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The Course of World War II

The Course of World War II. The Course of WWII. EUROPE 1939. Victory and Stalemate. Blitzkrieg- “lighting war” Europe was stunned with the speed and efficiency of German attack

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The Course of World War II

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  1. The Course of World War II The Course of WWII EUROPE 1939

  2. Victory and Stalemate • Blitzkrieg- “lighting war” • Europe was stunned with the speed and efficiency of German attack • Poland: Armored columns or panzer divisions (strike force of 300 tanks and accompanying forces and supplies) and airplanes encircled the Polish troops

  3. Poland Attacked: Sept. 1, 1939 Blitzkrieg [“Lightening War”]

  4. Victory and Stalemate • After the invasion, regular infantry units moved in to hold the conquered territory • Within four weeks Poland surrendered • Sept. 28, 1939- Soviet Union and Germany divided Poland between them • Although, Hitler didn’t want to go to war with the West, France and Britain declared war. However, Hitler was confident enough he could take on the situation

  5. Victory and Stalemate • Expecting another war of attrition and economic blockade, Britain and France refused to go on the offensive • Between 1930-1935, France had built a series of concrete and steel fortifications armed with heavy artillery (Maginot Line) along its border with Germany • France was happy to remain in its defensive shell • After a winter of waiting “phony war,” Hitler resumed the war on April 9, 1940, with another “lightning war”

  6. Victory and Stalemate • Blitzkrieg- was against Denmark and Norway • May 10- Germans launched their attack on the Netherlands, Belgium, and France • This main assault through Luxemburg and the Ardennes forest was completely unexpected by the French and British forces • Panzer divisions broke through weak French defensive positions there, outflanking the Maginot Line and raced across northern France

  7. Victory and Stalemate • This maneuver split the Allied armies and trapped troops and the entire British army on the beaches of Dunkirk • A rescue effort ensued with hundreds of ships and small boats ferrying troops from the French port to Britain • Evacuated 330,000 Allied troops

  8. Dunkirk EvacuatedJune 4, 1940

  9. Victory and Stalemate • June 5th- Germans launched another offensive into southern France • Five days later-Mussolini, believing that the war was over and eager to grab some of the spoils, declared war in France and invaded from the south • Dazed by the speed of the German offensive, the French were never able to mount an adequate resistance and surrendered on June 22

  10. France Surrenders June, 1940 But not all give up Henri Petain

  11. Victory and Stalemate • German armies occupied about 3/5 of France while the French hero of World War I, Marshal Henri Petain, established an authoritarian regime over the remainder (Vichy France) • Allies regarded the Petain government as a Nazi puppet state • The government-in-exile took up residence in Britain • Germany now controlled western and central Europe, but Britain was not defeated yet

  12. The French Resistance The Free French General Charles DeGaulle The Maquis

  13. Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis:The Tripartite PactSeptember, 1940

  14. Victory and Stalemate • German victories in Denmark and Norway coincided with a change of government in Great Britain • May 10th 1940- Winston Churchill replaced the apostle of appeasement, Neville Chamberlain • Churchill was a strong advocate for hard-line policy toward Nazi Germany

  15. Victory and Stalemate • Churchill was confident he could guide Britain to ultimate victory • Proved to be an inspiring leader who rallied the British people in his many stirring speeches • Hitler hoped that the British could be persuaded to make peace so that he could fulfill his long-awaited opportunity to gain living space in the east

  16. Victory and Stalemate • Stubborn Churchill refused this plan of peace • Hitler was prepared to invade Britain with little confidence • Hitler realized that this plan would be disastrous, unless Germany controlled the air • Aug 1940-The German air force (Luftwaffe) launched a major offensive against British air and naval bases, harbors, communication centers, and war industries

