Victory in Europe

1.      After the surrender of France in 1940, the Germans took control of the French colonies in North Africa.

2.      November 1942 the allies planned operation torch, which was an invasion of French territory in northwest Africa.

a.      The fighting was fierce and the allies were met with heavy resistance

b.      Finally may 1943 250,000 axis forces surrendered.  

The invasion of Italy

1.      Allied forces were able to land on the Italian island of Sicily in June 1943 and had taken control of the island in less than a month.

2.      Determined not to surrender the Italian Pennisula to the Allies fortified the country

3.      The Italian government soon signed an armistice with the Allies

a.      Allied forces then invaded the Italian mainland which was under German control

b.      By june 1944 the Allies had reached Rome and captured the first Axis capital.

Operation Overlord

1.      Operation Overlord was the code name for the invasion of France that the Germans had long anticipated.

2.      The allies put in place a system of dummy installations and false clue to convince the Germans that the attack would take place near Calais on the English Channel

3.      Instead the Allies landed farther south, at Normandy Beach

a.      The Germans had fortified the beach with concrete bunkers, tanks, traps, and mines, but Hitler refused to send reinforcements to the area around Normandy because he believed it was a diversion for the main invasion that would occur elsewhere.

b.      Although the allies were met with strong opposition they managed to penertrate into France nearly 20 miles by early July

c.       Paris was liberated in late August of 1944