Name______________________________ Class________________________ Date_____________
World War II
Lesson 5
The War for Europe
and North Africa
Key Terms and People
Dwight D. Eisenhower American general who commanded Allied forces; 34th
president of the United States
D-Day Allied invasion to liberate Europe
Omar Bradley American general who led American forces at Normandy
George Patton American general who helped liberate Paris
Battle of the Bulge German counteroffensive in December 1944
Before You Read
In the last lesson you learned how American involvement in World
War II affected life at home. In this lesson you will see how the
United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union defeated the Axis
powers.
As You Read
Use a timeline to take notes on major events influencing the fighting
in North Africa and Europe.
THE UNITED STATES AND BRITAIN
JOIN FORCES
What were the goals of the American
and British alliance?
A few weeks after Pearl Harbor,
President Roosevelt met with British
prime minister Winston Churchill to
plan their war strategy. They decided
that the first thing to do was to defeat
Hitler’s Germany. Roosevelt and
Churchill began a lasting friendship and
a strong alliance between their countries.
After war was declared, German
U-boats increased attacks on American
ships in the Atlantic to prevent food and
war materials from reaching Great
Britain and the Soviet Union. This
action became known as the Battle of
the Atlantic.
The Allies organized convoys for
shared protection. Warships and
airplanes escorted the convoys. At first,
there were not enough vessels to form
convoys. As U.S. industry began
producing more ships and planes,
however, the situation improved. Soon,
there were more Allied cargo ships, or
Liberty ships, being made than being
sunk. They used sonar and radar to find
and destroy many German submarines.
By mid-1943 the Allies were winning the
Battle of the Atlantic.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
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Guided Reading Workbook
Name______________________________ Class________________________ Date_____________
Lesson 5, continued
1. What was the Battle of the Atlantic,
and how did the Allies win it?
Germans were holding off
unprotected American ships. The
Allies responded by organizing their
cargo ships into convoys. By 1943
the Allies had won the atlantic.
THE EASTERN FRONT AND THE
MEDITERRANEAN
What happened in the Soviet Union,
North Africa, and Italy?
By the winter of 1943, the Allies were
winning on land as well as on the sea.
The German invasion of the Soviet
Union had begun in 1941. When it
stalled in 1942, Hitler changed his
tactics. He moved to capture Soviet oil
fields and to take the industrial city of
Stalingrad. The Germans bombed
Stalingrad until almost the whole city
was on fire.
Stalin refused to give up. During
months of horrible hand-to-hand
combat, the Germans took most of
Stalingrad. Then as winter began, the
Soviets counterattacked. They trapped a
large German force in and around
Stalingrad and cut off their supplies.
The Germans froze and starved. In
February 1943 the German soldiers
surrendered. The Battle of Stalingrad
was a turning point. From then on,
Soviet forces moved steadily west toward
Germany.
Meanwhile, in November 1942 the
Allies invaded North Africa, which was
controlled by the Axis powers. Control
of the area was important to the Allies.
They needed to protect Mediterranean
shipping lanes because of the oil from
the Suez Canal. American forces led by
General Dwight D. Eisenhower defeated
German troops under General Erwin
Rommel. The Germans surrendered in
May 1943.
Next, in July 1943 the Allies invaded
Italy. They captured Sicily. The warweary Italian king stripped Prime
Minister Mussolini of power and had
him arrested. But then Hitler seized
Italy. It took many months of fighting
for the Allies to drive the Germans out
of Italy. In the Italian campaign, several
units were made up of segregated
groups of African Americans, Mexican
Americans, and Japanese Americans.
Many of these minority groups won
honors for bravery.
2. How were the Allies victorious in the
Soviet Union, North Africa, and
Italy?
trapped a large German force in
Stalingrad. In North Africa,
Eisenhower defeated German troops
and took back the land. The Allies
took over Sicily, and eventually drove
Nazis out of the country.
THE ALLIES GAIN GROUND IN
EUROPE
Why did the Allies invade Normandy?
The Allies had been building a huge
force for two years to invade the
Normandy region of France. This
invasion to liberate Europe was on
June 6, 1944. It was D-Day—the day the
Allies launched history’s largest landsea-air operation.
Allied forces landed on Normandy’s
beaches. They met German resistance,
and many were killed. But they took the
beaches. More Allied troops landed in
France and began to advance. General
Omar Bradley opened a huge hole in the
German lines, which allowed General
George Patton and his Third Army to
liberate Paris in August. By September,
the Allies had liberated other European
nations and had entered Germany itself.
In the United States, Roosevelt won
reelection to a fourth term as president.
To the Allies’ surprise, Hitler began a
counterattack in December. At first, the
Germans cut deeply into Allied lines.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
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Name______________________________ Class________________________ Date_____________
Lesson 5, continued
After a month of fighting, the Allies
pushed the Germans back. The
Germans had lost so many men and
weapons in this Battle of the Bulge that
they could only retreat.
3. How successful was the Allies’
invasion of Europe?
Despite heavy casualties, the allies
came out on top after about pushing
the germans back for a month
Explain what made each event a critical moment or turning point in the
war.
Turning PoinTs of World War ii
D
F
May 1943
Mid-1943
L
Roosevelt and
Churchill meet
1.
→ The
heads of the two most powerful
End of Battle of
Stalingrad
2.
→ From
then on, Soviet forces moved steadily
End of North Africa
campaign
3.
→ They
had access back to shipping lanes for
Victory in Battle of
the Atlantic
4.
→ The
allies didnt have to worry as much after
Victory in Italy
5.
→ Took
mussilini out of power and drove the
countries met and talked about their war
stratagies
west toward Germany.
oil and other products that go through the
area
this because of the convoy system
nazis out of Italy
June 1944
D-Day
6.
→ Successfully
invaded Europe and fought for
a month to push German soldiers back
Liberation of Paris
→
7.
Liberation of other
European nations and
entry into Germany
→
8.
End of Battle of
the Bulge
9.
→ The
Germans did not have enough
A
The allies began to shrink Hitlers power
furthur and furthur inward on Germany
S
January
1945
Allies are one step closer to bringing Hitler
down
resources to keep fighting which pushed
them back and took the remaining resources
they had.
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
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