Transcript Key Events of WWII File

Winston Churchill:
A Man of Profound Words
“Never in the field of human conflict was so much
owed by so many to so few.”
~ Sir Winston Churchill
First they came . . .
• Is a famous statement attributed to Pastor
Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) about the
inactivity of German intellectuals following
the Nazi rise to power and the purging of
their chosen targets, group after group.
Us and Them:
World War II, 1939-1945
The Second War to End All Wars
September 1, 1939
The Second World War Begins
The Axis vs. The Allies
• The Axis Powers:
–
–
–
–
1936-1945
Germany
Italy
Japan
• The Allied Powers:
–
–
–
–
1939-1945
Britain
France
USA
Blitzkrieg
• New German invasion plan of “lightning war”
practiced on Poland
• Called for wave of aerial attacks to
confuse/create havoc for the enemy
Blitzkrieg
• Followed by ‘Panzer’ (tank) divisions &
motorized infantry divisions
• Outflank the enemy in ‘Pincer’ movement
(double envelopment)
1. Fall of Poland
• Hitler’s ‘blitz’ rolled across Polish plains
– Flat geography aided to the success of the
strategy (*remember that!)
• Britain and France declare war on Germany two
days later (September 3, 1939); Canada on
September 10, 1939
1. Fall of Poland
• 17 September - USSR invaded from the east (per
the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact)
• By 29 September, Poland was defeated
Nazi Invasion of Poland
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NBES
yRDe3c
• 1 minute + 13 seconds
2. The “Phony War”
Fall 1939-Spring 1940
• Sometimes referred to as “sitzkrieg”
– A lack of action on the Western Front; GB and
Fr. are preparing for war
• France and Britain bound to support Poland by
alliance
2. The “Phony War”
Fall 1939-Spring 1940
• Poland was conquered before they could
mobilize
– Airpower insufficient to travel that far
– Both wished to maintain air forces for
expected German attack
3. The Winter War:
USSR vs. Finland
• Along with Poland the USSR’s Red Army
wanted to seize Finland and attacked on
November 30, 1939
– Fins provided fierce resistance
– 4 month battle know as the “Winter War” took
place before Finland fell and signed a peace
treaty on March 12, 1940
3. USSR vs. Finland
• USSR also seized the Baltic States from June 1517, 1940
• Baltic States = Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania
Finnish Ski Patrol
4. Conquest of Denmark + Norway
• April 1940: Hitler attacks Scandinavia
• Previously took Belgium and the Netherlands
(Holland)
• Britain ‘raced’ Germany to Norway but lost
Scandinavia - Norway, Sweden,
Finland
4. Conquest: Norway
• Nazis overran Norway:
– received assistance from Norwegian traitors
called “fifth columnists”
– both countries sought important Atlantic
submarine bases
– Norwegian Resistance movement – Max
Manus (film)
Fjords (aka inlets) provided sheltered bases for submarines
4. Conquest: Romania
• October 1940: German army occupies Romania
– joined the Axis Powers
Romania
5. The Invasion of the Western
Front
• May 10, 1940
– inaction ended with the Nazis attack
“Benelux” countries (Netherland,
Belgium and Luxemburg) and France
5. The Invasion of the Western
Front
• Germans largely bypassed Franco-German
border
– heavy mountainous terrain
– heavily fortified by the French with the
Maginot Line
Maginot Line
5.The Western Front (cont)
• Nazi armies easily defeated the Allies
– British soldiers had crossed the English
Channel to support Benelux countries
– The fall of Belgium the British (and to some
degree the French) were trapped by German
forces
5.The Western Front (cont)
• The point of escape was the port of Dunkirk
(May 25, 1940)
– At Dunkirk over 300,000 troops evacuated by
British navy and volunteers
– Considered a moral (not a military) victory by
British: best troops lived to fight another day
Dunkirk Evacuation
Evacuation of Dunkirk
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPnaoR
KvP6I
• 1 minute + 24 seconds
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSoDL
fQKhGI
• 3 minutes + 58 seconds
6. The Fall of France
• Following Dunkirk Germans raced into France
• Much French resistance collapsed
– They were in a state of disarray
– Blitzkrieg was extremely effective
6. The Fall of France
