9.4 The Allies Turn the Tide
Understand how nations
committed all of their resources to
fighting World War II.
Explain how the Allies began to
push back the Axis powers in
Europe and the Pacific.
Describe the Normandy landings
and the Allied advance toward
Germany.
OBJECTIVE
• Understand how nations committed all of
their resources to fighting World War II.
A Commitment to Total War
• In Total War, nations devote all of their resources to
war effort.
• Britain and the U.S. ordered factories to stop
producing cars and other goods and make airplanes
and tanks instead.
• Raised money by selling war bonds.
– Loaning your government money to be repaid later with
interest.
Continued…
• War time placed limits on economic freedoms.
– Govt. rationed amount of goods you could buy.
•
•
•
•
Rubber
Tin
Gasoline
Certain foods
Continued…
• Prices and wages were also regulated.
• U.S., war stimulated economy by creating millions
of jobs.
• The unemployment from the Great Depression was
almost wiped out.
Limits on Individual Rights
• Democratic governments censored the press and
used propaganda to win public support for the war.
• U.S. and Canada, racial prejudice and security
concerns led to internment camps (Citizens of
Japanese descent).
• In Britain (Germans, Austrians and Italians) were
subjected to internment.
• U.S. and Canada provided former internees with
reparations (payment for damages).
Women Help Win the War
• As men joined the military, millions of women
around the world replaced them in industry jobs.
• Women built ships and planes and produced
munitions.
• Women served in the armed
Forces by driving ambulances,
Delivering airplanes and
Decoding messages.
• Soviet women served in combat
Roles.
OBJECTIVE REVIEW
• How did nations commit all of their resources
to fighting World War II?
New Objective
• Explain how the Allies began to push back the
Axis powers in Europe and the Pacific.
Progress on Three Fronts
• World War 2 was fought in 3 places
– North Africa and Italy
– Soviet Union
– Pacific Ocean
Japan Suffers Setbacks
• Battle of Coral Sea
– May 1942 – lasted 5 days.
– Ships engaged in battle without seeing each other.
– Attacks were carried out by planes launched from
aircraft carriers.
Continued…
• Allies sank one Japanese aircraft carrier and
multiple ships and prevented Japan from taking
over islands in the Pacific.
• Battle of Midway
– June 1942
– Fought in the air
– 4 Carriers, 250 Japanese planes destroyed by allies
– Stopped all Japanese offensive operations.
– General Tojo faced criticism at home following loss.
“Big Three” Strategize
• Big Three = FDR, Winston Churchill and Joseph
Stalin
– Agreed to focus on finishing the war in Europe before
trying to end the war in Asia.
• Allies always distrusted each other.
– Stalin wanted a second front against Germany in
Western Europe to ease the pressure on the Soviets.
– Churchill and Roosevelt replied that they didn’t have the
resources.
Victory in North Africa
• British forces fought against Rommel.
• November 1942, Battle of El Alamein, Allies halted
Desert Fox’s advance.
• Allies tanks drove Axis powers back across Libya into
Tunisia.
Continued…
• Later in 1942, General Dwight Eisenhower took over
forces in Morocco and Algeria.
• Allies trapped Rommel’s army in Tunisia which
surrendered in May 1943.
Allied Invasion of Italy
• With North Africa under their control the allies
were able to cross the Mediterranean into Italy.
Continued…
• British and American army landed first in Sicily then
in southern Italy.
• They defeated the Italians in about a month.
• Italians overthrew Mussolini and signed an
armistice.
• For the next 18 months Allies slowly pushed north
into Italy while fighting off German resistance that
Hitler sent to save Mussolini.
• Weakened Hitler by forcing him to fight on another
front.
Turning Point in Stalingrad
• In November of 1942, Soviets surrounded their
attackers (Germans).
• Trapped, without food or ammunition, the German
commander finally surrendered in January 1943.
• Following the Battle of Stalingrad, the Soviets took
the offensive.
A Second Front in Europe
• By 1944, finally the Allies were ready to open up a
second front in Europe by invading France.
• General Dwight Eisenhower was made the supreme
Allied commander.
– Planned operation
– Assembled troops and supplies.
Continued…
• Allies bombed German factories and destroyed
aircrafts.
• Destroyed cities in Germany.
• Bombed railroads and bridges in France that could
carry German war supplies.
New Objective
• Describe the Normandy landings and the
Allied advance toward Germany.
The Normandy Landings
• June 6th, 1944, known as D-Day, the invasion of
France.
• June 5th, Allies dropped paratroopers behind enemy
lines.
• At Dawn, thousands of Allied ships ferried 156,000
troops across the English Channel.
• Fought their way to shore, through underwater
mines and machine gun fire.
The Liberation of France
• Allies clawed their way inland at Normandy.
• August 25th, 1944 Allies enter Paris.
– Within a month, all of France was freed.
Advancing Toward Germany
• Allies pushed through France towards Germany.
• Germans launched massive counter-offensive at
Battle of the Bulge (Belgium, 1944).
– Battle lasted > 1 month
– Germany’s last major attack.
Continued…
• Germany was suffering from continuous bombings
around the clock which lasted 2 consecutive years.
• By 1945, the defeat of Germany seemed inevitable.
The Yalta Conference
• As the allies advanced on Germany, the Big Three
met in the Soviet city of Yalta.
Continued…
• Big Three planned for final stages of war and postwar Europe.
– Soviets insisted they should control Eastern Europe to
protect itself from future aggression.
– Western Powers favored self-determination (right to
choose govt.)
– Plan for Germany was to divide it into 4 zones to be
governed by the allies.
Continued…
• With the war in North Africa over, and the war in
Europe almost over, the Allies were less certain
about the fight in the Pacific.
– Eager to enlist Stalin and the Soviets to help.
– Stalin agreed to join within 3 months of Germany
surrendering.
– In return, the Western powers promised Stalin Sakhalin
Island, Kuril Islands and an occupation in Korea.
Objective Review
• Describe the Normandy landing and the Allies
advance toward Germany.