European Theatre by Chad Clifford

  • Battle of the Atlantic

    Battle of the Atlantic
    The Battle of the Atlantic was a six year naval battle between Germany and Britian. Germany used their U-Boats at night so they could be undetected by radars. In 1941 Britian gained a tactical advantage by reiceiving 50 American destroyers. They were fighting to see who would control the Atlantic shipping lanes. The United States joined the war late in 1941. By the end of the war an estimated 100 convoy battles took place with 60,000 people dead and close to 4,000 ships destroyed.
  • Battle of Britain

    Battle of Britain
    The Battle of Britain was a struggle between the German Luftwaffe and the British Royal Air Force. The battle was the first militay campaign to be fought entirely in the air. The battle was caused becvause Germany wanted to win air superiority over Southern Britain and the English Channel. The Luftwaffe had clear disadvantages in this battle, they were accustomed to blitskrieg and the air battles had different tactics. During the 12 week battle 1,733 German Aircraft and 915 British were destroye
  • Battle of Stalingrad

    Battle of Stalingrad
    The Battle of Stalingrad was a successful defense for the Soviet Union against Hitler's German Forces. This was important because it stopped the advance of the Germans. It took place in the city of Stalingrad. The much weaker Soviet Army had been pushed back as far as a nine mile stretch in front of the Volga river. The Soviets recovered 250,000 German bodies while the Soviets lost an estimated 1,100,000 lives.
  • Battle of El Alamein

    Battle of El Alamein
    The Battle of El Alamein was between the Axis and Allied powers. The battle took place near Egypt and ended the Axis threat of gaining access to the Middle Eastern and Persian oil fields. The Axis Powers lost about 30,000 soldiers while the Allied Powers lost about 14,000.
  • Operation Torch

    Operation Torch
    Operation Torch was a surprise attack where the U.S. would attack the French through North Africa. This battle persuaded the U.S. people to allow fighting in Europe and not just Japan. Operation Torch ahd three different spots for attack, Casablanca, Oran, and Algiers. This operation lead to an Armistice between France and the Allied Powers.
  • Invasion of Sicily

    Invasion of Sicily
    The invasion of Sicily, or Operation Husky, was a combination of air assaults and sea landings involving 150,000 troops, 3,000 ships, and 4,000 aircraft. During this battle Italy's facsist leader Benito Mussolini was arreasted. The new leader opposed Italy's alliance with Germany and began talking armastice with the Allied Powers. The Axis Powers evacuated many of their troops and the Allied Powers lost more troops than expected.
  • Operation Overlord

    Operation Overlord
    Operation Overlord was a surprise attack that would occur in Normandy, France. The allies assembled 2 million troops, 5,000 ships, and 11,000 aircraft. Dwight D. Eisenhower was the general selected for the ambush. Operation Overlord took years of planning and preparation. Allied forces destroyed the Axis Powers in the Battle of Normandy.
  • Battle of the Bulge

    Battle of the Bulge
    The largest and Bloodiest battle of American history took place in the snow covered grounds of the Ardenne Forest off the coast of Belgium. Germany's attack was too much for the Americans to handle and they suffered nearly 80,000 deaths. Germans advanced nearly 60 miles on the American forces.
  • Hitler Commits Suicide

    Hitler committed suicide in a bunker in Berlin, Germany. He had lived in the bunker since January. He and his wife stayed in the bunker. When he heard news that Soviets were close to the bunker he killed himself. His wife ate a tablet of cyanide while he shot himself. This was seemingly the end of the war for Germany as they surrendered one week later.
  • VE Day

    VE Day
    This marked the surrender of German forces to America and Britain. This ended the war in Europe for the U.S. Russia captured 2 million german troops. This was the end of the war for Germany as Karl Donitz, who had taken over as Germanys leader agreed to surrender.