• Mussolini (Italy), confident of victory, declared
war on France on June 10, 1940
• Parts of the French government fled to London
6. The Fall of France (cont)
• On June 14, 1940 the Germans took Paris
– Hitler did a whirlwind one day tour; this was
the last time he would set foot in Paris
6. The Fall of France (cont)
• The French surrendered on June 22, 1940
– Maginot line proved useless
– Slow movement of infantry
– Fr. air force no match for German Luftwaffe
– Internal political divisions – extreme right (fascists)
and extreme left (communists) both opposed war
Hitler in Paris
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lsbokn
3H2xk
• 1 minute + 33 seconds
6. Fall of France:
Terms of Surrender
• Fr. was forced to sign armistice in same place
Germans signed in 1918
• Escaped troops created “Free French in exile”
under leadership of a little known General:
Charles de Gaulle
6. Fall of France: Terms of
Surrender (cont)
• North and Atlantic ports occupied by Nazis
– British sank French fleet to prevent German
acquisition
• Southern France was permitted a semiindependent government at Vichy in Southern
France (called Vichy France, 1940-1944)
6. Fall of France: Terms
of Surrender (cont)
• Vichy France, 1940-1944:
– Run by Marshall Henri-Philippe Petain
– Collaborated with Nazis/were pro-Nazi
6. Fall of France: Terms
of Surrender (cont)
– The issue of collaboration became a very
contentious one at the end and after the war
– No real independence although deemed a “free
zone” and headed the Vichy government in the
South of France
A Grand Alliance
The Big Three:
– Great Britain
(Winston Churchill)
– The U.S. (FDR)
– The Soviet Union
(Joseph Stalin)
Strategies for War:
– Defeat Germany
first
7. The Battle of Britain:
July 10-September 30, 1940
“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.’”
~ Sir Winston Churchill to the House of Commons of the
UK
on 18 June 1940.
7. The Battle of Britain (cont)
• Battle name for control of the skies above GB
and the English Channel
• From a German point of view it is a necessary
first step to the invasion of the British Isles
(known as Operation Sea Lion)
7. The Battle of Britain (cont)
• From a British point of view it is the battle of
survival
• At this time GB was the sole remaining
(democratic) world power against Nazi
aggression
“Operation Sea Lion”
Attack Plan
• Operation Sea Lion:
– Code name for Germany’s planned invasion of
GB (August 1940)
• German Luftwaffe vs. British R.A.F.
“Operation Sea Lion”
Attack Plan
– Goering promised to eliminate the RAF in four
days
– Air raid attacks began with shipping convoys
in the Channel during July, air fields on
August 12, and then radar stations
• Many believed no defense could be made against
bombing raids
Royal Air Force (RAF)
• British Air Marshall planned defense for years
– Realized defense would rely on production of
fighter aircraft
• Inferior in numbers to Luftwaffe; 3:1, but
maintained a kill ration of 1887 plan to 1017
planes
• RAF had superiority in quality with the Spitfire
RAF Spitfire
Radar
• British also had the advantage of radar
technology:
– Used radio waves to detect German bomber
and fighter squadrons
Radar + Enigma = Ultra
• Also had benefit of Enigma code-breaker:
– A German cipher machine which enabled the
British to receive and decode German
messages
• “Ultra” became the designation for signal
intelligence obtained by code breaking
German Luftwaffe
• Vastly outnumbered the enemy
• Pilots were better trained and had superior tactics
• Underestimated effectiveness of British aircraft
production
• Combat disadvantage….
BF-109
• Had less than 30 minutes flying time over
Great Britain
The Course of the Battle
• Began with raids on British shipping in the
English Channel in July 1940
– Britain strategically bombed Hamburg,
Germany = ship building/submarine capital of
Germany
The Course of the Battle
• Moved to airfields in August, pushing 100 mile
gap into coastline
• British Air Marshall Hugh Dowding knew
defending airfields more important than German
kills
– Aircraft could be replaced, pilots are much
harder
Oops!
• German bomber squadron accidentally bombed
civilians in London
• Churchill orders retaliatory attack on Berlin
• Civilian bombing of Berlin = vowed never to do
Oops!