  17. Battle of Britain:The “Blitz”

  18. The London “Tube”:Air Raid Shelters during the Blitz

  19. The Royal Air Force

  20. Victory and Stalemate • The British fought back, supported by an effective radar system that gave them early warnings of German attacks • The Ultra intelligence operation, which had broken German military codes, gave the British air force information about the specific targets of German air attacks • Nevertheless, British air force suffered critical losses by the end of August and was probably saved due to Hitler’s change in strategy

  21. Victory and Stalemate • September- in retaliation for a British attack on Berlin, Hitler ordered a shift from military targets to massive bombing of cities to break British morale • British rebuilt their air strength quickly and were soon inflicting major losses of Luftwaffe bombers • End of Sept- Germany had lost the Battle of Britain, and the invasion of Britain had to be postponed

  22. The Atlantic Charter • Roosevelt and Churchill sign treaty of friendship in August 1941. • Solidifies alliance. • Fashioned after Wilson’s 14 Points. • Calls for League of Nations type organization.

  23. U. S. Lend-Lease Act,1941 Great Britain.........................$31 billionSoviet Union...........................$11 billionFrance......................................$ 3 billionChina.......................................$1.5 billionOther European.................$500 millionSouth America...................$400 millionThe amount totaled: $48,601,365,000

  24. Operation Barbarossa:Hitler’s Biggest Mistake

  25. Operation Barbarossa: June 22, 1941 • 3,000,000 German soldiers. • 3,400 tanks.

  26. Axis Powers in 1942

  27. Victory and Stalemate • At this point Hitler pursued the possibility of Mediterranean strategy, which would involve capturing Egypt and the Suez canal and closing the Mediterranean to British ships • This would lead to shutting off Britain’s oil supply • Hitler’s commitment to the Mediterranean was never wholehearted • Hitler’s initial plan was to let the Italians, whose role was to secure the Balkan and Mediterranean flanks, defeat the British in North Africa

  28. Victory and Stalemate • This strategy failed when the British routed the Italian army • Although Hitler then sent German troops to the North African front of the war, his primary concern lay elsewhere • July 1940-Hitler told his army leaders to begin preparations for the invasion of the Soviet Union • Hitler thought the only reason why the British were still in the war was because they were looking for Soviet support

  29. The North Africa Campaign: The Battle of El Alamein, 1942 Gen. Ernst Rommel,The “Desert Fox” Gen. Bernard LawMontgomery(“Monty”)

  30. Victory and Stalemate • If the Soviets were smashed, Britain's last hope would be eliminated • Hitler convinced himself that the Soviet Union, with its Jewish-Bolshevik leadership and pitiful army, could be defeated quickly • Although the invasion of the Soviet Union was scheduled for spring 1941, the attack was delayed because of problems in the Balkans • Hitler had already obtained political cooperation of Hungry, Bulgaria, and Romania

  31. Victory and Stalemate • Mussolini has a disastrous invasion of Greece in October 1940 • This exposed Hitler’s southern flank to British air bases in Greece • To secure his Balkan flank, German troops seized both Yugoslavia and Greece in April • Now reassured, Hitler turned to the East and invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941 • He believed they could be defeated by winter

  32. Victory and Stalemate • This massive attack stretched out along an 1,800 mile front • German troops advanced rapidly, capturing two million Soviet soldiers • By November, one German army group had swept through the Ukraine while a second was besieging Leningrad • A third approached 25 miles of Moscow

  33. Victory and Stalemate • An early winter and an unexpected Soviet resistance, brought the German advance to a halt • For the first time since the beginning of the war, German armies had been stopped • After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, on December 7, 1941, Stalin concluded that the Japanese would not strike at the Soviet Union and transferred troops from eastern Siberia to the Moscow front • A counter attack in December 1941 by a Soviet army supposedly exhausted by Nazi victories brought an ending to the year for the Germans

  34. Battle of Stalingrad:Winter of 1942-1943

  35. Victory and Stalemate • By this time another of Hitler’s decisions-the declaration of war on the United States-had probably made his defeat inevitable

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