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like the Graf Spee and the Bismarck. The germans also tried attacking at night, which is called a Wolf Pack. The U-boats sank 875 Allied ships. In April 1941 Allied forces began escorting Allied Convoys as far as Iceland, starting problems with German U-boats. This provoked a lot of controversy as the US had not officially entered the war yet. 100 convoy battles, 30,000 men died, 3,000 ships sunk, Germans 783 U-boats, 28,000 sailors. -
Battle of the Atlantic
The Battle of the Atlantic was a battle for control over the Atlantic's sea routes. The battle was between the Allied Powers and the Axis Powers. During six years of naval warfare, German U-boats and warships (and later Italian subs) were pitted against Allied convoys transporting military equipment and supplies across the Atlantic to Great Britain and the Soviet Union. German ships tried to capture and destroy Allied convoys, but this led to the destruction of major ships -
Battle of Britain
German and British forces clashed over the UK. It was a significant turning point in the war, and the Battle of Britain ended when Germany's Luftwaffe failed to gain superiority over the Royal Airforce despite months of targeting Britain's air bases, military posts, and civilian population. Britain was victorious. Coastal shipping convoys and center were the main target. Luftwaffe used the terror bomb strategy. The British forced Hitler to postone the invasion of Britain. Germany continued to -
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bomb them and this was know as the Blitz. -
Battle of Stalingrad
The battle was a successful Soviet defense of the city of Stalingrad (now Volgograd) in the U.S.S.R. during WW2. Russians consider it the greatest battle of their Great Patriotic War. It stopped the German advance into the Soviet Union and marked the turning of the tide over in favor of the Allies. This battle was the bloodiest battles in history with a combined military and civilian deaths at nearly 2 million. The Germans saw Stalingrad as essential to their campaign in south Russia since from -
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the Volga River they could launch further assaults in the Caucasus. The Russians defended the city as it was a vital industrial and transportation center. This battle was a Soviet Victory. -
Battle of El Alamein
The British had succeded in driving Field Marshal Erwin Rommel into a defensive position in Libya. But Rommel repelled repeated air and tank attacks, delivering heavy losses to the armored strength of the British, and finally, using his panzer divisions, managed to force a British retreat—a retreat so rapid that a huge quantity of supplies was left behind. In fact, Rommel managed to push the British into Egypt using mostly captured vehicles.Rommel’s Afrika Korps was now in Egypt, in El Alamein, -
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only 60 miles west of the British naval base in Alexandria. Reinforced by American supplies, and reorganized and reinvigorated by British General Claude Auchinleck, British, Indian, South African, and New Zealand troops battled Rommel, and his by now exhausted men, to a standstill in Egypt. Auchinleck denied the Axis Egypt. -
Operation Torch
Operation Torch (Operation Gymnast) was the British-American invasion of French North Africa during the North African Campaign. The Soviet Union had pressed the United States and United Kingdom to start operations in Europe and open a second front to reduce the pressure of German forces on the Soviet troops.An attack on French North Africa was proposed instead, which would clear the Axis powers from North Africa, improve naval control of the Mediterranean Sea, and prepare for an invasion. -
Invasion of Sicily, Italy
The United States and Great Britain, the leading Allied powers, looked ahead to the invasion of occupied Europe and the final defeat of Nazi Germany. The Allies decided to move next against Italy, hoping an Allied invasion would remove the fascist regime from the war, secure the central Mediterranean, and divert German divisions from the northwest coast of France where the Allies planned to attack. The Allies’ Italian Campaign began with the invasion of Sicily in July 1943. -
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After 38 days of fighting, the U.S. and Great Britain successfully drove German and Italian troops from Sicily and prepared to assault the Italian mainland. The invasion of Sicily, code-named Operation Husky, began before dawn on July 10, 1943, with combined air and sea landings involving 150,000 troops, 3,000 ships and 4,000 aircraft, all directed at the southern shores of the island.By the afternoon of July 10, 150,000 Allied troops reached the Sicilian shores, bringing along 600 tanks. -
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The landings progressed with Lieutenant General George S. Patton (1885-1945) commanding American ground forces and General Bernard L. Montgomery (1887-1976) leading British ground forces. The Allies’ failure to capture the fleeing Axis armies undermined their victory. The advance against the Italian mainland in September would take more time and cost the Allies more troops than they anticipated. -
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name given for the Allied invasion of France. (It was also code name for the Battle of Normandy). The overseeing commander for Operation Overlord was Dwight D. Eisenhower. The plan was for the Allies to have landed a vast amount of both men and equipment by the end of D-Day. This operation required logistical issues that no army had to deal with before. The Allies decided to land in Normandy, France, but the risks were higher, but the beaches were perfect to land -
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because they were suitable to land a mass amount of people. One of the first plans was called COSSAC (Combined American-Anglo) plan. For the action invasion, 6,000 ships were needed for D-Day. For the first three days of the attack, Overlord planned to move 100,000 men in 13,000 vehicles. The plan also called for an artificial harbor so that people and materials could land easily. Overlord had 3 million men in 47 divisions moved, 6,000 ships and 5,000 airplanes. Casualites Juno and Omaha Beach -
Battle of the Bulge
Adolf Hitler attempted to split the Allied armies in northwest Europe by using a blitzkreig through the Ardennes and Antwerp. As the Germans drove deeper into the Ardennes in an attempt to capture vital bridgeheads, the Allied lines took a form of a large bulge. Lieutenant General George S. Patton's successfil maneuvering of the third army to Bastagone proved vital to the Allied defense, leading to the neutralization of the German counter offensive despite heavy casualites. The German Army had a -
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more than a quarter of a million troops. (three armies) The battle of the bulge was the costliest action ever fought by the U.S. Army, with over 100,000 casualities. -
Adolf Hitler Commits Suicide
Hitler commits suicide in a refurbished air raid shelter by consuming a cyanide capsule and then shooting himself with a pistol. He was warned by many officers that the Russians were only a day or so away from overtaking the chancellery , Hitler and his wife both took cyandie capsules together, but for good measure, he shot himself. They were cremated in the chancellery garden and were recovered by Russian troops. -
VE Day
After Hitler's suicide, it was left to Grand Admiral Donitz, who had been president of the Third Reich for a week, to surrender, Donitz surrendered in front of the senior officers of Britain, America, Russia, and France, he surrendered unconditionally to the Western and Russian demands. Britain rejoiced! Churchill made a speech over radio broadcast telling the news. VE stands for Victory in Europe Day.
