Transcript File

WORLD WAR 2
1939-1945
1. INVASION OF POLAND
• September 1, 1939 German forces unleashed a
blitzkrieg on Poland
• Armoured columns burst through Polish defenses and
raced towards Warsaw leaving their infantry behind
to mop up
• The Luftwaffe dominated the sky as they
outnumbered Polish planes 2300 vs. 800
• Warsaw (Poland’s capital) was bombed on September
25 when it would not surrender
USSR Joins
• September 17, 1939 USSR Invaded Poland,
Finland, & Baltic states (LITHUANIA, LATVIA
AND ESTONIA).
• By the end of the month Poland had been
partitioned between Germany and the Soviets
• Britain and France declared war on Germany
on September 3. They got their navies ready
and continued to bolster their armies and air
forces. All far to late for Poland……
The lopsided Invasion
Germany's Armed Forces
• 60 divisions
• 6 brigades
• 9,000 guns
• 2,750 tanks
• 2,315 aircraft
• Total:
• 1,500,000 Germans
Poland’s Armed Forces
• 39 divisions (some of them
were never fully mobilized
and concentrated)
• 16 brigades
• 4,300 guns,
• 880 tanks,
• 400 aircraft
• Total: 950,000
BLITZKRIEG
• Blitzkrieg was a Western media definition for
Germany’s style of maneuver warfare
• What Hitler thought of this term was, "I have never
used the word Blitzkrieg, because it is a very silly
word“.
• New style of Invasion:
• Aerial bombardment
• Armored divisions
• Artillery attack
• Ground forces
Blitzkrieg
• A new method of warfare whereby an
attacking force spearheaded by a dense
concentration of armoured and motorized or
mechanized infantry formations.
• heavily backed up by close air support.
• Breaks into the enemy's line of defense
through a series of short, fast, powerful
attacks; and once in the enemy's territory,
proceeds to dislocate them using speed and
surprise, and then encircle them
Junkers Ju 87 or “Stuka” Dive bombers
It was designed to dive and drop low level bombs on ground
targets. Its payload was small and it was extremely vulnerable to
enemy fighter planes but exceled in assisting ground forces
Panzer III
Panzer III was the common name of a medium tank that was
developed in the 1930s by Germany and was used extensively in
World War II. The official German designation was
Panzerkampfwagen III Sd Kfz. 141 (abbreviated PzKpfw III)
translating as "armoured fighting vehicle".
Motorized Infantry
Traditionally soldiers would have to walk to battle. In
September, 1939 Germany used only a few units.
POLAND 1939
BORDER SECURED
BOMBING RAIDS POLAND
GERMAN TROOP MARCHING IN POLAND
2. THE PHONY WAR
• From October of 1939 to the spring of 1940 there
was no fighting on land
• Hitler wanted to immediately swing west from
Poland and invaded Holland, Belgium and France.
• His Generals were horrified and talked him out of it
• The West called it the “Phony War”
• Germans called it der “Sitzkrieg” or the sitting war
• Germany’s navy was very active raiding the shipping
lanes and disrupting Britain's international economy
3. SPRING OF 1940
• Germany attacked Denmark and Norway starting on April
9, 1940
• The main goal of this operation was iron ore crucial to
modern warfare
• And the multiple ports of Norway, especially Narvik
allowed Germany to escape the British blockades
• The initial invasion took Denmark and Norway by
surprise and the out gunned and out numbered
Scandinavian countries fell quickly
• Denmark in 24 hours and while Norway held out until
June 10, 1940 the vital ports were taken immediately
German invasion of Scandinavia
The War Escalates
Mussolini: Speech of the 10 June 1940, Declaration of War on
France and England
Soldiers, sailors, and aviators! Black shirts of the revolution and
of the [Fascist] legions! Men and women of Italy, of the Empire,
and of the kingdom of Albania! Pay heed!
An hour appointed by destiny has struck in the heavens of our
fatherland.
The declaration of war has already been delivered to the
ambassadors of Great Britain and France. We go to battle against
the plutocratic and reactionary democracies of the west who, at
every moment have hindered the advance and have often
endangered the very existence of the Italian people.
Winston Churchill replaces Chamberlin
May 10, 1940
MIRACLE OF DUNKIRK
• 300,000 French and English soldiers were trapped on
the beaches at Dunkirk.
• Hitler mistakenly allowed his Luftwaffe to take them
out but he he should have commited to an all out
attack
• 3 days of fog allowed the British to evacuate the
beaches
• approx. 250,000 soldiers were evacuated
Evacuation of Dunkirk
4. THE INVASION OF FRANCE
• Germany attacked France from three directions:
• - North through Belgium
• - Over the Maginot Line (with planes and Para
troopers)
• - Through the Maginot Line (Ardenne Forests)
• Paris fell in June 1940.
