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Sec . 2: The Allied Response European Theatre

Ch. 14: World War II, 1930-1945. Sec . 2: The Allied Response European Theatre. Battle of the Atlantic. Allies must control Atlantic for its shipping lanes to supply Britain & USSR with food/weapons Germans forced to rely on U-boats again U.S. lent British ships & offered escort assistance

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Sec . 2: The Allied Response European Theatre

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  1. Ch. 14: World War II, 1930-1945 Sec. 2: The Allied ResponseEuropean Theatre

  2. Battle of the Atlantic • Allies must control Atlantic for its shipping lanes to supply Britain & USSR with food/weapons • Germans forced to rely on U-boats again • U.S. lent British ships & offered escort assistance • The Homefront • Mobilize army – millions volunteered/others drafted • Production of weaponry- peacetime industries converted to wartime production • Raise labor force- women & other minority groups moved into industries to produce needed supplies • Rationing of food, fuel, rubber, nylon; scrap drives • By 1943, U.S. winning the Battle for the Atlantic

  3. North Africa and Italy • North Africa of strategic importance • Control of Mediterranean Sea & Suez Canal meant access to Middle East’s oil reserves • 1941-’42: British forces under Gen. Bernard Montgomery fought a combined army of Italians/Germans (the AfrikaKorps) under command of Gen.Erwin Rommel (Desert Fox) over Egypt & Libya • Nov., 1942: Allied invasion of North Africa • “Operation Torch”- US forces under Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower invade No. Africa from the west, placing Rommel in a 2-way trap • May, 1943: AfrikaKorps forced to surreneder nearly 250,000 men

  4. Italy • Allies invade island of Sicily in July,1943 • By end of July, Italians have toppled the fascist government & executed Mussolini • German forces are pushed into Italy to try and resist the Allied advance • The Allies face stiff resistance and high casualty rates as they slug their way up through Italy towards southern Germany

  5. The Soviet Union Turns the Tide • Siege of Leningrad (Summer, 1942) • Having been slowed by Russian winter of ‘41-’42, Hitler lays siege to old Czarist capital of Leningrad (St. Petersburg) • Siege was harsh as an average of 3-4,000 civilians a day died from starvation • Battle of Stalingrad • Nazis ordered to take the industrial center of Stalingrad (vital to wartime production/shipments of food & supplies) • Soviet Red Army refuses to buckle & puts Nazis in retreat westward out of USSR • This victory, coupled with Allied victories in No. Africa & Italy, marked turning pt. of WWII

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