THE FALL OF FRANCE &BATTLE OF BRITAIN

Section 6

Hitler’s 10 Mistakes

Mistakes 1-5 1) Not investing in long-range submarines 2) Improper supplies and weapons 3) Not investing in new technology

Examples: Jet fighters, atomic bomb, etc 4) Underestimating the willingness of the

British and French to go to war in 1939 5) Failure to capture Dunkirk

Mistakes 6-10 6) Failure to destroy Royal Air Force 7) Invading Russia/Failure to capture Moscow 8) Angering the Ukrainian people 9) Declaring war on USA 10)Failure to invest in long-range strategic

weapons

Appeasement

Foreign Policy of Great Britain in 1939/40 Prime Minister: Neville Chamberlain

Official definition: “The policy of settling international quarrels by admitting and satisfying grievances through rational negotiation and compromise, thereby avoiding the resort to an armed conflict which would be expensive, bloody, and possibly dangerous.“

In other words: let another country do whatever it wants as long as there is no war

Continued…

The policy will backfire, because it allows Nazi Germany to grow even stronger

The Nazis are now more powerful and make a move to make war with Great Britain

The British people and government are angry at Chamberlain, so he declares war on Germany after Poland was invaded

Chamberlain resigns in May 1940 and is replaced by…

Winston Churchill

Strong anti-fascist and anti-communist Pro-war member of the parliament Brilliant writer and speaker An extremely determined leader Very nationalistic and imperialistic Lives a very vulgar lifestyle

Secret Negotiations

From May to June 1940, a member of the British government, Oswald Mosely, meets with German officials in secret to try to come up with a treaty so Britain would not be attacked

Germany’s terms: Mosely would become Prime Minister Royal Navy would surrender Germany would take over all British territories

Churchill finds out and terminates the plan

Battle of Dunkirk (May-June, 1940)

An important area of France Allies have a major base from which they

can operate from on the entire continent of Europe

French Naval Fleet is a very important asset

Heavy fighting during the two months, and the British lose 11,000 dead, while 40,000 more are captured. They also lose more than 50,000 tanks and armored vehicles.

The Germans lose 20,000 soldiers.

The Evacuation

Germans had nearly surrounded the region and Britain was considering a surrender

However, Hitler orders his men to halt operations. He felt to continue would be too risky. BIG MISTAKE!

In 9 days that followed, the allies were able to evacuate more than 300,000 soldiers and leave the Germans with nearly nothing in Dunkirk

The Battle and Collapse of France

June 5: Germany aims for the heart of France June 10: Italy attacks France June 14: Paris occupied, morale crushed June 21: France seeks armistice with

Germany

Within 10 months, Hitler is the master of Europe

Trivia: What was the style of warfare used by Germany during this battle?

Results

Allies: 2,260,000 casualties Axis: 163,650 casualties

“The Battle of France is over. I suspect the Battle of Britain is about to begin.”- Winston Churchill

This battle set the stage for Britain, by giving Germany easier access to attacking Britain

Operation Sea Lion

Hitler’s Invasion of England Phase I: Achieve air superiority over the

English Channel and destroy the British Air Force

Phase II: Prepare the British coastline for invasion by landing airborne forces in the real to destroy, disrupt, and seize key British facilities

Phase III: Invade and occupy England, destroy British Navy

Status of British Defenses

Air Force is outnumbered 10 to 1 Navy is scattered all over the world

protecting their colonies and territories Army is small in size and without heavy

equipment and weapons Home-front is ready for total war Key industries are out of the range of

German bombers Evacuation of civilian population from

London is successful

Royal Air Force

Marshal of RAF: Lord Hugh Trenchard

Bomber Command: Sir Arthur Harris

Fighter Command: Sir Hugh Dowding

Battle of Britain

Broken down into 5 phases: 1. Channel Battle (Jul 10- Aug 6) 2. Operation Eagle (Air attacks) (Aug 13- Aug 18) 3. Attack of fighter command facilities (Aug 24-

Sept 6) 4. Battle of London (Sept 7- Sept 30) 5. Phase down of daytime raids (Oct 1- Oct 30)

Bombing of London, known as the “Blitz” would still occur until May of 1941, including a time period where the Germans bombed London every night for 57 straight nights

London Blitz Results

Operation Sea Lion cancelled in December Britain has 842 fighters Germany has 668 fighters and 600 bombers

Aid for Britain gains popularity in USA US comes to their aid without getting

military involved (Lend-Lease Act in Feb. 1941)

Next week…

Life in the US under Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Life in Russia under Stalin Operation Barbarossa (Nazi invasion of

Russia)