ShmoopTube

Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.

Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos

U.S. History 1877-Present 9.3: America at War 32 Views


Share It!


Description:

You know when your favorite superhero teams up with somebody kind of shady to fight the Big Bad? That's basically how America, the U.K., and the Soviet Union ended up teaming up to win WWII.

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:03

By 1942, when the first U.S. troops arrived in Europe, German [U.S. boats going to Europe]

00:08

troops were breathing down the necks of the British. Yeah, it was kind of creepy. [German troops marching]

00:12

Way too moist, there, Germans. Hitler had managed to trample the Polish and French [Hitler on a tank]

00:16

armies and continue to push westward. It was kind of like America in pioneer days,

00:21

except the Nazis had tanks instead of covered wagons. Although it's rumored that [covered wagon traveling]

00:25

Hitler did sometimes we're a pretty pink bonnet. The Nazis were also dominating in [Hitler riding tank]

00:29

the waters. German submarines or U-boats were way more powerful and [U-boat fires]

00:34

technologically advanced, and had destroyed Allied battleships by the

00:37

score. Hitler's armies had also invaded Russia in June of 1941, and the Soviet [Nazis marching]

00:43

Union's Red Armies suffered horrendous casualties trying to give the Germans [Germans attacking]

00:47

the boot. Russian dictator Stalin complained that his nation was bearing

00:51

the brunt of the war and demanded the Allies help him out. Even though they [Stalin talking]

00:55

weren't cool with Stalin, President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister

00:58

Winston Churchill agreed to limited cooperation. The Nazis were the one force [Stalin meets with FDR and Churchill]

01:02

on earth they thought were worse enemies than communists. In return, Stalin said he'd

01:07

help defeat Japan once Germany had been dealt with. In September of 1943,

01:12

following successful Allied campaigns in the Mediterranean, the Italian government [Italy surrenders]

01:17

had surrendered. By the summer of 1944, Germany was the last

01:21

of the Axis forces in Europe. Still, the Nazis were holding strong in much of [Nazis march]

01:25

Italy and all of France. Hitler's momentum had not yet been broken. Like the [Energizer bunny appears]

01:29

Energizer Bunny, he kept going, and going, and going. We here at Shmoop would like

01:33

to apologize to the Energizer Bunny for that comparison... we'll send you a fruit [bunny with fruit]

01:37

basket or something. In the end, Allied leaders decided the best thing to do was attack

01:42

German forces in France. By June 1944, nearly 3 million troops, thousands of

01:48

fighter planes and ships, and 2.5 million tons of supplies had been gathered in [troops and machinery pictured]

01:53

Great Britain in preparation for a large-scale assault. The crafty Allies

01:58

even made a bunch of fake rubber tanks and put them in places to confuse Hitler [Hitler confused by rubber tank]

02:01

as to where they were planning to attack. Too bad giant dogs didn't come by

02:06

and chew on the huge rubber toys... that would have been really confusing [dog takes tank]

02:09

there for Hitler... and maybe everybody else. Well, on June 6,

02:12

swarms of troops and armored military vehicles landed on the beaches [troops land at Normandy]

02:16

of Normandy in northern France. The rubber tank ploy had worked, and the

02:21

Nazis were caught with their pants down. Sorry, yeah... awkward image there. Still, the [pants-less Nazis]

02:25

Nazis mobilized quickly, and what followed was one of the most brutal

02:28

battles in history. Thousands of G.I.s died that day as they tried to break through [Normandy photos]

02:33

German defenses. But in the end, despite awful casualties, the Allies had achieved

02:37

their goal by establishing a hold in Normandy. The war was far from over, but

02:41

by August, German troops had begun to retreat, and by August 25, Paris had [Paris liberated]

02:46

been liberated, which was happy. Down half a million men, Nazi armies hightailed

02:50

it back to Germany to defend their borders. That didn't work out too well [Nazis returned to Germany]

02:54

for the Nazis. By January 1945, Allied armies had pushed

02:57

Hitler's troops even further into Germany's interior, and by March, Germany [Allied armies close in]

03:02

had been all but defeated. As Stalin's Red Army marched on Berlin, Adolph Hitler [Russians march on Berlin]

03:07

decided to make some changes in his life. On April 29, he married his

03:11

longtime girlfriend, Eva Braun, and then on April 30, they both [Hitler gets married]

03:15

committed suicide along with many of Hitler's inner circle. Not long after, the [Hitler and Eva die]

03:19

German government decided it was time to call it quits, and the war in Europe [war ends photo]

03:22

ended on September 8, 1945. It was a great day... well, maybe not for the Germans.

Up Next

Why Does the Constitution Still Work for Us?
5721 Views

Ever heard of a "living document"? They eat and breathe just like the rest of us! They even walk around on their own two legs. Okay, fine—maybe t...

Related Videos

The Puritans and the Division of Church and State
1280 Views

If the Puritans had gotten their way, religion would play a much larger role in lawmaking these days. Want to know more? Watch the video for all th...

Shays' Rebellion
6346 Views

What happened between the creation of the Articles of Confederation and the ratification of the current U.S. Constitution? This video analyzes the...

There's More Than One Way to Crack a Modernist Egg
539 Views

The Modernists thought the world had a lot of problems, and they were intent on fixing them—or at least talking about fixing them. Unfortunately,...

Federalism
2532 Views

This video explains Federalism and the quest for a fair balance between state and national power. It covers the progression and compromises of Fede...