• September 7, 1940 - Goering orders change in
target to London
– Effectively ended strategy of attacking airfields
– Ordered squadrons to fly in close formation to
protect assets - made for better targets
– Allowed the RAF to rest and rebuild
The Blitz: The Bombing of London
• Hitler hoped to demoralize the British people by
bombing London and other cities; it did the
opposite
• Fighter Command could continue to shoot down
German bombers
The Blitz: The Bombing of London
• Englanders rallied around Churchill
– “We can take it” attitude
– Took up moral outrage at the damage caused
(including to Buckingham Palace)
The Blitz:
The Bombing of London
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuIVY
KKy-Dk
• 2 minutes + 11 seconds
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvxPid5
xB3Y
• 3 minutes + 8 seconds
The Blitz: Hitler Defeated
• Planned invasion of Britain had to be postponed
indefinitely
• The British victory in this battle was significant
because:
The Blitz: Hitler Defeated
– First time Hitler had been denied conquest
– Setback for Hitler meant the war would be
long and the USA would join soon
– Allies had a springboard to launch the
reinvasion of Europe = Britain
….a footnote
• British strategists failed to learn a lesson of Battle
of Britain: bombing runs were not terribly
effective
• Later in the war Bomber Command would lose
more personnel in one night over Germany than
during the entire defense of Britain
8. Barbarossa
The Nazi Invasion of the Soviet Union
Background
• Operation Barbarossa was the name given by
Hitler to his attack on the USSR
– Barbarossa the man was a fabled German
warrior from the 1190s
Background: Goals
• Three Nazi goals were to be accomplished:
– Lebensraum – inferior people in the East would
have to make way for the “master race;” Soviets
were “rotten at the core”; welcome the invasion
– Acquire the “breadbasket of Europe” – the
Ukraine and other vast resources of the USSR
– Destroy his arch-rival: Communism
Ukraine: Wheat fields
Background: The Decision
• Operation Barbarossa ultimately led to Hitler’s
downfall
• At the time though the decision was not so
foolish
• Hitler needed another victory to keep Nazi
momentum
Background: The Decision
– Nazis dominated Western Europe and Balkans
– British bombing raids were having little
impact
– Germany had more than 7 million men, many
with valuable experience
Background: Soviets
• Stalin had done nothing specific to prepare for a
German attack
• General acceptance that Soviet army was the
weaker force
– Had taken months to conquer Finland
Background (cont)
• Nazis had invaded and occupied Romania in
October 1940
• Mussolini had invaded Greece
– Hitler needed to send troops to conquer
Yugoslavia then Greece
– Delayed his attack of Soviet Union
The Initial Attack
• On June 22, 1941 Hitler double-crossed Stalin
when he attacked on a front stretching from the
Baltic to the Black Sea
– This created a front 2000 miles long
The Initial Attack
• Soviets caught completely by surprise
– Stalin had refused to accept warnings from
Soviet advisors and from Churchill
The Offensive
• A three pronged offensive:
– Army Group North was to go for Leningrad
– Army Group Centre would go for Smolensk
– Army Group south, would go for Kiev
The Offensive
• Blitzkrieg initially worked very well
– Advanced more than 400 miles in 3 weeks
• After initial success, the German army faltered =
allowed Soviets to regroup
Operation Barbarossa
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqNTJNBcfA
• 2 minutes + 6 seconds
Soviet Counterattacks
• Advance on Moscow postponed until end of
September
• Nazis got within 20 miles of Russian capital
(Moscow)
– Halted before entering the city
Soviet Counterattacks (cont)
• Stalin rally his people and the Russian forces to
fight for “Mother Russia”
– The ideology had little value as a tool for
rallying the population
Soviet Counterattacks (cont)
• Invoked the scorched earth policy
– The Soviet government traded territory for
time
Soviet Counterattacks (cont)
– Retreating forces and civilians destroyed
everything left behind so Nazis could not use
– Villages and crops were burned, animals were
slaughtered, wells were poisoned
– The Germans were not to be allowed to live
off the land
Continuing the Attacks
• By November, Soviets began series of
counterattacks
• By December, Germans had lost all forward
initiative
• Before winter, the Nazis seized Leningrad
(formally St. Petersburg), Kiev and key cities on
route to Crimea, but most importantly they were
halted a mere fifty kilometers from Moscow
The German Failure
• Soviets lost more than 2 million men but
Barbarossa’s strategic objectives had not been
met
– German had vast stretches of Soviet territory
and had devastated the Red Army
– The Caucasus oil fields remained in Soviet
hands
The German Failure
• The Red Army was able to mount dangerous
counteroffensive
• German planners failed to account for winter in
USSR; it stopped the Nazis onslaught
German Failure (cont)
– Equipment was damaged and bogged down
– Nazi soldiers ill-prepared (many froze to
death)
– Supply lines became too extended (blitzkrieg
relies on speed)
•
German Failure (cont)
• Soviet army fought with extreme heroism, despite
initial mistakes
– It would take over four years to fully roust the
Nazis from USSR
9. The African Theatre
Desert Rats vs. the Desert Fox
The Value of North Africa
• North Africa became a strategic theatre of War
for two main reasons:
– The Suez Canal: Trade Route
• Could lead to control of the Canal, the vital
British shipping connection to the Far and
Middle East
Suez Canal
The Value of North Africa
– Oil: Technological Necessity
• Lead to a possible control of Middle East oil
resources (strategic resources b/c of highly
mechanized/mobile conflict)
• Italians under Mussolini were first to invade N.
