Transcript Lsn 16 Intro to World War II

Introduction to World War II and
Hitler’s Initial Success
Lesson 15
Resources
• http://www.dean.usma.edu/history/dhistory
maps/WWIIPages/WWIIEurope/WWIIETo
C.htm
• http://www.dean.usma.edu/history/dhistory
maps/WWIIPages/WWIIPacific/WWIIAToC
.htm
What we’ll cover
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Introduction
North Africa and Italy
Normandy
Pacific and Beginnings of the Cold War
Allied Political Leaders
Churchill, Roosevelt, and
Stalin
Axis Political Leaders
Mussolini and Hitler
Hirohito
German Generals
Kesselring
Guderian
Rommel
Rundstedt
Allied Leaders
Eisenhower
Marshall
Allied Leaders (Europe)
Bradley
Montgomery
Allied Leaders (Europe)
Patton
Hodges
Patch
Allied Leaders (Italy)
Lucas
Clark
Darby
Allied Leaders (Airborne)
Ridgway
Taylor
Gavin
Allied Leaders (Pacific)
King
MacArthur
Greatest Extent of Axis
Control
Surrender of Germany
Greatest Extent of Greater East
Asia Co-prosperity Sphere
Surrender of Japan
Aftermath
• Divided Europe
• Marshall Plan
• Cold War
Divided Europe
Marshall Plan
Hamburg's Moenckebergstrasse in the business
district at the end of the war (left) and in 1950 (right).
Cold War
Adlai Stevenson showing
aerial photographs at
the UN during the Cuban
Missile Crisis in 1962
Ronald Reagan’s “Mr.
Gorbachev, Tear Down This
Wall!”
speech in 1987
Cold War and American
Society
World War II:
Blitzkrieg (“Lightning War”) and
the Eastern Front
Rise of Hitler
• Treaty of Versailles
was very punitive to
Germany
• Unemployment and
other issues created
conditions conducive
for Hitler to rise to
power
Dec 21, 1931
Rebirth of Germany
• Hitler reinstituted
conscription (after France
doubled the length of its
conscripts’ service) and in
March 1936 was strong
enough to reoccupy the
Rhineland
• In June 1934, Hitler purged
many of his paramilitary and
the SS rose up to replace
them
Germany’s Increasingly
Militaristic Approach
• In Nov 1937, Italy joined
Germany in an alliance against
the Soviet Union
• In Mar 1938, Hitler forced
Anschluss (union) with Austria
• On Sept 29-30, the British and
French foreign ministers
attempted to appease Hitler by
acquiescing to his demand for
the Sudentenland under the
understanding Hitler would make
no more territorial demands
– In March 1939 Hitler seized the
western part of Czechoslovakia
Neville Chamberlain
Continued Aggression
• Britain and France now knew
appeasement wouldn’t stop
Hitler and they pledged to
defend Belgium, Holland,
Switzerland, and Poland
against German aggression
• On Aug 22, 1939, Russia and
Germany signed a nonaggression pact
– In the event of a GermanPolish war, Russia could
annex eastern Poland,
Latvia, Estonia, and
Lithuania
• On Sept 1, Hitler invaded
Poland
Russia and Finland
• On Nov 30, Russia
attacked Finland and
on Mar 12, 1940, the
Finns finally surrender
– Russia’s army did not
perform particularly
well which made Hitler
think the Russians
would not be much of
a challenge if
Germany invaded
Finnish infantry passing
a destroyed Russian tank
French and German Plans for
the Battle of France 1940
• France anticipated
the Germans
attacking through
the north as they
did in World War I
so they developed
the Dye Plan to
counter such an
attack
• Built the Maginot
Line in the south to
protect the border
Maginot Line
• A line of concrete
fortifications, tank
obstacles, machine gun
posts and other defenses
which France constructed
along her borders with
Germany and Italy
• The fortifications did not
extend through the
Ardennes Forest which
was considered
“impassable”
Surprise in the Ardennes
• On May 12, 1940
Germany attacked
through the
weakly held
Ardennes region
• Penetrated Allied
defenses and then
began to envelop
them
Guderian Breaks Through at Sedan
Battle of France: May 14, 1940
Hoth Breaks Through at Dinant
Battle of France: May 14-15, 1940
Penetration
• With Hoth’s and
Guderian’s
successes, the
Germans had a 40
mile breakthrough
from Dinant to Sedan
– Pushed through
seven armored
divisions toward
the English
Channel
Dinant
Ardennes
Sedan
The Panzer's Race To The Channel
Battle of France: May 14-24, 1940
Dunkirk was
the last
evacuation port
available to the
Allies.
