WW II
Chapter 6 – The Axis on the
Defensive 1943-44
The Beginning of the End
Eastern Front
both sides prepare
for further offensives
 Operation Citadel is
planned

The Beginning of the End
Allied Priorities

Casablanca Conference
Second Front
strategic bombing campaign against Germany
drive Germany and Italy out of the Mediterranean
Sea

plans made for an Attack on “Fortress
Europe”
The Beginning of the End
Defending the Mediterranean

Hitler fortifies Italy and the islands of the
Mediterranean
The Beginning of the End
The Italian Armistice
Sicily invaded
 Mussolini is ousted
 Armistice signed
with the Allies
 “Soft Underbelly” of
Europe is attacked

The Beginning of the End
US Strategy in the Pacific
recapture the Aleutians
 island-hopping
 secure air fields
to bomb Japan

Recapture of the Western Soviet
Union
Operation Citadel
launched July 4, 1943
 slow, costly progress is
made
 buy July 10 it bogs down

Recapture of the Western Soviet
Union
Tank Battle at Prokhorovka
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July 12, 1943
largest tank battle of the war
Germans stopped dead in their tracks
Recapture of the Western Soviet
Union
Operation Kutuzov
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catches the Germans by surprise (July 12)
Soviets advance
Manstein and Kluge meet with Hitler
Manstein urges a withdrawal

by Aug 18 the Germans are in full retreat
Recapture of the Western Soviet
Union
Further Soviet Offensives
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Belgorod and Kharkov liberated
Hitler refuses to allow a retreat
advance towards Kiev
numerical superiority is gained
Recapture of the Western Soviet
Union
Counting the Cost

Osteer losses
150 miles of territory
209,000 killed or wounded
numerical superiority is
lost
Recapture of the Western Soviet
Union
Relief of Leningrad


rail lines re-established
890 day siege is broken in January 1944
Recapture of the Western Soviet
Union
Soviet Advances in the Ukraine


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supplies pour in from the US
Germans continue to retreat
Manstein is relieved by Hitler
Recapture of the Western Soviet
Union
Action in the Crimea

German forces are cut off
The Invasion of Italy
The Landings on Sicily

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led by Gen. Patton
July 10, 1943
US troops enter Palermo by July 23
Axis forces withdraw by Aug 17
Fascist Grand Council arrests Mussolini
new government is formed
Marshal Pietro Bodaglio

Germans take charge in Italy
The Invasion of Italy
Landings on the Mainland

Salerno
Gen. Mark Clark
Italian armistice signed
 Rommel and Kesselring prepare
 landings met with great resistance
 Allies advance
 Gustav Line
 troops removed in
preparation for D-Day

The Invasion of Italy
The Anzio Beachhead
Videos\Action_at_Anzio.asf
Monte Cassino halts the Allies
 landings of Jan 22, 1944
 Monte Cassino is
under siege

The Invasion of Italy
Attacks on Cassino

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Montgomery favors a frontal assault
German communication lines are attacked
French forces outflank Cassino
Kesselring evacuates the Gustav Line
Poles overrun Monte Cassino
Allied forces break out of Anzio
Allies surge toward Rome
The Invasion of Italy
The Gothic Line
new line of German
defenses north of
Rome
 Allies attack Aug 25
 Germans hold the line
 by the end of
November a
stalemate ensues

War in the Air
Area Bombing



change from specific to area bombing
larger aircraft are used
Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris
organizes the bomber offensives
progressive destruction of the urban areas of
Germany
War in the Air
The 1,000 Bomber Raid

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Operation Millennium
great successes at first
losses mount
German resistance
Gen. Josef Kammhuber
“boxes”
War in the Air
Combined Bombing Offensive

USAAF Strategy
high level daylight precision bombing
heavily armed bombers

arrival in Great Britain
War in the Air
The US Bombing Campaign

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formation flying
heavy losses
penetration into Germany
P-51 arrives in Europe
air superiority is gained
War in the Air
Pathfinders

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use of radar to mark targets
technological advances
raids on Hamburg
War in the Air
The Battle of Berlin

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Berlin targeted
heavy Allied losses
American Offensives in the
Pacific
Japanese Defeats


early losses do not threaten Japan itself
late 1943 the momentum swings to the Allies
island-hopping campaign
increase in the size of the US Navy

Rabaul is isolated
American Offensives in the
Pacific
The Central Pacific

Gilbert Islands Campaign
Makin
Tarawa

“Bloody Beaches of Tarawa”
American Offensives in the
Pacific
Americans Gain the Upper Hand
New Guinea Campaign
 Marshall
Islands
 Truk

American Offensives in the
Pacific
Western New Guinea

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Japanese losses mount
Japanese on the retreat
American forces land at Arare and Wakde
Islands
new line of Japanese defenses in the
Marianas
American Offensives in the
Pacific
The Battle of Saipan
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American forces land June 15, 1944
American bombers attack Japanese
homeland on the same day
Saipan secured by July 9
32,000 defenders parish to the
man

Marpi Point
suicide cliff
1,000 Japanese citizens
American Offensives in the
Pacific
Great Marianas Turkey Shoot


Japanese carrier task force tries to stop the American
invasion forces
Admiral Raymond Spruance
superior numbers
superior aircraft
superior technology

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US Submarines sink two Japanese carriers
Japanese have heavy aircraft and naval losses
360 of 450 aircraft lost

Japanese fleet reduced to 35 aircraft