Tough Old Gut

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Tough Old Gut
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Part I. North Africa

• Hitlers Victories (against France, but also in
  keeping Britain pinned down during the Battle of
  Britain and the Battle of the Atlantic) allowed
  Mussolini the opportunity to rebuild the Roman
  Empire
• Luftwaffe (and Italian air force) controlled the
  air over the Mediterranean, and so for a good
  spell it was mostly closed to allied shipping
• Italians already held colonies in North Africa

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Italian Advantages

• 215 k troops versus 50 k British troops
• Dont forget, the British were desperately
  guarding their home island, the Middle East,
  Asia, etc.
• Reading from Churchill (page 401)- 1940
  Englands greatest hour

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Egypt/Suez Canal
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British Torpedoed Italian Fleet at Taranto

• Gave the British naval superiority in the
  Mediterranean (if only they could win the air)
• Inspired the Japanese to consider Pearl Harbor
  attack

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British Beat Back the Bad Battling Italians

• I dont know much about how this happened
• Hitler, worried about prestige, sent the
  Afrikakorp and Rommel (the Desert Fox)
• Gained fame during the Blitzkrieg into France
• Clip from Churchill (page 499-500) Unique aspects
  of desert warfare

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The Afrikakorp Battered the British

• Fortress at Tobruk Holds Out
• Made it hard for Rommel to fully attack into
  Egypt
• Eventually, Tobruk fell to a smaller German army
  (despite being fortified

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Impact of Barbarossa

• Drains off some of Hitlers manpower and focus
  from North Africa
• for example, Germans lose air domination of
  Mediterranean and North Africa
• Stalin wants a 2nd front in France
• Allies agree only to step up their fighting in
  North Africa
• Operation Torch- an Anglo-British landing in
  North West Africa (Morocco)
• Churchill argued for another 2nd front in
  Norway
• Compares his model to Britains left and right
  claws grabbing at Hitler, while the fangs prepare
  for a later frontal assault
• There was an attack on Dieppe, in France, which
  was a much smaller D-Day
• Had the advantage of a practice run, but pretty
  darn costly

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After the Fall of Tobruk, Rommel Wants to Pierce
Egypt and take Suez and the Middle East

• British commander in North Africa is relieved and
  replaced by Montgomery (Monty)
• Anecdote about Montgomerys pity for Rommel (page
  613 and 614 in Churchill)
• Morale grows under Montgomery

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Pause as Both Sides Prepare A Decisive Battle in
Egypt

• Eventual Battle will be at El Alamein
• Problem for Rommel
• Qattara Depression
• Allies planted a phony map showing only one good
  route North of this depression
• Then they super-fortified this route
• Rommel bit
• His attack was beaten back with heavy losses
• He also started to have major supply problems as
  the allied air forces started to own the
  Mediterranean
• Rommel himself was very ill at this point

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Allied Counterattack is Delayed to Wait for the
perfect Moment

• Clip on page 644 -645 of Churchill talking about
  the connection between luck and fate in world
  events

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El Alamein

• British built up a 2-1 numerical advantage in
  force
• No opportunity for a fancy maneuver against the
  Germans they had a solid wall of resistance
• blast a hole in their lines in broad daylight
• See pages 648-653 for the action

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Operation Torch

• American and British attack into Northwest Africa
• 1st time American ground forces would engage the
  Axis
• U-boat danger in assembling a strike force
• British ships sailed from England
• U.S. ships from the U.S.
• Allies managed to remain undetected since they
  increasingly controlled the skies
• French forces put in a very awkward position
• Their commanding officers are Vichy appointed,
  and thus collaborationist
• To go against their commanders is treason -?
  death
• As a result, many French soldiers and officers
  died fighting the Americans and British despite
  wanting the French and British to win
• Churchill- We may all be thankful if our lives
  have not been rent by such dire problems and
  conflicting loyalties

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Part II- Italy
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Sicily

• Largest Amphibious invasion before D-Day
• Argument among allied commanders
• A) We should stop with our complete victory in
  North Africa and wait until next year (1944) with
  all of our forces for a direct assault on France
• B) We cannot let our army sit useless for a year
  Russia needs us. Attack Italy.
• Allies bombarded lots of places before invading
  Sicily to hide their intentions
• Example, Sardinia
• Bad weather on the day of the attack, which might
  have been a nightmare, but probably caused the
  defenders to let down their guards

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Sicily (cont.)