Dunkirk
Moving in for the Kill
• German forces pressed
the Allied armies
trapped in the north,
from south and east,
into the English
Channel.
• Meanwhile, German
infantry divisions
reinforced the southern
flank of the German
penetration.
• But….
Dunkirk Harbor ablaze from
German bombing
Halt Order
• Hitler halted the German armor
– German armor had suffered heavy losses and
would be needed to conquer the rest of France
– Luftwaffe called upon to finish the job
• Luftwaffe unable to destroy the British and French
– Bases in western Germany were further away
from Dunkirk than British planes were from
their bases on the British Isles
• 340,000 Allied troops were evacuated
The Weygand Line Collapses
Battle of France: June 4-14, 1940
Consolidation
• On June 16, French asked for an armistice.
• Battle of Britain began.
– “Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties and
so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its
Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will
still say, ‘This was their finest hour.’” (Winston
Churchill)
Italy Joins the Axis
• On June 10, 1940,
Mussolini declared
war on Britain and
France and four
months later
invaded Greece
• Mussolini will end
up being a
troublesome ally
for Hitler
The Eastern Front
• On June 22, 1941, Hitler invaded Russia in
Operation Barbarossa
• The operation encompassed a total troop
strength of about 4 million men, making it the
biggest single land operation ever
• Benefiting from initial surprise, by the end of July
Hitler had occupied a portion of Russia twice the
size of France
• However, by the time the Germans reached the
outskirts of Moscow in December, the Russian
winter had set in
Operation Barbarossa
The Eastern Front
• Ultimately enormous logistical shortcomings made
Barbarossa a failure
– Germany proved capable of fighting battles very well, but was
less capable of fighting a war of prolonged duration
• In the total four years of fighting on the Eastern Front, an
estimated 4 million Axis and 9 million Russians were
killed in battle
• 20 million Soviet civilians were killed as a result of
extermination campaigns against Jews, communists and
partisans, casual massacres, reprisal killings, diseases,
and (sometimes planned) starvation.
Stalingrad (Aug 1942-Feb 1943)
Stalingrad
Stalingrad
Stalingrad
Greatest Extent of Axis Control
Auftragstaktik
• German interwar doctrine emphasized:
– decentralized, mission-oriented orders
(Auftragstaktik)
– speed and exploitation of enemy
weaknesses maximized by troop
commanders taking the initiative
(understand commander’s intent)
– close integration and cooperation between
combat branches (mobile warfare required
armor, infantry, and artillery)
– leadership from the front
US Mobilization Efforts
• The US Army had deteriorated in the interwar
period
– “The Army during the 1920s and early 1930s may
have been less ready to function as a fighting force
than at any time in its history.” (Russell Weigley)
– Professional military education had moved forward
especially at the Command and General Staff School
where the key military leadership of WWII was trained
US Mobilization Efforts
• Until the attack on Pearl Harbor, a large number
of Americans felt the growing war was not their
concern
• A peacetime draft was initiated in the summer of
1940, but it had many opponents
• In a Dec 29, 1940 radio address, Roosevelt
argued that the war was of concern to the US
and declared, “We must be the great arsenal of
democracy.”
US Mobilization Efforts
• In March 1941, the Lend-Lease Act
permitted the President to “sell, transfer
title to, exchange, lease, lend, or
otherwise dispose of, to any such
government [whose defense the
President deems vital to the defense of
the United States] any defense article.”
• America was still divided, but after Pearl
Harbor it rallied behind the President
and began to translate its economic and
personnel strength into military power
• At first there were severe shortages as
US industry shifted its focus to meet
military demands, but by 1943 the
dividends of the economic mobilization
had become apparent
Nationwide food
rationing was
introduced in 1942
Next
• North Africa and Italy