• France was divided:
• North was occupied by Germany
• South was named “Vichy France” (collaborated)
• LED BY MARSHALL PETAIN
OCCUPATION OF EUROPE
• If you are living in an occupied country you
have three choices:
• - Collaborator
• - Do nothing and try to stay alive
• - Join the Resistance (Underground or
Partisans)
THE RESISTANCE
• Was also called the “Underground” or Partisans
(Yugoslavia).
• Goal of the resistance was to fight the Germans and
contribute in any way to the liberation of their
country.
• Techniques:
• Espionage, smuggling, terrorism, communication,
saving prisoners of war, helping Jews, fighting the
Germans.
• Retaliation against the resistance was immediate
and terrible.
• FREE FRENCH FORCES
• Led by Charles De
Gaulle
YUGOSLAVIAN
PARTISANS
Led by Josip Broz Tito
De Gaulle and Tito
• French General who led
Free French (400, 000 men)
and government in exile
during WW2.
• Later founded Fifth French
Republic and was President
from 1959-1969.
• De Gaulle was often
difficult to deal with (from a
British/American view
point).
• Partisans often regarded
as the most effective
resistance in WW II.
• Tito was seen as a
benevolent dictator.
• President or Prime
Minster for life 19431980.
• Marshal of Yugoslavia.
• Chairman of League of
Communist of Yugoslavia.
BATTLE OF BRITAIN
• The spitfire was the
• Twin engine Dornier 17
best British fighter in
used by the Luftwaffe
WW 2 and symbolic
during the Second
to the RAF.
World War II.
OPERATION SEALION
• This was the planned invasion of England by
Germany.
• This never happened because the Battle of
Britain wasn’t a success for Germany.
• The Battle of Britain refers to the battle of
Goering’s Luftwaffe vs. the Royal Air Force.
• Germany needed to defeat the RAF before
crossing the English Channel.
AIR ATTACK OF BRITAIN
• Goering hoped to defeat the British Air force
in 4 days
• Targeted:
• Convoys in the English Channel
• Air fields
• Radar stations
• Manufacturing, communication and
transportation
Battle of Britain 10 July – 31
October 1940
Britain and Allies
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1,963 Aircraft
British had radar
Spitfires
544 Aircrew killed
422 wounded
1,547 aircraft destroyed
Britain's kill ratio is superior
German
• 2550 aircraft
• At first the Germans were
successful
• 2698 aircrew killed
• 967 captured
• 1,887 aircraft destroyed
THE BLITZ
• A German bomber accidentally bombed civilians in London on
August 24, 1940.
• Churchill retaliated against Berlin the next night
• Hitler change focus from military targets to civilian and over 267
days, high explosives, were dropped on 16 British cities
• The Luftwaffe bombed London for 57 nights but did not overly
demoralize the British or cause a surrender
• Over 40, 000 civilians were killed, half of them in London. One
million homes were damaged or destroyed
• Although it was brutal for the people of London, it was the
second large tactical mistake for Hitler.
WHY THE BLITZ FAILED?
• “We can take it” – Churchill.
• Germany stopped bombing strategic military targets.
• Hitler had to prepare for the invasion of the USSROperation Barbarossa.
• The Luftwaffe was never able to slow Britain's war
economy as they lacked a cohesive strategy and fourengine bombers.
• Germany continued to attack Britain from the air but
sporadically for the rest of the war.
• Germany used V-1 and V-2 bombs or “doodlebugs”.
MUSSOLINI AND North Africa
• the North African Campaign took place in North
Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943
• Mussolini was given the task of taking North Africa.
• IMPORTANCE OF NORTH AFRICA:
• OIL
• SUEZ CANAL
• Mediterranean Sea
• Many European countries had colonial interests
there dating back to the 19th C.
• Later the Allies wanted to invade Europe and North
Africa provided easy access to Sicily/Italy.
Colonial Africa between the wars
NORTH AFRICA: The Begining
• Fighting in North Africa started with the Italian declaration of
war on 10 June 1940.
• On 14 June, the British Army crossed the border from Egypt
into Libya and captured the Italian Fort Capuzzo.
• This was followed by an Italian counteroffensive into Egypt
and the capture of Sidi Barrani in September 1940.
• The Italian attack stalled and then in December 1940 it was
routed by a Commonwealth counteroffensive.
• The German Afrika Korps, commanded by Erwin Rommel, was
dispatched to North Africa to reinforce Italian forces in order
to prevent a complete Axis defeat.
