World War II: Allied Strategy Disagreement

• The US entered the war, Joseph Stalin urged President Roosevelt to open a second front in Europe.
• In 1942 Allied forces started winning victories in Europe.
• Stalin wanted British and American troops to open a western front to alleviate pressure on the Soviet Union.

Strategy Disagreement

• Churchill did not believe the United States and Great Britain were ready for a full-scale European invasion.
• Churchill wanted to attack the periphery of the German empire instead.
• Roosevelt wanted to get American troops into battle in Europe.
• Churchill urged caution.
• Roosevelt agreed with Churchill's plan.
• In July 1942, he ordered the invasion of Morocco and Algeria, two French territories under German control.

Reasons for Invasion

• The invasion gave the army experience without needing many troops.
• American troops in North Africa could help British troops fighting Germans in Egypt.

Importance of the Suez Canal

• Most of Britain's empire used the Suez Canal to send supplies to Britain.
• Included India, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaya, and Australia.
• Egypt was very important to Britain for this reason.
• Britain would be devastated if it lost the canal.

German Forces in Africa

• The German forces were known as the "Afrika Korps."
• Commanded by General Erwin Rommel, nicknamed "Desert Fox".
• The British forced Rommel to retreat at the Battle of El Alamein.
• Rommel's forces remained a serious threat.

Operation Torch

• On November 8, 1942, the American invasion of North Africa began.
• Commanded by General Dwight D. Eisenhower.
• American forces in Morocco, led by General George Patton, captured Casablanca.
• Forces in Algeria seized Oran and Algiers.
• Americans headed east into Tunisia.
• British forces headed west into Libya.
• The plan was to trap Rommel between the two Allied forces.

Battle of Kasserine Pass

• American troops advanced into the mountains of western Tunisia and fought the German army for the first time.
• The Americans were outmaneuvered and outfought.
• They suffered about 7,000 casualties and lost nearly 200 tanks.

Allied Victory in North Africa

• Eisenhower fired the general who led the attack.
• Patton was put in command.
• The American and British forces pushed the Germans back.
• On May 13, 1943, the remaining German forces in North Africa surrendered.

The Battle of the Atlantic

• As American and British troops fought the German army in North Africa, the fight against German submarines in the Atlantic Ocean continued.
• German submarines targeted American cargo ships in American coastal waters.
• Cities on the East Coast dimmed their lights every evening to protect the ships.

Convoy System Implementation

• By August 1942, German submarines sunk about 360 American ships along the American coast.
• The losses convinced the U.S. Navy to set up a convoy system.
• Cargo ships traveled in groups and were escorted by navy warships.
• This improved the situation dramatically.
• It became hard for submarines get close enough to torpedo a cargo ship and escape without being attacked.

Effect of Mobilization for War

• In May and June, over 1.2 million tons of shipping were sunk.
• American and British shipyards built 1.1 million tons of new shipping during that time.
• From July 1942 onward, American shipyards were producing more ships than German submarines managed to sink.

New Technologies and Turn of Tides

• American airplanes and warships began to use new technology, including radar, sonar, and depth charges, to locate and attack submarines.
• The Battle of the Atlantic slowly turned in favor of the Allies.

Overall German War Situation in 1942

• Rommel's troops were pushing the British back in Egypt.
• German submarines were sinking American ships.
• The German army was preparing a new offensive to knock the Soviets out of the war.
• In the spring of 1942, before the situation changed Hitler was confident in a German Victory.
• Hitler believed that destroying the Soviet Union's economy was the only way to defeat them.

City of Stalingrad

• In May 1942, Hitler ordered his army to capture strategic oil fields, industries, and farmlands in southern Russia and Ukraine.
• Stalingrad controlled the Volga River and was a major railroad junction.
• Capturing Stalingrad would cut off the Soviets from needed resources .
• In mid-September, German troops entered Stalingrad.
• Stalin ordered his troops to hold the city at all cost.
• Retreat was forbidden.
• The Germans were forced to engage in house-to-house fighting, losing thousands of soldiers.

Battle of Stalingrad Outcome

• On November 23, Soviet reinforcements arrived and surrounded Stalingrad.
• Almost 250,000 German troops were trapped.
• When the battle ended, 91,000 Germans surrendered.
• Only 5,000 of them survived Soviet prison camps and returned home after the war.
• The Battle of Stalingrad marked a major turning point in the war, putting the Germans on the defensive.
• The Battle of Midway put the Japanese on the defensive, similarly.

In 1942, Stalin urged Roosevelt to open a second front in Europe. Churchill, however, wanted to attack the German empire's periphery, while Roosevelt aimed to get American troops into battle. They invaded Morocco and Algeria to help British troops fighting Germans in Egypt.