Africa - attacking Egypt in September 1940
• British counterattacked in December 1940
Oil in North Africa
The Desert Fox
• General Erwin Rommel led the German forces =
The Afrika Corps
• Arrived in Feb. 1942 to help the Italians
• Had led French invasion in 1940
The Desert Fox
• Drove the British out of Libya
• Invaded Egypt but later defeated
• Footnote: part of a plot to kill Hitler (July 20,
1944: Valkyrie; German Resistance)
The Desert Rat
• General Bernard Montgomery (Monty) led
British forces
• Arrived in North Africa in Aug. 1942
The Desert Rat
• Built a stockpile of weapons and men for
eventual attack
• Broke through Rommel’s forces in October 1942
North African Battle
El Alamein: The Turning Point
• In October 1942 the stage was set for a decisive
battle in North Africa
• El Alamein is close to the Suez Canal (about 60
miles/100 km)
– Capturing this site would mean control of
Suez
El Alamein: The Turning Point
• German forces were principally controlling
Libya
• October 23 – November 3: Rommel defeated by
Montgomery’s “Desert Rats”
– Began retreat towards Tunisia
Significance of El Alamein
• Suez Canal remained in Allied hands
• Hitler was denied access to the oil of the Middle
East
Significance of El Alamein
• It proved to the Allies that Hitler’s best forces
could be beaten
– The geography of North Africa was ideal for
tank and aircraft warfare
– Large distances could be covered in combat
and retreat
The U.S. Arrives in Africa
• November 1942 the Americans arrive in
Morocco
– Had joined the war in December 1941 (Pearl
Harbour)
• Led by General Dwight David Eisenhower
(Ike)
The U.S. Arrives in Africa
• Launched ‘Operation Torch’ on Nov. 8, 1942
• Negotiated deal with Vichy France - had over
100,000 troops in North Africa – land in Algiers
• Led forces against Germany from the west
– The Germans were trapped, Rommel escaped
Operation Torch Landings - November 1942
Significance of the Battle in
North Africa
• Prepared way for liberation of Italy
• Reopened routes to the Middle East
• Showed Hitler’s forces best forces could be
beaten
• It was the first U.S./European alliance action
10. The United States and WWII
From Isolationism to Full Combat
a. Neutrality Acts of 1939
• Originally Congress wanted it to be illegal to sell
any arms to belligerents
• Shortly after war began, Franklin Roosevelt
convinced Congress to permit Cash and Carry
sales to Britain
a. Neutrality Acts of 1939
• Cash and Carry sales to Britain:
– I.e. if you can pay for it up front and ship it
yourselves - we’ll sell it to ya!
– Designed to give limited assistance to Atlantic
sea powers (Britain and France) while
maintaining American neutrality
Big thoughts +
making connections…
• What advantages might the American
Congress see to a policy such as the
Neutrality Act?
• What economic benefits might it have?
• What social or political benefits might it
have?
b. Changes in Public Opinion
• Roosevelt went to great pains to try to convince
the American public of the dangers to American
national security posed by the Axis powers
• When France fell in 1940, Americans began to
realize Britain stood alone between them and a
hostile Fascist world
b. Changes in Government
Opinion
• Congress began to support a vast military
buildup and aid to Britain by all measures short
of war
c. Military Preparedness
• Congress authorized a two ocean navy and a
huge air force
• In 1940 Congress passed the Selective Service
Act
– Provided for America's first peacetime
conscription
d. Destroyer-Naval Base Deal
• Roosevelt traded fifty "over age" destroyers to
Britain
– Exchanged for military bases on British
territory in the Western Hemisphere
d. Destroyer-Naval Base Deal
• Britain needed the destroyers to combat German
submarines
• The U.S. needed the bases as defensive outposts
e. The Lend-lease Act of 1941
• March 11, 1941 Roosevelt signed the Lend
Lease Act:
– Give supplies to powers fighting causes
friendly to the USA
– The President could lend or lease goods to any
nation whose defense he deemed necessary
for the defense of the U.S.
