Blitzkrieg: Germany Attacks Poland and France WWII - The War Ms. Hamer April 7, 2010

Blitzkrieg:Germany Attacks Poland and France

WWII - The WarMs. Hamer

April 7, 2010

Disclaimer

• Blitzkrieg is one of those terms that has been used more by historians than Germans during WWII

• There is some debate about how deep the Blitzkrieg theory ran in the German military hierarchy

Blitzkrieg

• Lightning War• Rapid attack with

heavy artillery followed by infantry. All would be supported by air force.

Blitzkrieg Cont.

• Specifically directed at single countries who (at least in the beginning) were diplomatically isolated

• Not just a military, but a political and economic approach as well

Why Blitzkrieg?

• Quick Wars against single states– Important because Hitler wanted to conduct

business as usual– This would allow military operations without

total mobilization of the economy–Hitler didn’t want to deal with the privations of

war that Germany had to deal with in WWI–Blitzkrieg would avoid the static and

devastating trench warfare from WWI

Why Blitzkrieg? Cont.

• Germany was capable of blitzkrieg because of rapid militarization

• Germany was not prepared for an extended war in September 1939 because the 4 year plan didn’t work• Therefore a quick war on a single country

was necessary

The Invasion of Poland

Why Poland?• Part of the

lebensraum plan• Hitler took a

diplomatic gamble that England would not defend Poland

• Some ethnic Germans

Convincing Germany

• Germans were told that Poland attacked a radio station in Germany on September 1, 1939 and that was why Germany was “responding” by attacking Poland– Germans didn’t necessarily buy this– Germans were NOT happy about this attack – they

were disappointed– Hitler’s popularity based on great foreign policy

victories with no war

Fall Weiss (Case White)

• Invasion of Poland September 1, 1939• Huge success for Germany• First Blitzkrieg – “Case White”• 1 million Germans (52 divisions)• Germany: 1500 Tanks vs. Poland: 310 Tanks• Germany 1250: planes vs. Poland: 400 Planes– German planes were more advanced as well

Fall Weiss (Case White) PART 2

• 2 pronged attack (army group North from East Prussia and army group South)

• Pincer movement– Trap Polish army west of Warsaw and annihilate it– Warsaw reached by September 8th

– The city of Warsaw resisted until the Germans launched an air attack against the civilian capital of Warsaw

– Polish armies fought, but were overwhelmed

• Black = Primary Attacks

• Red = Secondary Attacks

Clockwise from top right: German Panzer in Poland, Hitler visits troops, Polish infantry and

tanks, Warsaw bombing survivor

Fall Weiss (Case White) PART 3

• September 17th – Soviet Union moved to attack the eastern half that it was promised

• This was the end for Poland

Fall Weiss (Case White) PART 4

• End of September Poland was devastated and England and France couldn’t help yet– France did not invade W Germany because the

French plans were solely defensive– War in the East was over (for now)

Polish Contributions to WWII

• 90,000 Poles escaped through other countries– Many reached Great Britain to fight in the

resistance– Largest army in exile of Allies during WWII (bigger

than French)

Polish army training in Scotland

Polish Contributions to WWII PART 2

• Poles were working on the Enigma machine to break the German code in 1939. – One got to France, and then eventually to England– Beginning of the breaking of the German military

codes

Hitler Seeks Peace

• October 1939 – Spring 1940• Hitler launched many peace initiatives• Kept trying to appeal to British– Hitler felt that the British had a place in his world

view and he only wanted Poland, not a war in the West

– Germany still demanded to keep Poland and England said no

Russo – Finnish War(The Winter War)

November 1939 – March 1940

Russo – Finnish War

• Stalin was worried that Finland would fall to Germany– Leningrad was right next to the Finnish border– Stalin demanded territory from Finland to protect

Leningrad

November 1939

Russo – Finnish War PART 2• November 30, 1939 Soviets attacked Finland– Red army outnumbered Finns 50:1 plus had better

equipment– Finns fought hard and used winter even better than the

Russians!Norwegian and Finnish Troops

Russo – Finnish War PART 3• Ended in March 1940

with the signing of the Moscow Peace Treaty

• Finland ceded 11 percent of its pre-war territory and 30 percent of its economic assets to the Soviet Union– Soviet Union got to

protect Leningrad

Major Ramifications• Sealed the bad reputation

of the Red Army internationally

• French and British wanted to send troops to help Finland– Churchill supported this,

but they didn’t because Swedes refused passage

• Soviet standing in West at all time low by March 1940– Bully, communist state

Diary of a Polish Soldier WW2 Reader p15 - 29

1. Why were Nowak and his fellow soldiers filled with an air of excitement before the war?

2. Describe the resistance on the River Bug. Why didn’t it work for the Poles?

3. What surprises about his captors did Nowak find upon being captured? When did Nowak’s feelings turn against his captors?

4. How did the Polish troops react when the Germans began taking away “Jewish” prisoners?

5. How do the prisoners act when they were first on the march? How do Nowak and Cyrankiewicz help this situation?

6. How does Nowak escape?

Germany Moves West

Spring 1940

Decision to Move West

• By April 1940• German attempts at diplomacy with England

had failed so war on western front seemed inevitable

German Invasion of Scandinavia PART 1

• Germany believed that England and France were going to seize ports in Norway

• Germany invaded Denmark and then Norway to secure these ports

• Operation Weserübung

German Invasion of Scandinavia PART 2

• British and French troops arrived to help– Got their butts kicked– Evacuated in May 1940

• Left the low countries and France for Germany to invade

Stats Before the Invasion of France

• On paper France seemed strong• On the eve of the German invasion, the Allies

seemed better off– 81 British and French divisions vs. 75 German

divisions– French were on equal footing with Germans as far

as tanks went– 4360 French planes vs. 3200 German planes

How did France Lose?

