Transcript 16-1
WWII 16-1 Lightning War • Bombers, tanks and 1.5 million troops attack Poland • France and Britain declare war on Germany • Poland conquered after 3 weeks Blitzkrieg • Use fast moving planes & tanks then massive infantry taking enemy by surprise Maginot Line • System of fortifications on French/German border Blitzkrieg • Hitler invades Denmark and Norway France • Hitler goes through woods in Belgium to bypass Maginot Line – attack France Dunkirk • Brit and French troops trapped at port • 850 ships sail from England to rescue 338,000 troops – sail back and forth • Heroic effort France Falls • Mussolini declares war on France and invades in south • Paris & France fall to Germany Charles De Gaulle • French General flees to London –Organizes Free French military –Terrorize Nazi’s in France throughout war Britain • Winston Churchill – Brit Prime Minister –Never surrender • Operation Sea Lion – Hitler’s plan to invade Britain RAF Secrets • Radar – Electronic tracking system –#, speed, & directions of planes • Enigma – German code making machine –Can read secret German messages Battle of Britain • Hitler stunned by Brit resistance –Calls off idea of invading Britain and focuses on Eastern Europe N. Africa • Italy & Germany attack N. Africa – Egypt & Suez Canal (Brit controlled) along with oil fields Desert Fox • Hitler sends Gen. Erwin Rommel who forms the Afrika Korps –Rommel pushes Brits back into Egypt Operation Barbarossa • Hitler invades USSR – • USSR not prepared – 5 million troops but not well equipped – Officers were purged • Germans surround Leningrad – bomb and starve city – 1 million die in city during winter Moscow • Germans outside Moscow • Soviet Gen. Georgi Zhukov counter attacks –Harsh winter • Hitler orders “No Retreat” –Lose 500,000 soldiers U.S. Aides Allies • Neutrality Acts – illegal to sells arms to warring nations • Lend-Lease Act – President can lend or lease supplies to countries vital to U.S. Atlantic Charter • FDR & Churchill agree to uphold free trade among nations & right of people to choose own govt.