North Africa: The Middle
• Erwin Rommel was in charge of German forces.
• Bernard Montgomery for the British.
• A see-saw series of battles for control of Libya
and parts of Egypt followed.
• At the BATTLE OF EL ALAMEIN in 1942 The
British defeated Rommel and the Germans
retreated across N. Africa.
• The USA entered the war in North-West Africa
(Operation Torch) in 1942.
North Africa: The End
The Allies finally encircled Axis forces in northern Tunisia and
forced their surrender.
Allies (British Commonwealth,
Free French, and Americans)
Axis (Italians and Germans)
• British loses: 220, 000
MIA, KIA, WIA including
35, 000 KIA.
• Free French: 20, 000 KIA,
WIA, MIA.
• Americans: 18, 000
including 2, 000 KIA.
• Material loss: 1,400
Aircraft and 2, 000 tanks.
• Italian losses: 22, 000 KIA
and 340, 000 captured.
• German losses: 20, 000 KIA
• And 130, 000 captured.
THE BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC
• It was the longest continuous military
campaign in WW II lasting between 1939-43
• German subs tried to cut off Britain supplies
coming from Canada and US.
• As an island nation, the United Kingdom was
highly dependent on imported goods. Britain
required more than a million tons of imported
material per week in order to be able to
survive and fight.
North America becomes the “Arsenal for
Democracy”.
• In June, 1941, in order to protect the convoys
the entire length of the Atlantic, Canada was
asked to assume responsibility for the Western
zone.
• The Canadian Navy, under Commodore
Leonard Murray, escorted the merchant ships
from Newfoundland to a meeting point at
Iceland.
Britain’s Biggest Obstacle
1943-45 Turning Point for the
Allies
Cross Atlantic
CONVOY
• Allies used new
techniques:
• Sonar
• Depth charges
• Long range bombers
• Convoys
• As a result the allies
sunk most of the
German subs by 1945
The Battle of Atlantic: The End
• The outcome of the battle was a strategic
victory for the Allies—the German blockade
failed—but at great cost: 3,500 merchant
ships and 175 warships were sunk for the loss
of 783 U-boats.
OPERATION BARBAROSA
• June 22 1941 (original plan was for May 15)
• Despite the Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact Molotov–
Ribbentrop Pact Germany invaded the USSR.
• Reasons for invasion: Hitler’s/Germany’s personal
hatred of communism/labour shortages/
agriculture/Black Sea ports/oil
• It was the largest military operation in history in both
manpower and casualties. Its failure was a turning
point in the Third Reich's fortunes.
• Three original targets:
• Leningrad, Moscow and Kiev
• 2,900 km front, and close to 4 mil. Germans (and their
allies) and 5.5 mil. Russians fought there.
What happened?
• Tactically, the Germans won resounding victories and
occupied some of the most important economic areas of the
Soviet Union, mainly in Ukraine.
• Despite these successes, the German offensive stalled on the
outskirts of Moscow and was then pushed back by a Soviet
counter offensive without having taken the city.
• The three main reasons that the German’s lost were: Hitler’s
overly ambitious plan, combined with an over-stretch armed
forces and Russia’s deadly winter/weather and Russia’s
surprising ability to mobilize seemingly endless soldiers (pool
of 10 Mil.)
SCORCHED EARTH POLICY
• Stalin ordered both soldiers and civilians to
destroy everything to slow down the German
advance and deny them supplies/shelter.
• Crops were burned, animals killed, roads,
bridges and railway lines torn up.
• The process was repeated later in the war by
the retreating German forces, which burned
or destroyed farms, buildings, weapons, and
food to deprive Soviet forces of their use.
Russian Counter-attack
• During the autumn, Stalin had been transferring
fresh, well-equipped Soviet forces from Siberia and
the Far East to Moscow.
• On 5 December 1941, these reinforcements attacked
the German lines around the Soviet capital.
• Supported by new T-34 tanks and Katyusha rocket
launchers.
• The new Soviet troops were better-prepared for
winter warfare than their foes. The exhausted and
freezing Germans were driven away from Moscow on
7 January 1942
Soviet Counter-offensive: Winter
1941
Don, Volga, and Caucasus: Summer
1942
• on 28 June 1942, the German offensive reopened in a different direction.
• As the German army was running dangerously
low on fuel reserves, Army Group South took
the initiative.
• The grand plan was to secure the Don and
Volga first and then drive into the Caucasus
towards the oilfields.
• The advance into the Caucasus bogged down,
with the Germans unable to fight their way in.