e. The Lend-lease Act of 1941
• Roosevelt requested new legislation to maintain
the U.S. as the "arsenal of democracy”:
– Immediately extended substantial aid to Britain
– Later gave aid to other Allies, including Russia
– Ordered American merchant ships carrying lendlease goods be escorted by U.S. navy vessels part
way across the Atlantic
f. Embargo on Goods to Japan
• United States opposed Japan's plans for an
East-Asian empire
– In 1940-41, the U.S. protested Japanese
occupation of French Indo-China
f. Embargo on Goods to Japan
• When protests proved ineffective, Roosevelt
embargoed sale of aviation gasoline, scrap iron,
and other strategic materials to Japan
– This "froze" Japanese assets in the United
States
g. Japanese attack Pearl Harbor
• The Pacific Theater of war began with:
• Japanese resented American interference in
Japanese expansion plans
– Greater East-Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere
g. Japanese attack Pearl Harbor
• On December 7, 1941, Japan staged a "sneak
attack" on US naval base at Pearl Harbor
– Japanese planned to "humble" the United
States and assure Japanese domination of
eastern Asia
g. Japanese attack Pearl Harbor
(cont)
Forced U.S. actively into the war
– Germany and Italy declared war on U.S.
– Axis hoped by forcing U.S. into a Pacific War,
U.S. would be unable to complete military
preparations and would end Lend-Lease aid to
Britain and USSR
Pearl Harbour
The Bombing of Pearl Harbour
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifBexLJ
bVPA
• 1 minute + 4 seconds
This Day Will Live In Infamy
The Bombing of Pearl Harbour
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifBexLJ
bVPA
• 1 minute + 4 seconds
11. The Battle of the Atlantic
Lifeline to the Allies
The Menace of the U-boats
• Britain needed to keep open shipping lanes to
North America
• Shipping lanes suffered from the unprotected
region beyond range of ship or aircraft known as
Mid-Atlantic Gap
The Menace of the U-boats
• German U-boats sank 100s of Allied ships
– Üntersee boats (German submarines - Uboats) hunted merchant shipping in Wolf
Packs accompanied by bombers
North Atlantic shipping lanes
German U-Boats
The Course of the Battle
• Germany had much success in early part of the
war
• By the middle of 1942 Germany was sinking
ships faster than Allies could build them (Allies
experienced net loss)
– In the Spring of 1943 over 107 Allied ships
sunk in a single twenty day period
Atlantic Defense:
Reversing the Trend
• Allies began to make effective use of radar
• Developed aircraft with longer flight range to
protect shipping
Atlantic Defense:
Reversing the Trend
• Ships organized into large convoys (up to fifty
ships) with more warship escorts
• Towards the end of 1943, German U-boats had
less of an effect allowing for clear shipping lane
– Note: Canada played a significant role
defending the Atlantic = convoys
12. The Eastern Front:
Back to the USSR
Pushing West towards victory
a. Winter in the USSR
• USSR 1941-42: harshest winter in fifty years
– Halted mechanized warfare; immobilized
tanks and airplanes
a. Winter in the USSR
• Hitler miscalculated the length of time German
troops would be in the USSR
– Assumed would be home by winter so not
given provisions
– The German troops had to “dig in” to the
snow banks; troops died of exposure by the
thousands
b. Counterattack +
Counteroffensive
• While Germans suffered through winter, Stalin
launched counterattack
• When spring 1942 arrived, Hitler opened a
counteroffensive
b. Counterattack +
Counteroffensive
• Hitler’s counteroffensive:
– He would abandoning goal of Moscow and
attack in the North (Leningrad) and in the
South towards Stalingrad
– Goals were to progress towards the Caucasus
oil fields
c. Battle of Stalingrad
• Began in September 1942 in Stalingrad (1925;
formally and today known as Volgograd) and
lasted until February 1943
– Vicious, street by street urban warfare
– Extremely high casualties
– Soviet army led by Marshall Georgy Zhukov
– Stalin’s order was "Not a step backwards"
c. Battle of Stalingrad
• By late November German forces cut off and
surrounded
– Hitler refused to permit surrender; told the
German Commanding Officer, Friedrich Von
Paulus, to fight to the death and not retreat
– Air support from Goering never arrived
– Over 300,000 Nazi soldiers surrendered in
early 1943
Road to Liberation
• Germany now on defensive
• Hitler lost some of the best units of his once
mighty army
Road to Liberation
• Hitler denied access to Caucasus oil fields
• US lend-lease aid making its way to the USSR
via Iran
• Key Point: Stalingrad was the road to liberation
of Eastern Europe
13. Welcome to Italy
From Sicily to Rome
a. Landing on Sicily
• North African defeat helped to pave way for
Italian invasion
• Stalin preferred an invasion of France but after
Dieppe the Allies needed more time to prepare
– Allied attack on the German-occupied port of
Dieppe on the northern coast of France on 19
August 1942 – 60% were wounded, killed or
captured
a. Landing on Sicily
• Allies want to isolate Germany because they
needed to first eliminate Italy
– Planned to invade Sicily as a staging ground
for the attack on Italy (re-capture)
– Codename: Operation Husky
Landing on Sicily (cont)
• July 1943 (night of 9-10) - Allies invade (UK,
USA, Canada)
– The Allied forces landed on Sicily using an
amphibious then airborne attack
• Resistance from Italians was minimal - German
military in Sicily put up a great fight until forced
to evacuate
Landing on Sicily (cont)
• Allies captured important landing ground
– Note: during the Sicily campaign, Mussolini
was deposed by his own people and Italy
surrendered kind of… Hitler rescued him and
placed him in Northern Italy as a puppet
dictator
b. Mainland Italy
• September 1943, Allies landed at Salerno and
Taranto, Mainland Italy
• Fighting in Italy was some of the toughest in the
war
– It took Allies until June 5, 1944 to capture
Rome
– Fighting in Italy would not end until May 2,
1945
b. Mainland Italy
• April 1945, Mussolini re-captured (having been
earlier rescued by Hitler)
– He and his mistress hung were killed and hung
on display at an Esso gas station in Milan
– Cursing and stoning Mussolini became object
of favorite Italian pastime!
