Chapter 16 Section 1Hitler’s Lightening War

New war in Europe• After signing the nonaggression pact with Satlin, Hitler

moved forward with plans for Poland• 9/1/1939: Germany launches a surprise attack on

Poland• They used planes, tanks, troops, and artillery in a massive

quick strike• GB & France declared war 9/3/39• Poland fell before they could mobilize troops

• The military strategy was called Blitzkrieg or lightening war• Speed & surprise was the key element in this type of

attack• Hitler claimed the western ½ of Poland

The Soviets Move In• 9/17/39: Stalin sent troops to into the eastern ½ of

Poland and Poland was no more• Lithuania, Latvia, & Estonia fell without a fight• Finland resisted but fell to the Soviets• The Finns put up more resistance than expected and cost

the Soviets huge losses

The Phony War• GB & France stationed their troops along the Maginot

Line• Huge fortification constructed after WWI to protect

France from a German attack• They waited for an attack for months, nothing

happened: became known as Sitzkrieg• 4/9/40: the Germans attacked Denmark & Norway• Bases were constructed to launch attacks against GB

The Maginot Line

The Fall of France• 5/40: Germany attacked Belgium, Luxembourg, & the

Netherlands; this attack kept the allies focus• The Germans also sent a huge force of tanks and

troops through the Ardennes and into France avoiding the Maginot Line• They pushed through France in 10 days to the

northern coast• By the end of May the Germans had trapped the allies

on the beaches of Dunkirk• From 5/26 – 6/4: 850 ships carried troops off the

beaches back to England• Naval ships, yachts, fishing boats, tugs, lifeboats, &

paddle steamers helped in this heroic recuse

The Fall of France cont..• After Dunkirk, French resistance crumbled. By 6/14,

Germany had taken Paris• 6/22: French leaders surrendered to Hitler in the very

same railroad car that Germany had been forced to surrender in at the end of WWI• The Vichy Government was created to rule the

southern part of France under Marshal Philippe Petain; it was a puppet government• The rest of France was controlled by Germany• Charles De Gaulle set up a “true” French government

in exile in GB

The Battle of Britain• Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister had declared

that Britain would never surrender• Hitler planned to knock out the RAF and land 250,000

troops to invade Britain.• Summer 1940, the Luftwaffe began pounding Britain

from the air, hitting airbases & aircraft factories• 9/40: Germany began hitting cities trying to crush

British morale. It was called the “Blitz”• The RAF fought brilliantly & with the help of radar and

the enigma decoder, they were able to launch a very successful defense of Britain• Hitler called off the attack on Britain by 5/41

The Mediterranean & Eastern Fronts• The Nazis focus became North Africa to aid Mussolini• Mussolini attempted to take over British controlled

Egypt. He hoped to secure the Suez Canal & the oil fields of the Middle East• Britain launched a counter attack in 2/41 pushing the

Italians back 500 miles and taking 130,000 prisoners• Hitler sent Gen. Irwin Rommel to fix the problem in

North Africa. The Nazi Afrika Korps pushed the British back to Tobruk, Libya• 6/42 the fighting had been seesawing; Rommel finally

gained the upper hand, earning the nickname the Dessert Fox

The War in the Balkans• Hitler wanted the Balkans for bases to attack the USSR• By threatening war, Hitler had convince Romania,

Bulgaria, & Hungary to join the Axis• 4/41; Hitler invaded Greece and Yugoslavia to

complete the conquest of the Balkans

The Russian Front• Operation Barbarossa: the invasion plan for the Soviet

Union• 6/22/41: Germany launch a blitzkrieg attack into the

Soviet Union. The Soviets were not prepared. Their troops were not well equipped and poorly trained• The Soviets burned everything as they retreated,

(scorched earth), had worked against Napoleon when he invaded• 9/8/41: Germany laid siege to Leningrad. Hitler tried

to starve 2.5 million people into surrendering. They were eating animal feed, cats, dogs, rats, and crows• 1 million died, and city would not surrender

The Russian Front cont.• Hitler turned toward Moscow, on 10/2/41, by 12/41

they had reached the outskirts of the city.• Temperatures fell and the Germans were not prepared

for the cold. They began to retreat and Hitler ordered no retreat. They dug in and held on until 3/43• The invasion of the Soviet Union had gained nothing

for the Nazis and cost them 500,000 lives

The United States Aides the Allies• Most Americans wanted to stay out of the European conflict

and the Neutrality Acts were passed to keep the US out• 9/39: FDR asked Congress to allow a “cash & carry” policy for

weapons• 3/41: the Lend-Lease Act, allowed the US to lend weapons to

the allies• Summer 1941: the US was escorting allied ships across the

Atlantic• FDR & Churchill signed the Atlantic Charter; the charter

upheld free trade & the right of people to choose their government• 9/41: A U-boat fired on a US ship, & the “shoot on sight”

order was issued by FDR for German U-boats• US was involved in an undeclared naval war with Germany