German Blitzkreig Overran Western Poland in one month One million men Armored and motorized divisions supported by massive air power ( Lutwaffe

PRACTICES OF WWII

THE YEARS OF AXIS TRIUMPH

Nazi Europe, 1939-1940: Poland and the Fall of France

German Blitzkreig Overran Western Poland in one month One million men Armored and motorized divisions supported by

massive air power (Lutwaffe) Soviet Occupation of Poland

Began 2 weeks after German invasion Soviets established military bases in independent

countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania Finland resisted Soviets and Soviets attacked (Winter

War) Resistance effective at first, but Finns are defeated in

March of 1940 Cede some territory, but not their independence


The “phony war” No action in winter of 1939 British had few troops, French were behind the

Maginot Line (series of forts along French-German border)

Germans attacked Norway and Denmark on April 9, 1940 Denmark quickly overrun Norwegian army surrenders on June 10th

On May 10th, the Germans struck at the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and France


The Fall of France Allies expected

German advance to be through Belgium

Germans instead went through Luxembourg and Ardennes forest, long thought to be impassable to tanks


The Fall of France Germans drove deep

into Northern France and raced towards the English Channel, cutting off Allied armies in Belgium Dutch, Belgian and a

large portion of the French army surrender

British fell back upon Dunkirk


The Fall of France 330,000 Allied

troops evacuated from Dunkirk to GB May 27th to June 4th 1940

Germans drove South and occupied Paris on June 13th


Vichy France Germans occupied the Northern two-thirds of

the country Southern third became a fascist dictatorship

under Marshal Petain Collaborated with Nazis by providing slave labor

and identifying French Jews

The Battle of Britain and American Aid

Britain remained alone against Hitler in 1940 Churchill replaced Chamberlain in May American “neutrality”

The U.S. was divided into two camps: isolationist and interventionist

Roosevelt was a definite interventionist “The Great Arsenal of Democracy”

In June, 1940, U.S. sent small initial arms shipment to GB

A few months later, U.S. sent 50 destroyers in return for right to maintain American bases on British territory

In 1941, Lend-Lease is adopted During this time, U.S. introduced conscription


Air War over Britain German victories so

quick that Nazis had no plan for invasion of GB

Hitler hoped that GB would sue for peace, or become an ally

Germans began bombing Britain in summer of 1940 and climaxed in autumn Germans needed control

of the skies to land an invasion force


British RAF (Royal Air Force) held off the Nazi air force (Lutwaffe) Used new radar devices to detect Germans Tens of thousands of people killed

Hitler called off attacks in late October to concentrate on invasion of Russia

The Nazi Invasion of Russia: The Russian Front, 1941-1942

Russians subjugated the Baltic States (Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia) and seemed intent on driving south towards the Balkans.

Hitler takes the Balkans Germans checked Russian advance by:

Convincing Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary to join the Axis (becoming lesser partners and occupied by German troops)

Serbia was occupied b/c it resisted, but Croatia became collaborationist

Greece was subjugated too


The Nazi Invasion of Russia After securing the Balkans against Russia

expansion, on June 22, 1941, Germany invaded the U.S.S.R.

German army consisted of 3 million soldiers along a 2,000-mile front

By autumn, Germans controlled most of Ukraine and began murder of Jews and Bolshevik gov’t. officials

Leningrad in the North was under siege, Crimean peninsula in the South was occupied and the Nazis were 25 miles from Moscow


The Nazi Invasion of Russia Stalin recovered from the initial shock, fired

some of his commanders and rallied the troops to the defense of the Russian motherland

Germans were overextended and bitterly cold winter set in early

Red Army counteroffensive in winter of 1941 saved Moscow


The Nazi Invasion of Russia Disgusted Hitler decided to take over

command of the military himself Focused on the Southern front to gain control of

Caucasus oil fields Within this push, the city of Stalingrad was

besieged Hitler, realizing that the war would not be

quickly won decided to put German economy on a more permanent war footing Hires Albert Speer, as head of armaments and he

quickly triples armaments production

1942, The Year of Allied Dismay

The Desert Campaigns Started in 1940 w/Italian invasion from Libya

into Egypt Control of Mediterranean/Suez Canal at stake

British counterattack swept Italy out of Egypt, Libya and Ethiopia by early 1941

In spring of 1941, German elite force (Afrikacorps) under General Rommel attacked in Libya and drove British back to Egypt


The Desert Campaigns British again pushed

back to Libya By mid-1942, Rommel

had pushed back the British and penetrated Egypt British took a stand at El

Alamein w/backs to the Suez

Real concern that Nazis would close Middle East in a vise.


Japan and the Pacific In 1941, Japan had been at war w/China for

ten years In 1940, allied themselves to Germany and

Italy In 1941, signed neutrality treaty w/the Soviets U.S. placed embargo on export of scrap iron

and steel to Japan Tojo, the Japanese PM declared that GB and US

influence in Asia was to be eliminated December 7, 1941, Japanese attacked Pearl

Harbor, the Philippines, Guam and Malaya


Japan and the Pacific Japanese captured Singapore, and the Philippines by

1942. Captured New Guinea, thus threatening Australia Threatened India

To many Asians, Japanese anti-imperialist, pan-Asia rhetoric was welcome Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere

The Year of Dismay By autumn 1942, Germans at Caucasus, and almost at

Nile, u-boats were sinking Allied ships at a disastrous rate

Worst period of war, yet no unified Japanese-German strategy

Documents

German Blitzkreig Overran Western Poland in one month One million men Armored and motorized divisions supported by massive air power ( Lutwaffe