Transcript European Theater

The Battle of Britain
A Quick Review
• What happened to Western Europe in
1939 and 1940?
• Hitler led a Blitzkrieg against Poland
(1939) and then on to Denmark, Norway.
The Netherlands. Belgium and France.
• British and a large number of French
troops were forced to flee across the
English Channel.
• France surrendered in June 1940.
Hitler Plans an Invasion
Between June and August 1940,
Hitler worked on:
• Establishing Nazi power in
recently conquered countries.
• Planning the next phase of the
war.
• Hitler and his advisors believed
that an Invasion of Britain
could only be successful if they
bombed and destroyed
Britain’s war industries, military
staging points, and
communication centers.
• In August 1940, Hitler order the
Luftwaffe, the German Air
Force, to begin attacking
Britain.
The Bombing Begins
• In the first month of the attack,
Germany focused on military
targets.
• This all changed after the British
launched a retaliatory attack on
Berlin.
• After the British attack, Hitler
declared that a massive
bombing campaign be carried
out against British cities and
military targets.
• Hitler hoped that by heavily
damaging British cities, the
British would lose confidence
and surrender.
Photos of German Air Raid
Damage
The Brits Fight Back
• As soon as the Nazis began
to attack, the British used a
new technology called
radar to track the incoming
German planes.
• Radar gave them an
advance warning of attack,
so the British were able to
get the RAF into the sky
and fight back.
• In addition to the new
technology, British citizens
followed blackout rules,
where windows would be
covered and outside lights
extinguished when a raid
warning occurred.
The Nazis are Repelled
• At the end of
September, 1940, the
tables turned on the
Germans.
• Hitler, seeing that it
would be hard to win,
put the invasion of
Britain on hold for the
time being.
WWII in Eastern Europe
Hitler Turns His Attention East
• Hitler believed that Britain held on so long
because they expected help from the
U.S.S.R.
• By quickly attacking and destroying the
U.S.S.R., Hitler hoped to crush the British
resistance.
• Hitler invaded the U.S.S.R. in June of
1941.
The Germans Roll Over Russia
• Early in the attack, the
Germans enjoyed much
success.
• The Nazi Blitz captured
millions of Russians and
advanced far into Soviet
territory.
• The Nazis came within 25
miles of Moscow, the
Soviet capital.
The Nazi’s Find Trouble
• The Nazis faced several
problems in late 1941.
• An early and rough
winter, which the Nazis
were unprepared for,
struck.
• The Soviet resistance
strengthened as they saw
Nazi weakness.
• By December of 1941,
the Nazi Army had been
stopped.
German Success and Stalingrad
• In Spring of 1942, the Nazis attacked
Russia again, and had some success.
• The Nazis turned their sights to the oil
fields in the Caucus Mountains.
• To get to these oil fields, they would have
to go through Stalingrad, an industrial city
on the Volga River.
Stalingrad
• The battle that would
prove to be the turning
point of the war in the
East.
• The battle lasted over 3
months.
• Eventually, German
troops in Stalingrad were
forced to surrender.
• After the surrender, the
Red Army mounted a
offensive that drove the
Germans out of Western
Russia.
The War in Western Europe
Plans Develop
• After the Japanese attack on Pearl
Harbor, the U.S. enters WWII.
• FDR and Churchill began to plan the
invasion of Europe.
• They settle on a two-front battle plan.
• This plan called for the invasion of Italy
and France.
Invasion of Italy
• Allied troops began by driving the Germans out of
North Africa, territory that previously was controlled by
the French.
• From here, they launched an attack on Sicily.
• From Sicily the Allies set up an invasion of the Italian
mainland.
• Upon the Allied invasion, Mussolini is stripped of
power by the Italian King, only to be restored when
Hitler sends reinforcements to Italy.
• The fighting continues in Italy for 11 months.
• As Italy falls, Mussolini flees.
Invasion in France
• FDR and Churchill planned a cross
channel invasion of France.
• The Allies chose to attack Normandy, a
lightly defended area of the French coast.
• In June of 1944, the Allies landed in
Normandy.
• After the invasion, the Allies had a firm
base in Europe.
The Soviets Push Toward Germany
• In 1943 , the Soviets pushed the Germans
out of the U.S.S.R.
• The Red Army began pushing the Nazis
back across Eastern Europe .
• In July 1944, the Soviets encountered the
Nazi Death Camps.
• By early 1945, the Soviets pushed the
Nazis back into Germany.
Trouble for the Allies in France
• In Western Europe, the
Allies faced strong
opposition.
• Despite this opposition,
the Allies made steady
progress.
• At the Battle of the
Bulge, Germany’s last
offensive, the Nazis broke
through Allied lines.
• However, the Allied line
was recovered within a
month.
The End of the War in Europe
• In April 1945, the Allied armies linked up
in N. Germany.
• These forces worked their way toward
Berlin.
• Hitler spent the last days of the war in his
bunker below Berlin.
The End of the War in Europe
(continued)
• On April 28th 1945,
Mussolini was
captured and killed by
resistance fighters.
• On April 30th, Hitler
committed suicide as
the Red Army
approached.
• The Germans
surrendered on May
5th, 1945.
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