Don, Volga, and Caucasus: Summer
1942
BATTLE OF STALINGRAD
• TURNING POINT: Germans are forced to retreat
• 1942-43 (August 23 – February 2 1943)
• Heavy bombing from the Luftwaffe reduced most of
the city to rubble.
• Bloody close quarters combat necessary in urban
fighting (street) caused Stalingrad to have one of the
highest number of casualties of any battle.
• January 1943 the German army was surrounded,
outnumbered and out of food and ammunition.
• Friedrich Von Paulus and 91,000 German troops
surrendered.
• 5,500 of them were released in 1955 but the rest
never made it back to Germany.
Aftermath
• German army and their allies suffered an est.
850,000 killed, missing or wounded.
• Russian army lost Approx. 1,120,000 killed,
missing or wounded
• 95% of all German Army casualties that
occurred from 1941 to 1944, and 65% of all
Allied military casualties from the entire war.
• The Red Army repelled the Wehrmacht's
strongest blow, and forced an unprepared
Germany into a war of attrition with the
largest nation on Earth.
ITALY 1943-45
• Italy was invaded from Africa by Allied troops (USA,
Canadian, British).
• Sept. 1943 Mussolini was deposed, and Italy
announced its surrender.
• Mussolini was rescued by the SS and put back in power
in the North of Italy.
• Allies gradually made their way up through Italy.
• June 4, 1944 Rome was liberated.
• Fighting ended in Italy in May 1945.
• Between September 1943 and April 1945, some 60,000
Allied and 50,000 German soldiers died in Italy.
“The Soft Underbelly of the Axis” –
W.C.
Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci and 13 other officials of
the Italian Social Republic were shoot and then hung by meat
hooks in "Piazza Quindici Martiri“ in Milan.
JAPAN WORLD WAR 2
General of the Army
DOUGLAS MACARTHUR
GENERAL Hideki
TOJO
Leaders of USA and Japan during
WW II
President Franklin D.
Roosevelt
Japanese Emperor Hirohito
GREATER ASIA CO-PROSPERITY SPHERE
Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity
Sphere
• The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
was an imperial concept
• Created for occupied Asian populations during
1940 by the government and military of the
Empire of Japan.
• It promoted the cultural and economic unity of
the East Asian race(s).
• It also declared the intention to create a selfsufficient "bloc of Asian nations led by the
Japanese and free of Western powers".
PEARL HARBOUR
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USA stood in the way of Japans conquests:
- Washington Treaty (agreement to limit navies)
- oil embargos
It was inevitable that Japan was going to have to fight the USA.
Goal of the invasion of Pearl Harbour was to sink or immobilize
USA battleships and aircraft carriers.
This would give the Japanese time and maybe the USA would
not have the will to fight.
The base was attacked by 353 Japanese fighters, bombers and
torpedo planes in two waves, launched from six aircraft carriers.
All eight U.S. Navy battleships were damaged, with four being
sunk.
188 U.S. aircraft were destroyed; 2,403 Americans were killed.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt to proclaim December 7, 1941,
"a date which will live in infamy".
The Japanese also invaded within the next week: Hong Kong,
Philippines, Indonesia, Burma, and hundreds of islands.
View of Oahu from Japanese plane
USS Arizona: She exploded and
sank, killing 1,177 officers and
crewmen.
Battleship Row
Battleship Row
1) AIRCRAFT CARRIER BATTLES
• The USA declared war on Japan on December 8,1941
• The marines and navy was sent to the Pacific.
• Major aircraft carrier battles were fought at Leyte
Gulf , Coral sea, and Midway.
• Midway was the second TURNING POINT
• The Japanese navy tried to lure the Americans into a
trap but American code-breaking allowed a reversal
of roles and a US victory.
• Military historian John Keegan called it "the most
stunning and decisive blow in the history of naval
warfare”.
US had aircraft carriers in the
Pacific
The Battle of Midway
• American strength
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3 carriers
7 heavy cruisers
1 light cruiser
15 destroyers
233 carrier-based aircraft
127 land-based aircraft
16 submarines
• Losses:
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1 carrier sunk
1 destroyer sunk
150 aircraft destroyed
307 killed
• Japanese strength and
losses
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4 carriers
2 battleships
2 heavy cruisers
1 light cruiser
12 destroyers
248 carrier-based aircraft
• Losses:
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4 carriers sunk
1 heavy cruiser sunk
1 heavy cruiser damaged
248 aircraft destroyed
3,057 killed
2) ISLAND HOPPING
• Macarthur and Nimitz were in charge of the Pacific
• The USA had to liberate each country and island in
the Pacific.
• The Japanese wouldn’t surrender so the fighting was
brutal.
