European+Theater

=The European Theater=

= = =The Western Front=

Famous Battles of the Western Front
===The Battle and Evacuation of Dunkirk===

The Battle and Evacuation of Dunkirk was an amazing and heroic allied success. As the Germans were swooping through France, the allied forces were pinned in the northernmost corner of the country at the English Channel. All of the escape routes were blocked for the allies. As the German commander General Gerd von Rundstedt was ordered to press the attack, the British General Lord Gort called the evacuation of northern France. The allied forces formed a perimeter around the town of Dunkirk as British leaders planned out the evacuation. Operation Dynamo was put into effect and warships were sent to the English Channel to assist the allies. Commercial vessels, such as fishing boats and leisure boats were sent to pick up the soldiers. Over 300,000 allied troops were rescued from Dunkirk.

===The Battle of Britain===

The Battle of Britain in 1940 began in the skies above the English Channel. It officially began on August 13, when the German pilots attacked the Royal Air Force. After France had been liberated, Britain was the only major force opposing the German advance. As an act of revenge towards the bombing of Berlin, Hitler ordered the Luftwaffe to attack and bomb British cities and towns. Strikes against London began on September 7. The bombings were to destroy British morale and continued until May 1941. Because the Germans were concentrating on attacking British civilians, the was able to strike against the Luftwaffe. After Hitler decided that he needed to support the eastern front, the British had one and successfully defended their homeland.

====== The Battle of the Bulge was a major event in the war. It lasted from December 16, 1944 to January 25, 1945. Hitler wanted to deteriorate the fighting in the West so that he could concentrate mostly on his battles with the Soviet Union. The plan was to cut the allies off from support of the sea and to separate the British and the American forces. The German attack was only successful for a couple of days. They were able to create a "bulge" in the allied front line, but their attack was mostly based on armored vehicles, which required fuel that the Germans did not have. The Americans began a counter-attack on the Germans and their lack of fuel led to the German defeat in the Battle of the Bulge.

Influential Leaders of the Western Front
===Charles De Gaulle===

Charles De Gaulle was the general who led the free French forces during World War Two. He started the French free system to resist Nazi control. His leadership helped break down the line of offense on the Germans and made them fall back. Because of his efforts, he inpired the French enough to gain their support to be elected president of France in the 1958 crisis.

===Dwight D. Eisenhower=== In 1941, Dwight D. Eisenhower was promoted to Brigadier General. His strongest point was his leadership organization while he served in the Army. His great leadership paid of immediately after he planned the successful invasion across the English Channel on D-Day. Eisenhower was also responsible for defense plans against the German offense during the Battle of the Bulge.

=**Eastern Front**=

Russia (U.S.S.R.)
In Russia there was a lot of battles that took place and some of these were the Invasion of Russia, Siege of Leningrad, and Stalingrad. In these wars there were roughly twenty five million people who died in Russia. after all of the battles this country was torn apart. Hitler took a lot of this land once they were done fighting.

**Famous Battles of the Eastern Front**
===The Invasion of Russia===

The Invasion of Russia took place on June 22, 1941 and continued until December 1941. The invasion was pushed back five weeks to June 22. Before invading Poland, Germany signed the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact, securing the eastern border of Germany. Almost everyone knew it was coming except the Soviet soldiers about to meet the onslaught. German commander Hermann Goering and Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, among others, tried to convince Hitler that significant gains could be made politically.

===The Siege of Leningrad===

The Siege of Leningrad (1941-1943) lasted almost two and half years. It began September 8, 1941. About one million people were killed. Hunger and cold became the city's greatest enemies. By the end of September, the city's oil and coal supplies were exhausted. This meant that the city was without any central heating.

The Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad in 1942 is considered by many historians to have been the turning point of World War Two in Europe. The Soviets fought during the winter of 1942-43 and even the townsfolk fought off the Germans with pitchforks and axes. Stalingrad was important because it was Russia's center of communication and manufacturing. Some major army groups were lost and 91,000 Germans were taken prisoner.

**Influential Leaders**
===Joseph Stalin===

Joseph Stalin was the leader of the Soviet Union during World War Two. There were a lot of things that he launched which includes a command economy, and the Great Purge which is a campaign to purge the communist party. In 1939 Stalin made the soviet union sign the non- aggression pact with the Nazi Germany. then the Germans didn't follow the pact that they signed, and Stalin then joined the Allies who faught against the Germans.