Sicily a few weeks later. They planned to occupy the Italian Peninsula. Hitler wasn't going to allow Allies march through Italy and into Europe. Germans forced to stop them. -
Invasion of Sicily/Italy
The Tuskegee Airmen took part in this. Allied invasion slowed as it approach Rome. Allies planned to land a large force behind enemy lines and site was called Anzio. First of some 100,000 Allied soldiers went ashore at Anzio. They fought for four months as the Allies were unable to break out of their small coastal beachhead. Allied forces from the south fought their way to Anzio and freed trapped soldiers. The end of battle of Anzio didn't end the fight in Italy and continued a year. -
Operation Overlord
Allies wanted to invade Europe. Eisenhower commanded the mission and chose General Omar Bradley to lead the American troops and British commander was Bernard Montgomery. The Allies prepared 3.5 million soldiers knowing at Normandy they would meet German force. Soldiers were parachuting behind the German lines to try to secure key sites. Ships came coastline to destroy German defenses. Allied aircraft filled the sky to provide cover. -
Operation Overlord
.Soldiers were waiting for their landing-craft gate to open-then to move forward toward shore. The Germans were slow to repsond to the invasion. Hitler feared that the assault on Normandy was just a trick and that another invasion would take place elsewhere. D-Day was a success. The Allies were now on the march in France. By the end of August, Paris had been freed from the Germans. Hitler's once mighty war machine was now in full retreat. -
Battle of the Bulge
By the end of January 1945, the bulge created by German offensive had been rolled back. Once again the Allies set their sights on Germany and the defeat of Hitler. Victory was close at hand. -
Battle of the Bulge
Germans launched a suprise attack of their own. This referred to the bulge in the Allied battle lines created by the German advance. Hitler's forces threatened to win back vital ground frome the Allies. Battle came at the Belgian city of Bastogone. This was in below-zero temps. and low on supplies, Americans survived. Lieutenant General George S. Patton arrived and victory at Bastogne helped blunt German offensive. -
Hitler Commits Suicide
Adolf Hitler, dictator of Germany, burrowed away in a refurbished air-raid shelter, consumes a cyanide capsule, then shoots himself with a pistol, on this day in 1945, as his “1,000-year” Reich collapses above him. -
VE Day!!
Victory in Europe Day, generally known as V-E Day, VE Day or simply V Day was the public holiday celebrated on 8 May 1945 (7 May in Commonwealth realms) to mark the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces.[1] It thus marked the end of World War II in Europe.
On 30 April, Adolf Hitler, the Nazi leader, committed suicide during the Battle of Berlin. Germany's surrender, therefore, was authorised by his successor, Reichspräsiden