14. The Second Front
The End of the War in Europe
The Western Front after 1940
• Most of the Western front fighting between
1940 - 1944 was limited to aerial
• Germany continued Blitz on U.K. - as
ineffective as British and American strategic
bombing on Germany
The Western Front after 1940
• Strategic bombing served three purposes:
– Kept Allies fighting in the West
– Attempted to limit German ability to conduct
war at all
– Worked to demoralized the enemy
Terror Bombing
• Most long range missions unsuccessful until late
1943
• Allies conducted terror bombing on Germany
who took up the “we can take it” attitude
• German cities targeted in hopes of achieving total
destruction and disrupting civilian populations.
– Excess took place on both sides
Berlin
1.Operation Overlord
• June 6, 1944
• Beaches of Normandy, France
• The planned invasion of France: Operation
Overlord
– Aka D-Day, Normandy Invasion/Landings,
Operation Neptune, “The Longest Day”)
1.Operation Overlord
• Commanded by American Dwight D.
Eisenhower
– Made supreme commander of Allied forces
– Commander three million men
• D-Day was originally planned for June 5, 1944
= postponed because of poor weather
The Landing:
D-Day Officially Begins
• The official day for Operation
Overlord is June 6, 1944
• It was the single largest
amphibious landing (via
Higgins Boats) ever carried out
The Landing:
D-Day Officially Begins
– Beaches named Utah and Omaha were to be
taken by the Americans
– The British took the beaches of Gold and
Sword
– The fifth beach, Juno, was taken by Canadian
forces
Normandy Landing
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlfZ9N
oyIuM
• 1 minutes + 55 seconds
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHvqS
2kk1rs
• Saving Private Ryan Clip
Normandy Landing Pictures
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feKQD
3EiFUg
• 4 minutes + 6 seconds
• Alternative: View Normandy Landing
Slides
2.Liberating France
• The Allied forces were met with fierce Nazi
resistance
– These were forces held back from Russian
front
• The Resistance (formerly an French underground
anti-Nazi organization) came out in the open and
assisted the Allies
2.Liberating France
• Suffering heavy casualties,
Allies eventually pushed
Nazis out of France
• On August 25, 1944 Charles
De Gaulle led the Allies into
Paris
Vive la France Libre
3.The Road to Berlin
• By September 1944 the Allies (Americans) were
near the German border
• Suffered setback at Operation Market Garden
(Sept 17 – 25, 1944)
– Dropped three airborne divisions behind the
German lines in Holland only to have them
cut to pieces by the Germans
3.The Road to Berlin:
Battle of the Bulge
• On 15 December, 1944 the Germans launched
last major counteroffensive - Battle of the
Bulge (aka "Operation Watch on the Rhine” ) –
and found a weak spot in the Allied front in
Ardennes
• Location: Borderlines on the densely forested
Ardennes mountain region in Belgium, France
and Luxembourg
Buzz-Bomb Revenge Attacks
• The Allies were able to fly the skies over
Germany almost unopposed
• With little hope of winning the Germans began
their last ditch efforts with revenge weapons
Buzz-Bomb Revenge Attacks
– Began launching of V-1 or buzz-bombs (unmanned flying bombs – early cruise
missiles) and V-2’s (ballistic missile rockets
that flew at supersonic speeds)
– Did not have an impact on the outcome of
WWII but were the future of warfare
←V-1
V-2 →
Dresden Raid
• February 1945 the Allies began massive terror
bombing of Dresden, Germany
– Was of no military significance but
represented a large untouched target
– Hoped to rush the Germans into surrender
• This fire-bombing raid killed over 100,000
German people
Berlin is Taken
• Late April 1945 the Americans and Soviets met
in the south of Germany (just outside of Berlin)
at the River Elbe (Elbe Day)
– The German military had been cut in two
– Soviets sought to completely demolish Berlin
Hitler Dies
• 30 April?, 1945: Hitler committed suicide with
his wife Eva Braun
– The exact cause (cyanide capsule + gunshot to
the head) and date of the death of Adolf Hitler
has not been determined
Hitler Dies
– A well known theory states that on 30 April
1945 Hitler committed suicide by gunshot and
cyanide poisoning in his bunker,
Fuhrerbunker, with Eva, whom he married
two days earlier
Hitler’s Appointed Successor
• Hermann Goering was his appointed as Hitler’s
designated successor in 1939
– When Hitler declared that he would remain in the
Berlin bunker to the end, Goering, who had already
left for Bavaria, misinterpreted this as an abdication
and requested that he be allowed to take over at
once; he was ignominiously dismissed from all his
posts, expelled from the Party and arrested.
