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Battle of the Atlantic
-Hitler ordered submarine raids on the East Coast after Pearl Harbor. He wanted to starve Britain into submission by cutting off their supplies
- Using a Wolf Pack technique, Germany had destroyed 681 ships within 7 months of the year 1942
-Allies retaliated by organizing their ships into convoys. The convoys were escorted by destroyers with sonar equipment and airplanes for protection
-Allies were able to locate and destroy German U-Boats and began winning the Battle of the Atlantic -
Germany & Italy Declare War on U.S
-On December 8, 1941 America declares war on Japan
-3 days later Germany and Italy declare war on America
-America is officially fighting a two front war. -
Stalingrad
-Major turning point in World War Two
-Hitler wanted to capture Soviet oil fields in the Caucasus Mountains. He also wanted to destroy Stalingrad
-When the winter came, the Soviet Union created a counterattack and were able to surround the Germans, effectively cutting them off from their supplies.
- On 1/31/43 the German soldiers surrendered -
Operation TORCH
-Invasion of Axis controlled North Africa
-General Dwight D. Eisenhower was in charge of the operation
- In May of 1943, the Afrika Korps surrendered and the allies had control of North Africa -
Operation OVERLORD
-The plan to invade France and liberate western Europe from the Nazi's. Also known as D-Day
- General Eisenhower was in charge of the D-Day operation. Almost 3 million Allied troops were on the beaches of Normandy, France.
-General Omar Bradley unleashed massive air and land bombardment against the Axis powers at St.Lo, which created a gap for General George S. Patton and his third army to reach the Seine river
-2 days after General Bradley and Patton's actions, France was liberated -
Battle of the Bulge
-American's captured a German town (Aachen) for the first time during the war
-In response, Hitler tried to recapture the Belgium port of Antwerp
- Eight German tanks broke through the American defenses, creating the title "Battle of the Bulge"
- 120 American GI's were killed
- Germany lost 120,000 soldiers
-600 tanks and assault weapons were destroyed
-1,600 German planes were also destroyed
-Germany wasn't able to rebuild their defenses after Battle of the Bulge -
Buchenwald
-Buchenwald was the first major Concentration camp liberated by the American army -
Pres. Harry S.Truman (D, MO)
-President Roosevelt was posing for a picture in Warm Springs, Georgia when he suffered a stroke and died
-The night of Roosevelt's death Harry S. Truman became President. -
VE-Day
-Victory in Europe Day, celebrations over the world lasted for days
-Hitler married Eva Braun on April 29. He gave his last speech to the German people blaming the Jewish people for WW2 and 'his generation for losing it'
-That night Hitler and his wife committed suicide
- General Eisenhower accepted the surrender of the Third Reich a week after Hitler's death
