Section 3 – War in Europe and North Africa Big Idea

U-boats – constant threat in the Atlantic

Battle Plan once U.S. joined the war – Allies would first defeat Germany, then take on Japan in the

Pacific

Dwight D. Eisenhower– General and Supreme

Commander of US forces in Europe

Erwin Rommel– German general nicknamed the “Desert Fox” for his bold attacks

Battle of El Alamein – Rommel (Germany) v. Montgomery (US). Rommel was defeated. Eisenhower’s

forces helped defeat the Axis powers in Africa which angered Stalin because US forces did not

give the Soviet Union enough help fighting Germany

Battle of Stalingrad – City in the Soviet Union that Hitler desperately tried to conquer; Hitler ran low on

supplies and Stalingrad became a Soviet victory. This battle became a turning point in the war.

The Soviets lost 1 million soldiers at Stalingrad. Germany lost 800,000. The tide of the war had

turned against Germany.

D-Day Invasion – first step in liberating Europe; Dwight Eisenhower was in charge of the plan;

codenamed “Operation Overlord;” June 6, 1944; American, British, and Canadian troops

crossed the English Channel to invade at the beaches of Normandy, in France; At the end of

D-Day, the Allies had a foothold in France.

Key Questions

1. 
   What battle plan did the Allies agree to pursue after American entry into the war?
   

2. 
   What events led to the Allied victories in Italy and Russia?
   

Russia: The Battle of Stalingrad, Germans run out of supplies, Germany surrenders at Stalingrad

3. 
   What was the goal of the D-Day Invasion?