Transcript WW II PP - TeacherWeb

Total War in Europe
WWII – Chapter 35
Blitzkreig:
Germany Conquers Europe
The Fall of Poland

Nazi forces took over Poland in one month,
unannounced (September 1, 1939)
– September 3, 1939 - Britain and France declared
war on Germany


Soviets took east sections of Poland in
accordance with Nazi-Soviet Pact
Germans stunned the world with their
blitzkrieg victory
– blitzkrieg – lightning war

large number of tanks break through and rapidly
encircle the enemy and aircraft supported them with
bombs and paratroopers
The Fall of France

Nazis conquered Denmark, Norway, Belgium,
Netherlands, and France
– Britain and France waited in France for Germany
to attack
– Hitler moved toward France but wanted to go
around the Maginot Line

a line of concrete bunkers and fortifications built after
WWI along the French-German border
– Thinking Hitler would invade through Belgium,
the French and British raced to protect this
border
The Fall of France (cont.)
– Hitler invaded instead through the Ardennes
Mountains of Luxembourg
– Germans easily invaded France and raced
toward the English Channel trapping the
British and French in Belgium
 Miracle at Dunkirk

French signed an armistice in June 1940
– Italy entered the war on Nazis’ side (saw that
Germany was winning)
Invasion of France
The Battle of Britain

Winston Churchill – the
Prime Minister of Britain
– Surrender to Germany was
not an option

Germany was not
equipped to invade by
sea so they had to defeat
the British Royal Air
Force
The Battle of Britain (cont.)

Battle of Britain – began in June 1940
– German air force (Luftwaffe) attacked British shipping
boats and the British Royal Air Force
– August 23, 1940, German bombers accidentally bombed
London
 the British then bombed Berlin the next night
– Hitler ordered the Luftwaffe to focus on London
– London citizens hid from German bombs in the city’s
subway tunnels
– The British advantage
 radar (British could detect incoming German aircraft and direct
British fighters to intercept them)
– October 12, 1940 – Hitler cancelled the invasion of Britain
 "The Blitz" killed 40,000 British civilians

Hitler's conquests extended to Balkans and North
Africa by summer of 1941
The Decisive Entry of the Soviet
Union and the United
States
Germany was in control of most of
Europe by spring 1941

looked to the Soviet Union as a way to
create more Lebensraum “living space”
– believed Soviet Union would be easily
defeated
Russians dig anti-tank defenses as
Germans approach Moscow
Operation Barbarossa began on
June 22, 1941
By December, gained huge territories and
captured millions of Soviet soldiers

–
–
Red Army weak because of a lack of strong leaders
(Stalin’s purges)
Leningrad (St. Petersburg) came under siege
Soviets then gained two new allies--U.S. and
"General Winter"

–
–

–
Germans, so sure of swift victory, had not supplied
troops with winter clothing and boots
Stalin had moved industry away from the front
(supplies uninterrupted)
Battle of Stalingrad (February 1943) marked
first large-scale victory for Soviets
Turning point in European war
The Russians trapped the German
Sixth Army at Stalingrad
German troops are defeated at
Stalingrad
The US
enters
the War

December 1941 – US pulled into the war by
Japan
–
–
Germany declared war because they saw Japan as a
strong ally
US built “Liberty Ships” (riveted not welded) faster that
the German U Boats could sink them
Allied Victory in Europe
Striking at the Soft Underbelly (the
Invasion of Sicily) – July 10, 1943
General Dwight D. Eisenhower was placed in overall
command of the invasion
General George Patton was put in charge of troops on the
ground
Troops made it ashore with few casualties



–
–
used DUKW (an amphibious truck) to bring supplies to soldiers on
the beach
By August 18, 1943, the Allies had taken Sicily
July 25, 1943 – Mussolini was placed under arrest
September 8, 1943 – the Italian government surrendered
to the Allies
Germany was not willing to give up Italy



–
it took 5 months for Allies to break through German lines in Italy
Planning Operation Overlord


the planned invasion of France
to convince the Germans they were
landing in Pas-de-Calais, the Allies placed
decoys there
– Allies would actually invade at Normandy

Eisenhower referred to the day of the
invasion as D-Day
Allied invasion plans and german
positions in the Normandy.
1944 D-Day Landing June 6
D-Day – June 6, 1944


fighter-bombers and paratroopers hit the
beaches at Normandy first
Allied troops landed at 5 beaches
– Omaha Beach




German defenses were strong
General Omar Bradley commanded US forces
2,500 Allied casualties
Paris was liberated on August 25, 1944
Liberation of Paris
The Third Reich Collapses

The Battle of the Bulge
– December 16, 1944 – Germans try one last
time to defeat the Allies
– Allies were surrounded




Eisenhower sent General Patton to help
General Patton arrived and broke through
German lines
Germany suffered heavy losses
This left Germany open for invasion
The Battle of the Bulge
The Malmedy massacre
(at the Battle of the Bulge)
The Third Reich Collapses

V-E Day: The War Ends in Europe
–
While British and American forces fought to liberate
France, the Soviet Union launched a massive attack to
drive German troops from Russia

–
Soviets attacked Germany from the east as the
Americans attacked from the west

–
German defenses crumbled
Adolf Hitler knew the end was near

–
By February 1945, Soviet troops had driven the Germans across
Poland to within 35 miles of Berlin
April 30, 1945 – Hitler shot himself
May 7, 1945 – Germany surrendered unconditionally
 May 8, 1945 was named V-E Day (“Victory in
Europe”)
1945 Soviets reach Berlin
1945 April Mussolini is hung by the Italians,
Hitler commits suicide in his bunker
On April 29, 1945, the
bodies of Mussolini and his
mistress were taken to the
Piazzale Loreto (in Milan)
and hung upside down on
meathooks from the roof of
a gas station, then stoned
by civilians from below. This
was done both to
discourage any fascists from
continuing the fight and as
an act of revenge for the
hanging of many partisans
in the same place by Axis
authorities. The corpse of
the deposed leader became
subject to ridicule and abuse
Stars and
Stripes, the
official US
Army
magazine.
Churchill waves to crowds in Whitehall on the day
he broadcast to the nation that the war with
Germany had been won