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Invasion of Morocco and Algeria
In July of 1942, President Roosevelt ordered for the invasion of Morocco and Algeria. -
Securing the Suez Canal
Erwin Rommel led the "Afrika Korps" in a battle against Britain in the Egyptian city of El Alamein. After 12 days of fighting, Rommel was forced to retreat in November of 1942, and Britain gained control of the Suez Canal. -
America Fights Germany for the First Time
In November of 1942, General Dwight D. Eisenhower led several American troops to invade North Africa. At the Battle of Kasserine Pass, the American Troops fought the Germans for the first time. The Americans suffered roughly 7,000 casualties and lost about 200 tanks. These losses caused Eisenhower to fire the general who led the attack and put General George Patton in their spot. -
The Battle of the Atlantic Comes to an End
New technology such as radar, sonar, and depth charges began to be used to locate submarines. These new devices help the Americans avoid and destroy German attack submarines, and eventually helped them win the Battle of the Atlantic. -
Germany Attacks the Soviet Union
Adolf Hitler thought that the key to defeating the Soviet Union was to destroy its economy. In May of 1942, Hitler ordered his army to capture farmlands, factories, and oil fields in southern Russia and Ukraine. -
The Soviet Union Defends Stalingrad
In mid-September of 1942, German troops marched into Stalingrad. Stalin ordered his troops to protect the city at all costs because of it being a major railroad and river junctions. Unfortunately, the Germans were not prepared to fight in the cold weather conditions and the determined Soviets caused the German troops to suffer severe casualties. -
Germans Start Sinking U.S. Ships
German submarines started to enter American waters, and were targeting cargo ships. In August of 1942 German submarines had sunk around 360 American cargo ships. The losses of so many ships caused the U.S. army to start using the convoy system. -
The Soviets Get Backup
On November 23, 1942 Soviet reinforcements come to help. With the new troops, the Soviets were able to surround almost 250,000 German troops in Stalingrad. -
The Battle of Stalingrad is Over
In February of 1943, the Battle of Stalingrad ended. Around 91,000 Germans had surrendered, and each side suffered nearly half a million casualties each. The defeat put the Germans on defense. -
Strategic Bombing in Germany Starts
Before the new campaign, the U.S. and Britain were dropping around 3,800 tons of bombs on Germany every month over the past few years. However, by using the new campaign, around 53,000 tons of bombs were now being dropped on Germany every month starting in January 1943(ending in May 1945). These bombings destroyed oil storage, railroad systems, and aircraft factories. So many aircraft factories were demolished that Germany couldn't recoup and lost any control they had in the air. -
Casablanca Conference
In January of 1943, Roosevelt goes to Casablanca, Morocco to meet with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. At the conference both leaders decide to step up the bombing of Germany. The goal of this was to destroy Germany's military, economic, and industrial systems. They also agreed to attack the Axis on the island of Sicily. -
The Tehran Conference
Roosevelt and Churchill met with Stalin in Tehran, Iran in late 1943. The leaders agreed to several things including launching a full-scale offensive against the Germans when the Allies invaded France in 1944, dividing Germany after the war, the Soviet Union would help the U.S. in dealing with Japan, and creating an international peacekeeping organization after the war. -
German Troops Leave North Africa
After a lot of fighting, the American and British troops were able to force Germany to retreat from North Africa on May 13, 1943. -
The Invasion of Sicily Starts
General Dwight D. Eisenhower commanded the attack, along with help from General Patton and British General Bernard Montgomery. The invasion began before dawn on June 10, 1943. They used amphibious trucks to get supplies to the shore. 8 days after reaching shore, American troops attacked enemy lines and captured the western half of the island. Then General Patton's troops attacked the east and General Montgomery's troops went south. -
Aftermath of Sicily
After the attack on Sicily, Italy surrendered. The king of Italy, Victor Emmanuel, arrested Benito Mussolini on July 25, 1943. However, Germany then invaded and seized Northern Italy, including Rome. Mussolini was put back into power and German troops started to position themselves around the town of Casino. -
Germany Retreats from Sicily
After attacks on three sides the Germans were forced to retreat. On August 17, 1943 Germany had evacuated the island. -
Fighting at Casino and Anzio
The terrain around Casino was very rocky, so American troops landed behind German lines in the town of Anzio. Americans thought that the Germans would retreat, but instead they surrounded the American troops. After five rough months of fighting, American troops broke through the enemy lines at Casino and Anzio. In late May of 1944, Germany retreated. Less than two weeks later, the Allies gained control of Rome. -
Preparing for the D-Day Invasion
By the spring of 1944 more than 1.5 million American soldiers, 12,000 airplanes, and 5 million tons of equipment were sent to England to prepare for the invasion. All that was left was to wait for the right moment to attack. -
The Start of the D-Day Invasion
The troops would have to begin the invasion at dawn, low tide, and with good weather. After bad weather on June 5, Eisenhower began looking at the forecasts over the next few days. Finally, shortly after midnight on June 6, 1944 he gave the order to invade. -
The Invasion of Normandy
The D-Day Invasion began on June 6, 1944 at 6:30 am. The code named beaches were "Utah", "Omaha", "Gold", "Sword", and "Juno". In less than three hours, the Allies had captured "Utah" with less than 200 casualties. At "Omaha" the Germans were using the geographical challenges to their advantage and nearly destroyed all of the American assault. General Omar Bradley almost called for a retreat, but slowly the American troops began to knock out the German defences. The invasion was a success. -
All Beaches Captured at Normandy
Less than a week later from June 6, the invasion of Normandy, the rest of the beaches were captured. On June 11, 1944, all the beaches were fully secured with 326,000 troops, more than 50,000 vehicles and around 100,000 tons of equipment on the beaches at Normandy.