Transcript Lightning War - History by Mills

WWII
Lightning War
1939-1945
WWII Begins
September 1, 1939,
Germany Invaded Poland
► France & Great Britain
declare war on Germany
but are too weak to stop
them
The Alliances:
► Allied Powers: France,
Great Britain, Soviet Union
(eventually) and America
(eventually)
► Axis Powers: Germany,
Italy, Japan
►
Poland Divided
► Hitler
& Stalin signed
nonagression pact
(they would not attack
each other)
► Hitler
agreed to give
half of Poland to
Russia
“Blitzkrieg” Lightning War
► Hitler
used new tactic
called “Blitzkrieg”
► Planes, tanks, artillery,
and troops used to
quickly overwhelm
enemy
► Hitler first used the
Blitz on Poland
“Sitzkrieg” or Phoney War
►
►
►
After declaring war, France
stationed troops along the
Maginot Line and waited
for attack for 3 months
The Maginot Line was a
series of French
fortifications along the
German and Italian
borders
German and French troops
grew bored sitting around
waiting for the offensive
instructions
France Falls
► May
1940- Germany
sent troops around
Maginot Line
► Italy
invaded from
south
► Paris
1940
fell on June 10,
Battle of Dunkirk
German troops trapped
the last allied troops on
the beaches of Dunkirk
in Northern France
► Britain sent 850 ships to
rescue 338,000 soldiers
► Once the Germans took
France, the only
remaining enemy on the
Western Front was Great
Britain. Hitler went there
next…
►
Battle of Britain
►
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Germany planned to invade
Britain and started bombing
in 1940.
Battle took place only in
the air between the
Luftwaffe and British Air
Force.
British cities like London
were burned and many
people killed-people even
lived in the subways!
British used radar and the
enigma (code breaking
machine) to detect German
planes
After months of bombing
with no British surrender,
Germany finally gave upthey could be stopped!
Winston Churchill
► The
success of the
British during the Blitz
was possible, in part,
because of Churchill
► British Prime Minister
during WWII
► Fearless leader and
great speaker who was
able to keep the
Germans from
invading Great Britain
Famous Churchill Quote:
“History will be kind to me for I
intend to write it.”
Germany on the Move
►
►
After Hitler was not able to
take Britain, he turned to
the east instead
After Poland and France,
Germany invaded other
countries:
 Denmark
 Norway
 Egypt
 Algeria
 Tunisia
Hitler Invades Russia
►
Hitler ignored the nonaggression pact with
Russia and attacked on
June 22, 1941
►
Russia had a 5 million man
army but it was weak and
not well equipped
►
Germans pushed 500 miles
into Russia and Russia
burned everything in the
German path (sound
familiar?)
Siege of Leningrad
►
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Leningrad was formerly known as St.
Petersburg
Hitler was confident that he could
capture Leningrad. He supposedly had
plans to name the city Adolfsburg after
its capture
German troops surrounded the city of
2.5 million and bombed food
warehouses for 872 days (2.5 years!)
The Russians starved and resorted to
eating horse feed, cats, dogs, crows, &
rats to survive
1 million people died but the city never
surrendered
Hitler is Finally Stopped
►
Hitler sent troops towards Moscow
after Leningrad did not fall
►
Winter set in and German fuel and
oil froze along with troops in
summer uniforms
►
500,000 Germans died during the
winter and the Russians began
pushing them back
What’s America Doing?
► Although
neutral in the war, Pres. Roosevelt knew
that America might be drawn into war.
► America gave the Allies weapons in the LendLease Act and Cash and Carry policy.
► Hitler ordered the sinking of any ship aiding the
Allies.
► Roosevelt and Churchill wrote the Atlantic Charterpeace agreement with each other.
► America thought Germany would be the reason
they entered the war…
To be Continued…
Pearl Harbor & the
Holocaust