world war ii world war ii the story so far……

World War IIWorld War II

The story so far…….

WE SHALL NEVER

SURRENDER!

BUT HE PROMISED HE

WOULDN’T!

THAT’S NOT FAIR – WE WEREN’T READY!!

Ever since the German invasion of the USSR in June 1941, and the British and

American decision to concentrate on defeating

Germany before Japan, Stalin had been demanding that the UK & USA open a ‘second front’ to relieve the pressure on the USSR.

At same time however, Hitler has been pouring men and

material into the construction of his greatest defensive fortification………………

The Atlantic Wall

Defences running from the Spanish border to Denmark

In 1942, Operation Torch, successfully led to in the Allied invasion of North

Africa. After a hard fought battle, the Germans in

Tunisia surrendered and the way was opened for an

invasion of Southern Europe. Italy was the chosen target.

To Stalin however, the invasion of Africa and Italy

was nothing more than a ‘side-show’.

He demanded an invasion of Nazi occupied, mainland

Europe. He warned the UK & USA that the USSR was paying too high a price, and that his countries defeat would inevitably lead to a Nazi

victory in the war.

Top Secret – Eyes Only – Document 1

Soviet Damage & Casualty Report

‘Of the 11.6 million horses in occupied territory, 7 million have been killed or taken away, as are 20 out of 23 million pigs. 137,000 tractors, 49,000 grain

combines and large numbers of cowsheds and other farm buildings have been destroyed. Transport has been hit by the destruction of 65,000 kilometres of railway track, loss of or damage to 15,800 locomotives,

428,000 goods wagons, 4,280 river boats, and half of all the railway bridges in the occupied territory. Almost 50 per cent of all urban living space in this

territory, 1.2 million houses, have been destroyed, as well as 3.5 million houses in rural areas.’

The USA was keen to invade, whilst the UK was more cautious. The UK was

weakening, its armies and industry becoming exhausted after years of fighting

alone. A very real fear of defeat and a repetition of the carnage of WWI made the UK slow down the planning for

an invasion.

Your job is to:

1. Assess the options

2.Choose the appropriate invasion location

3. Develop the and plan the tactics which will ensure our forces can get a foothold back on mainland Europe

4. Report back to the Allied commanders on where, why, when, and how we are going to invade

Task OneYou have been given the task of planning Operation

Overlord.The location of the invasion, means of the invasion,

resources required are all decisions that you need to make.

Log on to the following website and work through the web quest. You have 20 minutes20 minutes to plan the

invasion:

http://www.schoolshistory.org.uk/dday.htm

You should keep notes of you decisions on the:

D-Day landings planning sheet.

Task TwoYou must now explain how the assault on the beaches is going

to take place.

Intelligence must be gathered and using the

Beach Assault Sheet

you must illustrate and explain how the landings are to be completed successfully. This piece of work is to be

presented to the planners of D-Day. The intelligence documents can be accessed by breaking the Enigma Code again. You may cut, paste label etc the intelligence

materials.

Top Secret – Eyes Only – Enigma Document 1• The three letter code to open the first document are:

The three initials of Britain's Prime Minister.

• This will provide you with the available information on the Normandy beaches

Top Secret – Eyes Only – Enigma Document 2• The three letter code to open the second document are:

The three initials of the President of the United States.

• This will provide you with the available information on weapons available to you

Top Secret – Eyes Only – Enigma Document 3• The password to open the third document is Hitler’s date

of birth: DD/MM/YY

• This will provide you with the available information on troops available to you

Top Secret – Eyes Only – Enigma Document 4• The password is the name surname of the Supreme Allied

commander of D-Day.

• This will provide you with the available information on Hitler’s Atlantic Wall