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Battle of the Atlantic
The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest running military campaign during WWII, from September 1939 until Germany surrendered in 1945. This battle was provoked by the Germans from their use of U-Boats to sink 360 American ships. Wolf packs were groups of U-Boats that hunted in groups at night. From 1940-1941, the Germans enjoyed a "happy time" in this fight until the US joined the war. The US produced ships at record rates and attacked from the air. -
Battle of Britain
This was the longest sustained bombing operation to that date. Hitler's Lutwaffe sought to destroy the British Royal Air Force, but were insuccessful due to Britains advanced radars. Although the British suffered damage, this was a turning point in the war because it showed that the Germans could be beat. -
Battle of El Alamein, Egypt
Early in the fighting, Italian troops in Libya tried to force British troops out of their stronghold in Egypt. They were beaten badly, and Hitler was forced to send his troops to support them in early 1941, which were led by Erwin Rommel. Through 1941 and 1942, German & British forces fought for control of N. Africa. The British ended up gaining control. At the Battle of El Alamein, which was fought about the same time as the Battle of Stalingrad, the British defeated the Germans. Turning point -
Battle of Stalingrad
This was one of the bloodiest battles in the history of warfare. The Germans targeted the city of Stalingrad in an attempt to weaken the Soviets. Not only did the Germans fail in capturing the city, but they also left themselves exposed to a soviet counterattack in which 250,000 axis soldiers were trapped by soviet forces. All involved suffered devastating effects. Turning point of WWII. -
Operation Torch
Dwight D. Eisenhower was the commander of the mission. Operation Torch called fot the invasion of Morocco and Algeria, a territory that France had controlled up until the German takeover. The Vichy French leaders had installed themselves there. However, when the Americans arrived, they faced little resistance and the Frnech soon joined their side. Americans gained valuable fighting experience and had defeated Rommel's forces by May 1943 -
Invasion of Sicily/Italy
Germans planned to knock Italy out of the war. The 1st step in this was to invade the island of Sicily in July 1943. After some motivation from Roosevelet and Churchill, the Italian people rebelled against Mussolini and threw him from power. The Allies then occupied Italy, German forces rushed to stop them. Fighting raged for 4 months at Anzio as the Aliies tried to break from their small coastal beachhead. -
Operation Overlord
The fighting in Italy was slow and difficult partly because the Allies could not devote all their fighting resources to the battle. Many of these resources were being held for the planned invasion of France. This plan came to be known as Operation Overlord. -
Batlle of the Bulge
Through the fall of 1944, the Allies moved eastward. Around this time, the Germans seemed to be near a collapsing point. On December 16, 1944, the Germans launched a surprise offensive. The attack was known as the Battle of the Bulge. This referred to the bulge in the Allied battle lines created by the Germans advance. Largest battle fought by the US. -
Hitler Commits Suicide
In the final weeks of April 1945, the steady destruction of the German forces continued. Units from the Soviet Union joined with other Allied forces. At the same time, Berlin was under heavy bombardment. On April 30, 1945, Hitler realized that his situation was hopeless. He committed suicide in his bunker. -
VE Day!
On April 30, 1945, Hitler realized that all hope was lost for the Nazi's and their plan; it was on this day that Hitler committed suicide. News of Hitler's death spread, and on May 2, fighting came to a halt. Berlin surrendered on May 2, and Karl Donitz, who had taken over as Germany's leader, agreed to surrneder on May 7. The surrender was to take effect on May 8, and in the United States, this day, May 8, was known as V-E Day (Victory in Europe Day).