• Glider forces sent in to capture a key bridge on
  Sicily
• Over a third of them got lost and landed in the
  water- much drowning
• Of the 65 soldiers who got to the bridge (and
  held it until they were relieved over a day
  later), 19 survived
• Sicily has a great mountain in the middle of it,
  so Axis could watch allied troop movements
• Nonetheless, Axis quickly decided to retreat to
  Italy
• Sicily captured

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The Fall of Mussolini

• Rome was bombed after Sicily fell
• Hitler couldnt send many reinforcements because
  of his Eastern front problems (we are now
  post-Stalingrad)
• High ranking Italians removed Mussolini
• They signed a treaty with the allies ending
  Italian resistance to the invasion of Italy
• Hitler decided to defend Italy
• Churchill called this a horrible blunder
• By trying to hold all of his gains, he made it
  certain that he would lose all of them
• He Hitler could, for instance, have met the
  British and Americans at the 40th or 50th day
  after their landing in Normandy a year later with
  fresh and greatly superior forces. There was no
  need to consume his strength in Italy and the
  Balkans, and the fact that he was induced to do
  so must be taken as the waste of his last
  opportunity.

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The Invasion of Italy

• In the confusion of the surrender, the allies
  managed to land on the toe and heel of Italy
  without much opposition
• They started to fight their way North
• Very difficult fighting- fast rivers, high
  mountains
• Argument between Churchill and the Americans
  about how much force to focus on Italy
• Churchill- Overlord (D-Day) isnt scheduled for
  5 months. Lets use our forces to push in Italy
• Americans We cant do ANYTHING that will
  jeopardize Overlord
• Central shortage- LSTs (landing craft, tanks)

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A DARING RESCUE AT Gran Sasson!

• Mussolini was rescued by Hitlers special forces
• Glider, planes, no shots fired, etc.
• Put in charge of the German held part of Italy
• Why the quotes around in charge?

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Not a Super Fun Time To Be Italian

• Chaos
• One day youre with Hitler, then with the allies,
  then with Hitler again
• If you accidentally showed too much enthusiasm
  for one side, when the other side took over you
  got shot
• Large groups of Italian soldiers were shot by
  angry German soldiers for surrendering

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Anzio

• To break stalemate south of Rome, amphibious
  invasion launched at Anzio
• Surprise was achieved
• The landing was virtually unopposed
• Surprise was squandered
• According to Churchill, his generals were too
  tentative in advancing inland and gave the
  Germans time to surround and contain (but not
  destroy) the landing group
• I had thought we were unleashing a wildcat on
  the beaches at Anzio, but what we got instead was
  a beached whale

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Rome and the rest of 1944

• After months of stalemated battles, the allies
  broke through at both Anzio and Monte Cassino and
  took Rome
• For the rest of 1944 (until winter made progress
  impractical), the allies inched northwards
• After D-Day, Anvil/Dragoon, an attack from
  Italy into the southern French Riviera to support
  the D-Day invasion further weakened the allied
  effort in Italy
• Churchill thought Dragoon was basically a waste

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In Spring, 1945, the final Axis defensive line in
Italy was pierced and the Germans surrendered in
Italy, 6 days before their general European
surrender
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Mussolinis Death

• During the final allied breakthrough, Mussolini
  and some followers tried to drive north in the
  hopes of finding a safe place to continue the
  resistance
• They were taken prisoner by Italian partisans
• The next day they were executed and driven to a
  central square in Milan
• A crowd mangled their dead bodies and then they
  were hung up on meat hooks as a symbol of
  dishonor
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benito_MussoliniDeat
  h (American newsreel coverage of the death)

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Hansen Name ________________WWII Tough
Old Gut