Hitler’s Appointed Successor
• On 30 April 1945, after the death of Adolf Hitler
and in accordance with Hitler's last will and
testament, Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz was
named Hitler's successor as Staatsoberhaupt
(Head of State), with the title of Reichspräsident
(President) and Supreme Commander of the
Armed Forces - he was the last President of the
Third Reich
•
The Surrender
• Hitler was unaware that the German surrender
had already begun
• On the day before his death all German troops in
Italy laid down their arms
The Surrender
• On May 4, German forces in Holland, Denmark
and northwest Germany surrendered to British
Field Marshall Montgomery
• On May 6, Donitz authorized General Alfred
Jodl to "conclude an armistice agreement" with
General Eisenhower
The Official End
• The Germans wanted a separate peace with the
allied troops in the West in order to continue
their battle with the Russians in the East
• Eisenhower would have none of it. He ordered
the Germans to surrender unconditionally the
next day
The Official End
• The Germans acquiesced, signing the surrender
document on May 7, in the French city of Reims
– The cessation of fighting took effect at 11:01
PM on May 8
– The Russians insisted that a separate signing
take place in Berlin on May 9
– After six catastrophic years, the war in Europe
was over
VE Day
• 2 May - Germany falls to Russians
• 7 May - Germany unconditionally
surrenders
• 8 May 1945 - VE Day (Victory in Europe)
VE Day - May 8, 1945
VE Day - May 8, 1945
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myRZJ
e8IO9I
• 1 minute + 53 seconds
The Pacific Theater
• Within 6 months of Pearl Harbor (Dec. 7, 1941),
Japan had a new empire
– Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere
– Japanese racial purity and supremacy
–Treated Chinese and Koreans with
brutality
The Pacific Theater
– “Rape of Nanjing”- Japanese slaughtered at
least 100,000 civilians and raped thousands of
women/children in the Chinese capital between
Dec. 1937 and Feb. 1938.
– “victory disease”
The Pacific Theater
• After Pearl Harbor, American military leaders
focused on halting the Japanese advance and
mobilizing the whole nation for war
The Pacific Theater:
Early Battles
• After Pearl Harbor, American military leaders
focused on quickly devastating/halting the
Japanese advance and mobilizing the whole
nation for war
• American Forces halted the Japanese advances in
two decisive naval battles
Early Battles: Coral Sea
– Coral Sea (May 1942)
• Planes vs. planes (supported by aircraft
carriers)
• U.S. stopped a fleet convoying Japanese
troops to New Guinea
• Japanese designs on Australia ended
Early Battles: Midway
– Battle of Midway (June 1942)
• Japanese Admiral Yamamoto hoped to
capture Midway Island as a base to attack
Pearl Harbor again
Early Battles: Midway
• U.S. Admiral Chester Nimitz caught the
Japanese by surprise and sank 3 of the 4
aircraft carriers, 332 planes, and 3500 men
–American cryptanalysts (analyze and
decipher secret coding systems and
decode messages for military)
Importance of Midway
• The Japanese defeat at Midway was the turning
point in the Pacific:
– Japanese advances stopped
– U.S. assumes initiative
– Japanese have shortage of able pilots
• Censorship and Propaganda
– News of the defeat was kept from the
Japanese public
Mobilization in the U.S.
• The war effort required all of America’s huge
productive capacity and full employment of the
workforce
– Total War
– Government expenditures soared
Mobilization in the U.S.
