War for Europe & North Africa

1. To what did Roosevelt and Churchill agree early in the war?
Roosevelt and Churchill agreed that they would become alliances in the war very early on after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. The two agreed early that Italy and Germany were a bigger threat than Japan, so they decided to strike first against Hitler. When the Allies gained power in Europe, they could poor resources into the Pacific war.


2. Why was winning the Battle of the Atlantic so crucial to the fortunes of the Allies?
Winning the battle was crucial to the fortunes of the Allies because Britain depended on supplies from the Sea and Germany would have cut off the supplies that Britain was getting if they won the Battle of the Atlantic. The three thousand mile long shipping lanes from North America were her lifeline and Hitler knew that if he somehow cut off the lanes than Britain would be starved into submission. If the Allies lost then Britain would be cut off of supplies and resources and would no longer be able to fight to full capacity.

3. Why was the Battle of Stalingrad so important?
The Battle of Stalingrad was so important because it was a turning point in the war. At first, Germany was advancing through the Soviet Union and they were looking stronger than ever, and if they had taken over Stalingrad and the rest of the Soviet Union, they would have won the war by a long shot, except the winter came to the rescue and helped the Soviet's keep Germany out. From that point on, the Soviet army began pushing westward towards Germany and surrounded the Nazi's with the Allies. It was the beginning of the end for Germany.

4. What happened in the war in North Africa?
Allied troops landed in the Algiers in North Africa. They sped eastward following the Afrika Korps, they fought for months and then the last of the Afrika Korps surrendered in the May of 1943. British General Harold Alexander reported that the Allies were in control of the North African shores.

5. What happened after the Allies invaded Italy?
After the Allies invaded Italy, Hitler wanted greatly to fight the Allies in Italy rather than in Germany. One of the hardest battles the Allies fought in Europe was fought less then forty miles from Rome. The battle called the "Bloody Anzio" lasted about four months and ended in the May of 1944. There was about twenty five thousand Allie casualties and thirty thousand Axis casualties. German armies continued to put up strong resistance but eventually Italy collapsed as well as Germany itself.