JAPAN 1945
• Okinawa and Iwo Jima
were the last two
islands before Japan
• The Japanese fought to
the death with heavy
USA casualties
• The USA then began to
bomb the island of
Japan day and night
also using Incendiary
bombs
• Japan refused to
surrender
IWO JIMA
OKINAWA
MANHATTAN PROJECT
• Bomb was created at
Los Alamos New Mexico
• There were 3 bombs
• Truman learned in July
1945 of its success
FIRST BOMB
FIRST TEST
HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI
• The Japanese refused to surrender
• The US President, now Harry Truman, believed that
500, 000 to 1 million American lives would be lost
trying to defeat the Japanese on their own Islands.
• Where they got this number from nobody really
knows…. Most likely it was a number given to justify
dropping Atom bombs on civilian targets
• AUGUST 6, 1945 THE FIRST BOMB WAS DROPPED ON
HIROSHIMA (ENOLA GAY – LITTLE BOY) 90,000–
166,000 killed
• AUGUST 9, 1945 NAGASAKI (Fat man) 60,000–
80,000 killed
D-DAY
JUNE 6, 1944
Dwight D. Eisenhower* and
Bernard Montgomery
Gerd Von Rundstedt and
Erwin Rommel*
INVASION OF NORMANDY
• codenamed OPERATION OVERLORD
• The landings were conducted in two phases: an airborne
assault landing of 24,000 British, US and Canadian airborne
troops shortly after midnight, and an amphibious landing of
Allied infantry and armoured divisions on the coast of France
starting at 6:30 am.
• Surprise was achieved thanks to poor weather and a diversion
further East on the French coast.
• largest amphibious invasion in world history (included land,
sea, and air attacks)
• Over 160,000 soldiers landed on 6 June 1944: 73,000
Americans, 61,715 British and 21,400 Canadians.
• Atlantic Wall: Hitler ordered the construction of
fortifications all along the Atlantic coast, from Spain
to Norway. It was a half real fortification of concrete
gun bunkers, wooden stakes, metal tripods, mines,
and large anti-tank obstacles.
• Landed on a 80 km stretch of beaches code named:
Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword.
• LONGEST DAY: The "...the first 24 hours of the
invasion will be decisive...the fate of Germany
depends on the outcome...for the Allies, as well as
Germany, it will be the longest day.“ –Rommel
• SECOND FRONT: Stalin had always pushed his allies
to open a second front.
EVENTS TO THE END OF THE WAR
• August 25, 1944 Paris was liberated
• Battle of the Bulge – the last German offensive
• The Russians were coming from the east, Allies from
the south through Italy, and the Allies from the west
(Russians and USA met south of Germany)
• The Allies bombed German cities day and night
• (Dresden- firebombed – 100,000 died)
• April 30.1945 Hitler committed suicide
• May 7, 1945 Germany surrendered unconditionally
PEACE
• August 14, 1945 the
Japanese sued for
peace
• September 2, 1945
the Japanese signed
an unconditional
surrender (General
Macarthur accepted
the documents on
the deck of the
Missouri in Tokyo
harbour)
TRUMAN
JAPANESE ON
THE DECK OF
THE MISSOURI
THE BIG THREE
YOUNG BOYS
CONSCRIPTED
GERMANY
SURRENDERS
IS THIS HITLER???
World War 2 Review
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Sep 1, 1939 June 6 1944 Sept 14, 1945
July 6, 1945 countries did USSR attack in 1939
Phony war Resistance
Partisans
Free French Forces Charles De Gaulle Tito
Techniques used by resistance
Magi not line
Vichy France Operation Sea Lion
Battle of Britain heroes of the BOB The Blitz
Battle of the Atlantic Techniques used by allies in the
Atlantic
Why did Hitler want N Africa? El Alamien
Eisenhower Montgomery Patton Macarthur
Yugoslavia and Greece (Italy)
V1 and V2
POTENTIAL SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS
Battle of Britain Battle of Stalingrad
Japan 1941-45 D Day The Resistance
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Dec. 7, 1941
Air Craft carrier battles
Barbarosa
3 targets of Hitler in USSR
Battle of Stalingrad Scorched Earth
Italy 1944-45
Greater Asia Co prosperity sphere
Pearl Harbour
Air craft carriers Kamikaze
Island Hopping
Nimitz Macarthur
Okinawa Iwo Jima Nagasaki Hiroshima
Aug. 14 1945 Sept. 2 1945
Manhattan Project
Hiro Hito
Tojo
Why was the atomic bomb used?
Enola Gay Little Boy
Fat Boy
Day
Names for Day Eisenhower Rommel
Montgomery
Patton
• Calais
Normandy