Transcript The Phony War, Evacuation of Dunkirk & The Battle of

The Phony War, Evacuation of
Dunkirk & The Battle of Britain
The Phoney War
• The Phoney War was a phase in early World
War II—in the months following the German
invasion of Poland in September 1939 and
preceding the Battle of France in May 1940—
that was marked by a lack of major military
operations in Continental Europe.
The various European powers had
declared war on one another but
neither side had committed to
launching a significant attack, and
there was relatively little fighting on
the ground.
Dunkirk
Battle of Dunkirk
• The Battle of Dunkirk was a battle in the Second World
War between the Allies and Germany.
• The Battle of Dunkirk was the defence and evacuation of
British and allied forces in Europe from 24 May to 4 June
1940.
• After the Phoney War, the Battle of France began in
earnest on 10 May 1940.
In one of the most widely-debated
decisions of the war, Adolf Hitler ordered
his generals to halt for three days, giving
the Allies time to organise an evacuation
and build a defensive line. Despite the
Allies' gloomy estimates of the situation,
in the end, over 330,000 Allied troops
were rescued.
Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain
• The Battle of Britain is the name given to the
air campaign waged by the German Air Force
(Luftwaffe) against the United Kingdom during
the summer and autumn of 1940.
• The objective of the campaign was to gain air
superiority over the Royal Air Force (RAF),
especially Fighter Command.
• The Battle of Britain was the first major
campaign to be fought entirely by air forces, and
was also the largest and most sustained aerial
bombing campaign to that date.
• The failure of Germany to achieve its
objectives of destroying Britain's air
defenses, or forcing Britain to negotiate an
armistice or an outright surrender is
considered its first major defeat and one of
the crucial turning points in the war.
• If Germany had gained air superiority,
Adolf Hitler might have launched
Operation Sea Lion, an amphibious and
airborne invasion of Britain.