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Objectives

Know the key events that shaped the course of
World War II in Europe
Invasion of Poland (1939)
• September 1, Germany and Russia
invade Poland
• September 3, Great Britain and France
Declare War on Germany
• Poland surrenders on 27 September
• Period in inactivity termed ‘The Phony
War” – French believed this signaled
that Germany was preparing its static
defenses (akin to WWI trench warfare)
Invasion of France (1940)
• April/June: Germany conquers
Denmark and Norway in the north to
secure its right flank and access to the
Atlantic
• May: Germany invades the Netherlands,
Belgium enroute to its invasion of
France
• June 14: Germany marches into Paris
• June 22: France surrenders and the
Vichy government is established
• Battle of Britain (“The Blitz”) begins
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
43zVRey2XEs
Operation Barbarossa
• The Germans invaded the Soviet Union in
the summer of 1941, and looked poised to
take Moscow by October that year.
• The German Blitzkrieg technique was as
devastating in Russia as it had been in the
rest of Europe. One week into the German
invasion, 150,000 Soviet soldiers were
either dead or wounded.
• By October 1941, three million Soviet
soldiers were prisoners of war.
• War of Annihilation
• September 1942 – February 1943: Battle of
Stalingrad
• Major Turning Point in European
Theater
• German Army attacking Stalingrad
surrendered Feb 2, 1943.
Allied Initial Stages: 1941 - 1942
• Having survived the Blitz and the evacuation of
its army at Dunkirk, Great Britain needed time
to gather her strength in Europe.
• British initial strategy was to hold Africa (Suez
Canal) while using Strategic Bombing to strike
at German Industry.
• While the United States enters the war following
Pearl Harbor, she needs time to build-up her
forces in Europe
• The Second Front Debate
• Operation Torch begins 8 Nov 1942
Invasion of Sicily and Italy
• July 1943 American and British forces land in
Sicily. Tough terrain and resistance initially
slows Allied advances
• 17 Aug – Sicily surrenders with fall of Messina
• Italian government begins secret negotiations
with Allies to sue for peace. Germany disarms
the Italian military and digs in to defend Italy
• With Sicily now secure, the Allies begin the
invasion of Italy in Sep 1943
• Fighting up the spine of Italy is difficult, but on
4 June 1944 (two days prior to D-Day), U.S.
forces enter Rome.
• Italy finally surrenders on 2 May 1945
D-Day to Market Garden
• While there was significant debate among the Allies on the timing of a cross-channel invasion of
France, the D-Day invasion begins on June 6, 1944.
• However, while maintaining securing a foothold is one thing, sustaining a drive into Germany is
another. Operation Market Garden launched on 17 Sept 1944 was designed to relieve this concern
The Beginning of the End
• In a last ditch effort to stabilize the Western
Front, Germany commits her last reserves of
tanks and infantry. On 16 Dec 1944 German
forces struck the lightly held sector in the
Ardennes, cutting driving a wedge in the Allied
lines and surrounding the U.S. 101st Airborne.
• Short on fuel and pounded by U.S. aircraft and
armor the last German offensive collapses by the
end of January 1945.
• Also in Jan 1945, Russia launches a large-scale
offensive in Poland and East Prussia that carried
their troops to within forty miles of Berlin.
• German forces that survived the Battle of the
Bulge had to be hurriedly shifted eastward to
meet the growing Russian threat.
• April 16, 1945 Russia has surrounded Berlin
• Hitler commits suicide in his bunker on April
30th, with the formal surrender of Germany on 7
May 1945 (8 May declared as VE Day)
Europe – Post World War II
Objectives

Know the key events that shaped the course of
World War II in Europe