• Failure in military and political leadership• Failure of military plans

French Military Thinking of the Interwar Years

• DEFENSE!– Based on WWI

• 42 million French people– suffered highest casualties in WWI– could not afford same scale of casualties again• So build defensive fortifications like the Maginot Line

• Some pointed out that the tank would revolutionize warfare and that offensive planning was necessary - minority

British Military Thinking of the Interwar Years PART 1

• Some had actually come up with the basis of the Blitzkrieg strategy (strong offense), but these were in the minority

• Navy was still the centerpiece of their military planning

• England was worry about financial (shipping) problems during another war like they had during WWI

• Did not support a rearmament program

British Military Thinking of the Interwar Years PART 2

• Air force (RAF) was #2 in importance– Seemed to be a “less painful” solution to

England’s security needs– Only Great Power (other than US) to develop

plans to construct 4-engine (long distance, large payload) bombers• Developed idea of strategic bombing

– Also developed new fighter planes – Hurricane, Spitfire• Pursuit planes to defend the British Isles

British Military Thinking of the Interwar Years PART 3

• Land Army was very weak even though England had their first peacetime conscription in 1939

Command and Organization Problems for Allies

• Lack of unified command (within French army)• Separate command for the area most prone

to attack (NE France)• Lack of political cohesion at this time– PM Édouard Daladier resigned in March 1940– Succeeded by Paul Reynaud

Gamelin Plan• Maurice Gamelin was commander in chief

of the French armed forces in 1939• Gamelin was in charge of planning the

Allied defense of France– Was certain that the attack would come

through Belgium– Developed the Gamelin Plan to deal with this

• Allies should rush troops into Belgium when Germans launch their attack

• Belgium wouldn’t let the Allies scout out positions

Pre-Attack Intelligence

• Enigma machine was working– France received info saying a German attack was

imminent– Mainly about Belgium– But Germans seemed to be massing around the

Ardennes as well• This was ignored

Phony War

• Time in between declaration of war and actual fighting– September 1939 – May 10, 1940

• Also called Sitzkrieg by the Germans. Hah!

Battle of France

Get your Europe maps out!!!

Germany Attacks the Low Countries

• Germany attacked Holland AND Belgium– Just like Gamelin

thought

• French and British rushed forward to meet the Germans in Belgium as planned

It’s a Trap!!! PART 1

• Allied troops reported that even though Germans seemed to have air superiority, they weren’t attacking the French and British troops

• Germans wanted the Allies to rush into Belgium because part of the army and the Panzer corps would attack through the Ardennes into Luxembourg and France behind the Allied troops.

It’s a Trap!!! PART 2

• The German flank cut off the Allied armies that had rushed north

• May 20th Germans reached the coast– Led by Guderion (Blitzkrieg guy) and Erwin

Rommel– Headed towards the channel cities: Boulogne and

Calais.

Allies Cornered at Dunkirk

• Guderion and the Panzer Corps were ordered to halt 15 miles from Dunkirk on May 24th

– Guderion protested to Hitler because they had almost caught the BEF

• Hitler gave the mission of seizing Dunkirk to the German infantry units that were moving South from Holland– Caution on Hitler’s part

• DISASTER!!!

Hitler’s Decisions at Dunkirk• Terrain was marshy and not good for tanks• Armored units hadn’t stopped yet and needed to do

maintenance• Plus British were caught, so who cares who captures them?• Feared counterattack from South• Maybe Hitler stopped the Panzers because he wanted the

British to be able to evacuate– This would show the British that it was not a war to the finish with

them– Hitler hinted at this later, but it was probably not the biggest

consideration of the time• Herman Goerring of the Luftwaffe argued that the Luftwaffe

could destroy the British without having to risk Germans

Miracle at Dunkirk• German delay at

capturing the Allied Troops allowed the Allies to coordinate an escape effort for those at Dunkirk

• Evacuation of Dunkirk– May 26th until June 4th 1940– Saved 338,000 troops – some

French– Used any ship that would help– RAF protected the troops

Chaos in France• France hoped to regroup• Churchill offered common Franco-

British citizenship to keep France in the war

• Reynaud and Churchill pledged to make no separate peace

• Reynaud replaced Gamelin with a WWI hero

• Reynaud brought in Philippe Petain (WWI hero) as vice-premier to boost morale

Fall of France PART 1• June 10th Mussolini

declared war on France

• Weygand Line north of Paris collapsed and on June 14, 1940 German troops marched into Paris– Petain urged

signing of an armistice

German Troops in Paris

Fall of France PART 2• June 16, 1940

Hitler accepted the surrender of France in the same railroad car that Germany had surrendered in after WWI

Fall of France PART 3• France was allowed to keep its colonial

empire and fleet• Germany occupied 2/3 of France (Northern

and coastal regions)• Vichy regime set up with Petain as its leader!

Vichy France

Fall of France PART 4Fall of France PART 4Fall of France PART 4Fall of France PART 4

The Free FrenchThe Free French

General Charles General Charles DeGaulleDeGaulle

The MaquisThe Maquis

•Charles de Gaulle (general) escaped to London and set up his own government•Organized Free French forces

Hitler Rules Europe

• By the end of June 1940:

• Hitler dominated the European continent

• Hitler had reached Paris in 35 days

• Map of WWII (up to 1:30)• Fall of France Map