1. Striking Germany and Italy
1.1. Strategic Bombing
1.1.1. Between January 1943 and May 1945, the Royal Air Force and the United States Eighth Army Air Force dropped approximately 53,000 tons (48,230 t) of explosives on Germany every month.
1.1.2. The bombing campaign did not destroy Germany’s economy or undermine German morale, but it did cause a severe oil shortage and wrecked the railroad system. It also destroyed so many aircraft factories that Germany’s air force could not replace its losses.
1.2. Striking the Soft Underbelly
1.2.1. The invasion began before dawn on July 10, 1943
1.2.1.1. Eight days after the troops came ashore, American tanks smashed through enemy lines and captured the western half of the island. Patton’s troops then headed east, while the British attacked from the south. By August 18, Germany evacuated the island.
1.2.1.2. The Italian campaign was one of the bloodiest in the war, there were more than 300,000 Allied casualties.
1.3. The Tehran Conference
1.3.1. Roosevelt wanted to meet with Stalin before the Allies invaded France. In late 1943, Stalin agreed, and Roosevelt and Churchill meet him in Tehran, Iran.
1.3.1.1. The Soviets will help the U.S. against Japan. Also, Stalin agreed to Roosevelt’s proposal of an international peace keeping organization after the war.
1.3.1.2. Roosevelt and Stalin reached many agreements. Stalin promised to launch a full-scale offensive against the Germans when the Allies invaded France in 1944. In addition, Roosevelt and Stalin agreed to divide Germany after the war so that it would never again threaten world peace.
2. Landing in France
2.1. Planning Operation Overlord
2.1.1. By the spring of 1944, more than 1.5 million American soldiers, 12,000 airplanes, and 5 million tons (4.6 million t) of equipment had been sent to England.
2.1.2. Allies had the advantage of surprise because the Germans did not know where the allies would land. The Germans believed that the Allies would land in Pas-de-Calais.
2.1.2.1. The Allies placed dummy equipment along the coast across from Calais as decoys. The real target was to be further south, at five beaches covering a 60-mile spread along the Normandy coast.
2.1.3. June 5 to 7, 1944. Eisenhower’s planning staff referred to the day any operation began by the letter D. The date for the invasion, therefore, came to be known as D-Day.
2.2. The Longest Day
2.2.1. Nearly 7,000 ships carrying more than 100,000 soldiers headed for Normandy’s coast. At the same time, 23,000 paratroopers were dropped inland, east and west of the beaches. Allied fighter-bombers raced up and down the coast, hitting bridges, bunkers, and radar sites.
2.2.2. General Omar Bradley, commander of the American forces landing at Omaha and Utah, began making plans to evacuate. Slowly, however, the American troops began to knock out the German defenses.
2.2.3. By the end of the day, nearly 35,000 American troops had landed at Omaha, and another 23,000 had landed at Utah. More than 75,000 British and Canadian troops were on shore as well. The invasion—the largest amphibious operation in history—had succeeded. This day was called D-Day
3. Driving Japan Back
3.1. Island-Hopping in the Pacific
3.1.1. The Marhall Islands
3.1.1.1. The Navy's first objective was to capture the Japanese base on Tarawa.
3.1.1.1.1. Tarawa was captured so the United States could put air bases down so the United States could put air bases down.
3.1.1.1.2. When the landing craft hit the reef, at least 20 ships ran aground. The marines had to plunge into shoulder-high water and wade several hundred yards to the beach.
3.1.1.1.3. United States Marines would be raked with Japanese fire, only one marine in three made it ashore.
3.1.1.1.4. The Amptrac was used on the island to deliver the troops to the beaches.
3.1.1.1.5. More that 1,000 marines died on Tarawa.
3.1.1.2. The next assault was Kwajalein Atoll.
3.1.1.2.1. This assualt went much more smoothly because all of the troops went ashore in amptracs.
3.1.1.2.2. There was far fewer casualties here than Tarawa.
3.1.2. The Mariana Islands
3.1.2.1. American Military Planers wanted to use these islands as a base for the new heavy bomber, the B-29 Superfortress.
3.1.2.2. Admiral Nimitz decided to capture the three islands Saipan, Tinian, and Guam.
3.1.2.2.1. All of the islands were captured by August 1944.
3.1.3. Many of the islands were coral reef atolls. The water over the coral reef was not always deep enough to allow landing craft to get to the shore.
3.1.4. By the fall of 1943, the navy was ready to launch its island-hopping campaign, but the geography of the central Pacific posed a problem.
3.1.4.1. The Islands that were taken were from the Marhall and Marina Islands.
3.1.4.1.1. Marinana Islands: Saipan, Tinian, and Guam.
3.1.4.1.2. The Marshall Islands: Tarawa and Kwajalein Atoll.
3.2. MacArthur Returns
3.2.1. Macarthur then ordered his men to travel 600 miles to capture the Japanese base at Hollandia on the north coast of New Guinea.
3.2.1.1. Shortley after securring New Guinea, MacArthur’s troops seized the island of Morotai. This was the last stop before the Philippines.
3.2.2. General Douglas MacArthur's first campaign began by invading Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands in August 1942.
3.2.2.1. This continued until early 1944, when MacArthur's troops finally captured enough islands to surround the main Japanese base in the region.
3.2.2.1.1. The Japanese responeded by withdrawing their ships and aircraft from the base.
3.2.2.1.2. The Japanese would leave 100,000 troops behind to hold the island.
3.2.3. MacArthur lead America to take back the Philippines, the United States assembled an enormous invasion force.
3.2.3.1. In October 1944, more than 700 ships carrying more than 160,000 troops sailed for Leyte Gulf in the Philippines.
3.2.3.2. On October 20, the troops began to land on Leyte, an island on the eastern side of the Philippines. A few hours after the invasion began, MacArthur headed to the beach.
3.2.3.3. The Battle of Leyte Gulf was the largest naval battle in history.
3.2.3.3.1. Although the Japanese fleet had retreated, the campaign to recapture the Philippines from the Japanese was long and grueling. More than 80,000 Japanese were killed; fewer than 1,000 surrendered. MacArthur’s troops did not capture Manila until March 1945.