The Path to Victory in Europe

What was the Lend Lease Program? Who was America’s common partner in this program?

the sending of supplies to our allied nations, britain

What was the Second Front Issue? Who wanted this second front? Why? Where would the second front be opened?

our allies wanted a second front against the nazis, joseph stalin, the bulk of the german forces were crushing russia, the second front would be opened in france

What was Operation TORCH? When was it?

three landing forces land in morocco, algeria in 1942

Why was Operation TORCH launched in Morocco?

puppet state of germany, assumed the vichy french would not fight

Where did US forces go from Algeria? Where did General Montgomery go? What happened to our forces because of this?

east, he went west, got cornered in tunisia

What happened at Kasserine Pass? How/why? When was it?

general rommel launches a surprise attack on the us forces, because the forces had become separated and poorly positioned, valentines day

What Division was most affected at Kasserine Pass? Why may Kasserine Pass been a good thing?

first armored division, was a wake up call to what needed fixing

Who was George Patton? When did he take over?

army general who whipped the army into shape, after kasserine pass

What was General Patton good at? What did he improve off of this?

addressing problems, better equipment, improved training, competent subordinates, regular mail service

Where did George Patton trap the Germans and Italians?

Tunisia

What tactic of bombing did the US use in Europe?

precision bombing

what kind of bombers did the US use?

b-17’s and b-24’s

What is Precision Bombing?

looking for specific industrial targets to damage the war effort

What tactics did the British use in Europe? What time of day did they do this?

area bombing, night

What was the most dangerous place to serve in the US armed forces during WW2?

8th air force

What was operation HUSKY?

montgomery and patton invade sicily, somewhat passive. provides no great victory and allowed the germans to evacuate

What was operation AVALANCHE?

mark clark invades italy and overthrows mussolini. knocks italy out of fight, germans stay in it

Why was the entire italian campaign bad/desultory?

germans had terrain advantage and cause a lot of delays

When was D-Day?

june 6th, 1944

What divisions dropped first on D-Day?

three parachute divisons, one british and the american 82nd and 101st

How many divisions of infantry came ashore on D-Day?

six

How many beach heads were there on D-Day?

five

On which beach did forces land virtually unopposed?

utah

What was the worst/most deadly beach?

omaha

Why was Omaha beach the worst?

germans occupied the bluffs and had flak

Which beaches did the British and Canadians take?

gold, juno, and sword

Where did the breakout from Normandy bog down?

the bocage country

What was operation COBRA?

the bombing of the germans on the front to break out of normandy