WWII

The entrance of the Soviet Union to VE Day

Hitler’s Operation Barbarosa• Before the US entry (June, 1941), The Nazi’s had overrun

all of Western Europe except ________________.• Hitler thought the time was ripe to break the Nazi-Soviet

non-aggression pact and invade the Soviet Union.• Hitler explained his thinking, by saying:

• “If I had the Ural Mountains with their incalculable store of treasures in raw materials, Siberia with its vast forests, and the Ukraine with its tremendous wheat fields, Germany under (Nazi) leadership would swim in plenty”

War in the Soviet Union• 3 Million Germans poured into the shocked Soviet Union.• The Soviet military was still suffering from purges that had

killed many top officers• The USSR took heavy losses at first, but as they retreated

they destroyed factories and farm equipment, and burnt crops to keep them from the Nazis

• By fall it looked like the USSR were about to lose Leningrad and Moscow, probably sealing their defeat.

• However, “General Winter,” stepped in as temperatures plunged to -4 degrees and thousands of German soldiers froze to death.

• In Leningrad, the Germans began what would become a 2½ year siege which lead to terrible hardships for the Soviet citizens

The Stage is Set: Major Players

Allies

• Great Britain• United States• Soviet Union (USSR)

Axis

• Germany• Italy• Japan

North Africa• Nazi General, Erwin Rommel, led his

troops to many victories in North Africa en route to the USSR.

• In 1942, the Allies stopped the Nazi advance with victories in Egypt

• Later in 1942, American general Dwight Eisenhower took command of a joint Anglo-American force in Morocco and Algeria.

• Eisenhower soon joined with British troops to trap Rommel’s army and force their surrender in may 1943.

Red Army turns the Tide: Stalingrad• After a disastrous winter in the USSR, the Nazis launched

another offensive aimed at the rich oil fields of southern Russia. This advance only got as far as Stalingrad.

• German troops surrounded the city of Stalingrad.• The Russians soon encircled their attackers• As winter approached this long battle turned into a brutal

street-by-street, house-by-house battle.• One officer reported that soldiers fought for two weeks

straight over a single building. • Trapped without food or ammunition, the German

commander finally surrendered in early 1943

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yOBCGwMpeo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ3bzg-Tvt4

The Soviet push towards Germany• After the Battle of Stalingrad, the Red Army drove the

invaders out of the Soviet Union entirely. • By early 1944, Soviet troops were surging towards

Germany.

D-Day: The Allied invasion of Normandy• In response to Soviet victories, the U.S. and Great Britain

saw that they must reopen a Western front against Germany; They were racing the USSR to Berlin

• The Allies chose to invade Normandy (NW France) from the sea on June 6, 1944. This was known as D-Day

• Allied planes dropped paratroopers behind enemy lines. Then, at dawn, thousands of ships ferried 176,000 Allied troops across the English channel.

• At dawn, the troops fought their way to shore amid underwater mines and constant machine gun fire.

• Despite heavy losses, the Allies were successful.• French resistance troops rose up against the Germans in

the south.

http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/videos#dday-invasion

http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/videos#d-day-invasion-of-normandy

Battle of the Bulge• After D-Day, Allied forces battled

towards Germany. • Germany launched a massive

counterattack at the Battle of the Bulge.• Both sides took huge losses in this

month long battle• The Germans were unable to break

through and were forced to retreat• After this the Allies maintained a fairly

constant surge towards Berlin.

Conference at Yalta• At the Conference of Yalta, Franklin D. Roosevelt (USA),

Winston Churchill (Great Britain), & Joseph Stalin (USSR) discussed how to finish the war and how to handle the post World War II world

VE Day• In Italy guerrillas captured & executed Mussolini• Upon the Soviets arriving in Berlin, Hitler committed suicide• On May 7, 1945 a war destroyed Germany surrendered.• Officially, the war in Europe ended the next day, May 8,

1945• This is known as VE Day