• Part I. North Africa
• Hitlers Victories (against France, but also in
  keeping Britain pinned down during the Battle of
  Britain and the Battle of the Atlantic) allowed
  ________ _________________________________________
  _____________________
• Luftwaffe (and Italian air force)
  ___________________________________, and so for a
  good spell it was mostly closed to
  _______________________
• Italians already held colonies in
  _____________________
• Italian Advantages
• _______ troops versus _________ British troops
• Dont forget, the British were desperately
  guarding __________ ______________________________
  ______________________
• Reading from Churchill (page 401)- 1940
  Englands greatest hour
• Egypt/Suez Canal- ________________________________
  _____
• British Torpedoed Italian Fleet at ___________
• Gave the British naval superiority in the
  Mediterranean (if only they could win the air)
• Inspired the _____________________________________
  ________
• British Beat Back the Bad Battling Italians
• I dont know much about how this happened
• Hitler, worried about prestige, sent the
  ______________ and Rommel (the ___________________
  )
• Gained fame during the ___________________________
  _________
• Clip from Churchill (page 499-500) Unique aspects
  of desert warfare
• The Afrikakorp Battered the British
• Fortress at ____________________

• After the Fall of Tobruk, Rommel Wants to Pierce
  __________________ _______________________ and
  the Middle East
• British commander in North Africa is relieved and
  replaced by ____________________________________
• Anecdote about Montgomerys pity for Rommel (page
  613 and 614 in Churchill)
• Morale _____________ under Montgomery
• Pause as Both Sides Prepare A ____________________
  _____________
• Eventual Battle will be at _______________________
  
• Problem for Rommel
• ________________________________
• Allies planted a _________________________________
  __ only one good route North of this depression
• Then they ______________________ this route
• Rommel ________________
• His attack was beaten back _______________________
  ___
• He also started to have __________________________
  __ as the allied air forces started to own the
  Mediterranean
• Rommel himself was very _______ at this point
• Allied Counterattack is Delayed to Wait for the
  perfect Moment
• Clip on page 644 -645 of Churchill talking about
  the connection between luck and fate in world
  events
• El Alamein
• British built up a _______ numerical advantage in
  force
• No opportunity for a fancy maneuver against the
  Germans they had a solid wall of resistance

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• Part II- Italy
• Sicily
• _________________________________________ before
  D-Day
• Argument among allied commanders
• A) We should stop with our complete victory in
  North Africa and wait until next year (1944) with
  all of our forces for a direct assault on France
• B) We cannot let our army sit useless for a year
  Russia needs us. Attack Italy.
• Allies bombarded lots of places before invading
  Sicily to ____________________
• Example, Sardinia
• Bad weather on the day of the attack, which might
  have been a nightmare, but probably
  __________________________________________________
  _______
• _____________________ sent in to capture a key
  bridge on Sicily
• Over a third of them got lost and landed in the
  water- much drowning
• Of the 65 soldiers who got to the bridge (and
  held it until they were relieved over a day
  later), ___________________
• Sicily has a great __________________ in the
  middle of it, so Axis could watch allied troop
  movements
• Nonetheless, Axis quickly decided to retreat to
  Italy
• ____________________________
• The Fall of Mussolini
• Rome was __________________ after Sicily fell
• Hitler couldnt send _____________________________
  ____________________ __________________ (we are
  now post-Stalingrad)
• High ranking Italians removed Mussolini

• A Daring __________________ at Gran Sasso!
• Mussolini was rescued by Hitlers special forces
• _____________________________________________
• Put ________________ of the German held part of
  Italy
• Why the quotes around in charge?
• Not a _____________________Time to Be Italian
• Chaos
• One day youre with Hitler, then with the allies,
  then with Hitler again
• If you _________________________________________
  _______________, when the other side took over
  you got shot
• Large groups of Italian soldiers were
  ____________________ _____________________________
  _______ for surrendering
• Anzio
• To break _________________________________________
  ________, amphibious invasion launched at Anzio
• Surprise was achieved
• The landing was virtually unopposed
• Surprise was ___________________________
• According to Churchill, his generals were too
  tentative in advancing inland and gave the
  Germans time to surround and contain (but not
  destroy) the landing group
• I had thought we were unleashing a ___________
  on the beaches at Anzio, but what we got instead
  was a ___________
• Rome and the Rest of 1944
• After months of stalemated battles, the allies
  broke through at both Anzio and Monte Cassino and
  took Rome