D-Day. June 6th, 1944

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1 D-Day June 6th, 1944

2 The Move on to France Because the Germans were being fought in Italy, the allies planned to move forward with their plan to open up the western front in Europe

The Plan Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt agreed it was time to open up a new front in the West through the beaches of France The choice for a

3 The Plan Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt agreed it was time to open up a new front in the West through the beaches of France The choice for a landing area was the Pas de Calais so the Allies decided to attack in Normandy instead They decided to trick the Germans that they would attack somewhere else

4 Normandy It Is! Normandy is a peninsula on the French Coast It was chosen because the Germans expected the attack to be on the Pas de Calais

prevented from bringing up reinforcements quickly once the allies landed

5 The Criteria The enemy must not know where the Allies will attack The enemy must be prevented from bringing up reinforcements quickly once the allies landed Complete Allied air and naval superiority in the English Channel Local defences must largely be destroyed by air and sea bombardment (bombs)

6 Operation Overlord There would be five sectors that would be attacked: Utah American Omaha American Gold British Juno Canadian Sword - British

7 th The Attack June 6, 1944 Operation Overlord Simulation

The Atlantic Wall The Atlantic Wall was an extensive wall built by the Germans between 1942 and 1944 Built along the western coast of Europe to defend against an anticipated

8 The Atlantic Wall The Atlantic Wall was an extensive wall built by the Germans between 1942 and 1944 Built along the western coast of Europe to defend against an anticipated Anglo-American led Allied invasion of the continent from Great Britain. Thousands of forced laborers were forced to construct these permanent fortifications along the Dutch, Belgian and French coasts

assigned to improve the defenses of the Wall.

9 The Atlantic Wall Early in 1944, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel Minefields and antitank obstacles were planted on the beaches and underwater obstacles and mines were planted in the waters just off shore to destroy incoming boats was assigned to improve the defenses of the Wall. They built concrete pillboxes along the beaches to house machine guns, antitank guns, and light artillery. By the time of the invasion, the Germans had laid almost 6 million mines in northern

10 The Atlantic Wall!

11 The Time Has Come On the evening of June 5th paratroopers dropped in to secure bridges for the allied advance Heavy bombers dropped bombs on what was supposed to be the beach defences In the early morning the largest group of ships left Britain for the French coast

and 10,000 sailors in support of the landings while the R.C.A.F.

12 The Canadians on D-Day Of the nearly 150,000 Allied troops who landed or parachuted into the invasion area, 14,000 were Canadians The Royal Canadian Navy contributed 110 ships and 10,000 sailors in support of the landings while the R.C.A.F. had helped prepare the invasion by bombing targets inland Canadians suffered 1074 casualties, including 359 killed.

the south to encircle the German forces in Normandy.

13 The Battle for Normandy For the first month following the D-Day landings, a stalemate developed during which the Allies built up their forces In July Canadian troops helped capture Caen and then turned towards Falaise where they aimed at joining an American advance from the south to encircle the German forces in Normandy. By August 21, the Germans had either retreated or been destroyed between the Canadian-British and American pincers The ten-week Normandy Campaign cost the Canadians alone more than 18,000 casualties, 5000 of them fatal.

The Liberation of Northwest Europe September 1944 the British captured the Belgian port of Antwerp It was a key victory for the allies because they needed ports to bring in supplies The problem was

14 The Liberation of Northwest Europe September 1944 the British captured the Belgian port of Antwerp It was a key victory for the allies because they needed ports to bring in supplies The problem was that the Germans occupied both banks of the 70-kilometre long Scheldt River estuary linking Antwerp to the sea. The 2nd Canadian Army under the command of Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds was assigned to the task of securing the Scheldt Estuary

15 Liberating The Scheldt Estuary The Battle of the Scheldt, was a series of military operations which took place in northern Belgium and southwestern Netherlands from October 2 to November 8, 1944 By September, 1944, the Allies needed to clear both banks of the Scheldt Estuary in order to open the port of Antwerp to Allied shipping The British captured Antwerp on September 4th, 1944 but the Germans still controlled the Scheldt Estuary making the port useless

Estuary The Allies finally cleared the port areas on November 8, but at a cost

17 The Scheldt Con t After five weeks of difficult fighting, the First Canadian Army with support from other countries was successful in securing the Scheldt Estuary The Allies finally cleared the port areas on November 8, but at a cost of 12,873 Allied casualties (killed, wounded, or missing), half of them Canadians.

18 The Final Days In April 1945, the battle is coming to a close. On the 30th April, Hitler commits suicide together with his mistress Eva Braun hours after they were married. Hitler gave strict orders for his body to be burned, so that his enemies wouldn't do what they had done to Mussolini, who was publicly displayed hanging upside down.

the conqueror of Berlin. The battle for Berlin cost the Soviets over 70,000 dead.

19 The Soviets Arrive Berlin Falls By 2 May, the Reichstag, the old German parliament falls and Berlin surrenders to Marshall Zukhov, who receives the honour of being the conqueror of Berlin. The battle for Berlin cost the Soviets over 70,000 dead. Many of them died because of they had to move very quickly and weren t able to plan.

troops liberated most of the Netherlands The Germans formally

20 VE-Day The major Allied ground offensive from the west against German territory began on 8 February 1945 In April, Canadian troops liberated most of the Netherlands The Germans formally surrendered on 8 May 1945, known as Victory-in-Europe, or V-E Day

Hiroshima and Nagasaki Following FDR s death, Harry Truman becomes President of the United States Truman decided to use the bomb on Japan because he believed that it was the

21 Hiroshima and Nagasaki Following FDR s death, Harry Truman becomes President of the United States Truman decided to use the bomb on Japan because he believed that it was the only way to get the Japanese to surrender and save American lives On August 6th, 1945 a lone B-29 Superfortress called the Enola Gay by its crew took off and headed for Hiroshima

Fat Man and Little Boy At 8:15am the atomic bomb nicknamed Little Boy was dropped on Hiroshima Within seconds two thirds of the city was flattened and thousands were dead On

22 Fat Man and Little Boy At 8:15am the atomic bomb nicknamed Little Boy was dropped on Hiroshima Within seconds two thirds of the city was flattened and thousands were dead On August 11, a bomb called Fat Man was dropped on Nagasaki at 11:02 am At noon, August 15th, 1945 Emperor Hirohito spoke directly to his people to tell them Japan had surrendered

23 Why Did the Allies Win? Complete material superiority weapons etc. More soldiers Better Strategy Technology Morale Material and financial Wealth

Canada s Contributions Abroad WWII

Canada s Contributions Abroad WWII Battle of the Atlantic (1939-1945) Struggle between the Allied and German forces for control of the Atlantic Ocean. The Allies needed to keep the vital flow of men and