Existing comment:
"... you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world."
-- Gen. Dwight D Eisenhower, D-Day Order, 6 June 1944
Breaching Fortress Europa:
A few days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, America joined the Allies in their fight against the European Axis of Germany and Italy. The reclamation of German-occupied Europe, Hitler's "Fortress Europa," would be largely achieved by ground troops and air forces, but sea power provided an indispensable foundation for victory. The United States Navy, British Royal Navy, and warships of other allied nations escorted merchant ships carrying essential supplies and troops, and waged unrelenting war against the deadly German U-boat.
Victory in Europe:
By the spring of 1945, the war in Europe was drawing to its thunderous conclusion. The German armies, reduced to mobs of terrified fugitives, now began to surrender to the British and Americans.
In the early hours of 7 May 1945, German Field Marshal General Alfred Jodl journeyed to General Eisenhower's Supreme Allied Headquarters at Reims, France, and signed the general surrender document. At 2301 on 8 May 1945, World War II officially ended in Europe. |