• U.S. budget increases:
– 1940 $9 million
– 1944 $100 million
– Expenditures in WWII greater than all previous
government budgets combined (150 years)
– GNP: 1939 = 91 billion ; 1945 = 166 million
The Beginning of the End in the
Pacific
• Yamamoto is assassinated by the U.S. (April
1943)
• Loss of Saipan (August 1944)
– “The naval and military heart and brain of
Japanese defense strategy”
The Beginning of the End in the
Pacific
– Political crisis in Japan
• The government could no longer hide the
fact that they were losing the war
• Tōjō resigns on July 18, 1944
The Beginning of the End in the
Pacific
• Battle for Leyte Gulf (October, 1944)
– Total blockade of Japan
– Japanese navy virtually destroyed
– Kamikaze (divine wind) flights begin
A Grinding War in the Pacific
• In 1945, the U.S. began targeting people in
order to coerce Japan to surrender
– 66 major Japanese cities bombed
– 500,000 civilians killed
A Grinding War in the Pacific
• Intensive air raids over Japan
– Iwo Jima (February, 1945)
• American marines invaded this island,
which was needed to provide fighter
escort for bombings over Japan
A Grinding War in the Pacific
• Okinawa (April, 1945)
– All 110,000 Japanese defenders killed
– U.S. invaded this island, which would
provide a staging area for the invasion of the
Japanese islands
Atom Diplomacy
• FDR had funded the top-secret Manhattan
Project to develop an atomic bomb (Albert
Einstein was an scientist on this project)
• Dr. Robert Oppenheimer successfully tested in
the summer of 1945 (worked with Albert
Einstein)
Atomic Bomb Test Footage
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqyBz
XYZPoM
• 1 minute + 2 seconds
Atom Diplomacy
• FDR had died on April 12, 1945, and the
decision was left to Harry Truman
• An amphibious invasion could cost over 350,000
Allied casualties and take years to win the war
Turning Points
of the War: The Pacific
• August 6, 1945 – Enola Gay (pilot:
Paul Tibbets) drops an atomic bomb
on Hiroshima
– 140,000+ dead; tens of thousands
injured; radiation sickness; 80% of
buildings destroyed
Turning Points
of the War: The Pacific
• August 9, 1945 – Nagasaki
– 70,000+ dead; 60,000 injured
Turning Points
of the War: The Pacific
• Emperor Hirohito surrenders on
Aug. 14, 1945 (VJ Day – Victory
over Japan)
– Formal surrender signed on
September 2, 1945 onboard the
Battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay
Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t19kvU
iHvAE
• 2 minutes + 21 seconds
Hiroshima
Hiroshima
Hiroshima After The Bomb
After the Bomb in Hiroshima
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWHh9
h0r2Ek
• 1 minute + 12 seconds
Nagasaki
The Cost of WWII
• Germany- 3 million combat deaths (3/4th on
the eastern front)
• Japan – over 1.5 combat deaths; 900,000
civilians dead
• Soviet Union - 13 million combat deaths
• U.S.A. – 300,000 combat deaths; over 100,000
other deaths
The Cost of WWII
• When you include all combat and civilian
deaths, World War II becomes the most
destructive war in history with estimates as high
as 60 million, including 25 million Russians
Winston Churchill:
A Man of Profound Words
“Never, never, never, give up.”
~ Sir Winston Churchill
WWII: Films and whatnot
• Schindler's List (biographical;
1993)
• U-571 (2000)
• Hiroshima (1995)
• Band of Brothers (miniseries;
2001)
• The Tuskegee Airmen (1995)
• Conspiracy (2001)
• The English Patient (1996 )
• Charlotte Gray (2001)
• Saving Private Ryan (1998 )
• Enemy at the Gates (2001)
• The Thin Red Line (1998)
• Pearl Harbour (2001)
WWII: Films and whatnot
• The Pianist (biographical;
2002)
• Defiance (2008)
• Winter in Wartime (2008)
• Sophie Scholl: The Final
Days (2005)
• Into the Storm (biographical Churchill; 2009)
• Flags of Our Fathers (2006)
• Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
• Max Manus (biographical;
2008)
• Atonement (2007 )
• Valkyrie (2008)
• Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Recent WWII Films Etc.
• The Pacific (TV; 2010)
• The King’s Speech (2010)
• Dear Friend Hitler (aka Gandhi to Hitler)
(2011)
WWII Video Review
WWII Summary Animation
with Real Footage
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoYyP
h5JP5Y
• 6 minutes + 54 seconds
Amazing Pictures of WWII
http://imgur.com/a/bIEes#0