World War II
European Theater of Operations
The Ground War
Components of the War in Europe
The Naval War
The Air War
The Ground War
The Ground War
Four Broad Fronts
 Eastern front – Russia vs. Germany (June 1941 – April 1945)
 North Africa – U.S. & Britain vs. Germany & Italy (Nov. 1942
– May 1943)
 Operation Torch – Morocco
 Operation Husky – Sicily
 Italy - U.S. & Britain vs. Germany & Italy (July 1943 – April
1945)
 Operation Avalanche – Salerno
 Operation Shingle – Anzio/Rome
 Operation Dragoon – South France
 Western front - U.S. & Britain vs. Germany (June 1944 – April
1945)
The Ground War
The Ground War
North Africa and Southern Europe
The Ground War
Operation Torch
November 1942
The Ground War
Casablanca Conference
14 – 24 January 1943
Franklin Roosevelt
Winston Churchill
Charles de Gaulle
Henri Giraud
Joseph Stalin – invited but declines to attend
 Meeting was arraigned to plan Allied European strategy
 All agreed to accept nothing but Unconditional Surrender
The Ground War
Operation Husky
The Ground War
3 September 1943
Operation Baytown
9 September 1943
Operation Slapstick
Operation Avalanche
The Ground War
Downfall of Italy
24 July – Mussolini receives a vote of no confidence
25 July – Mussolini dismissed by king Victor
Emmanuel III
25 July – Mussolini arrested immediately after being
dismissed as he leaves the palace – jailed by Italians
25 July - Pietro Badoglio replaces Mussolini assigned
the task of extricating Italy from the War
8 September – Italy surrender to Britain and the US
12 September – Germans rescue Mussolini
The Ground War
Operation Shingle
January 1944
Key Tactical Issue - How to Proceed?
 Montgomery wanted narrow front
 Eisenhower favored a broad front
 Key issue was logistics
The Ground War
Invading Fortress Europe
June 6, 1944 D-Day
The Ground War
Operation Dragoon
August 1944
The Western Front
The Ground War
Operation Market-Garden
Fall 1944
The Ground War
Battle of the Bulge
The Ground War
Grinding it Out
The Ground War
Berlin Falls to the Soviets
The Death of a President
12 April 1945
VE Day
8 May 1945