Transcript German Aggression in WWII

German Aggression in WWII
1934 – Hitler re-arms Germany
• Treaty of Versailles limited Germany’s army
• Hitler openly began building up the military
• US, Britain and France did nothing!
(appeasement)
March of 1938 - Anschluss
• Unification of Germany and Austria
German Reichstag Salutes Hitler
after Anschluss
The Munich Conference
“The Appeaser”
The Start of WWII
• Sept. 1st, 1939, Hitler declares war on Poland
• The first Blitzkrieg (Lightning War)
• “Armored Spearheads” (large groups of
tanks) punch holes in Polish defenses, drive
deep into enemy territory
• Infantry (foot soldiers) follows through gaps
• Dive bombers strike deep inside Poland,
attack communication and transportation
German “Stuka” Dive Bomber
German Panzer Tank
The fall of Poland
• The Polish military is large but outdated
• Poland was allies with Britain and France.
Sept. 3, Britain and France declared war on
Germany, but they did not attack or send any
help to Poland!
• Sept. 17th, USSR invades Poland from the east!
• Hitler and Stalin had signed a non-aggression
pact in 1939 and had secretly agreed to divide
Poland between them.
• Poland surrendered in Oct. 2nd
Denmark and Norway
• Hitler wants control of the Baltic Sea
• Attacks Denmark with bombers and
paratroopers
• Denmark surrenders in 4 hours!
• Norway is protected by water, harder to
attack
• Germany invades by air and sea
• Norway surrenders in 2 months
Netherlands and Belgium
• Both have small armies and want to stay
neutral
• Hitler wants to control the “Atlantic Wall”
(the entire Atlantic coast of Europe)
• Hitler attacks. Minor resistance, but both
fall within 2 weeks
France
• The French army was as large and as strong
as Germany’s
• France had built a huge system of defenses
along the border called the Maginot Line
• British troops protected the Belgian border
France
• Only one gap existed in the defenses – the
Ardennes Forest…
• Germany attacked through the Ardennes!
• Attacked the Maginot Line from behind,
cutting off most of the French army
• Overwhelmed the British and remaining
French troops in the north
German tanks move through the Ardennes Forest
France
• France surrendered in 5 weeks
• General Charles de Gaulle escaped and organized
the French Resistance
Hitler in Paris
De Gaulle
Battle of Britain
• Hitler wanted to invade Britain, but Britain
was an island protected by the British Navy
• Hitler’s Plan
• Step 1: destroy Britain’s air force (RAF);
• Step 2: use the German air force (Luftwaffe)
to chase away the British navy
• Step 3: invade Britain across the English
Channel.
Battle of Britain
• Luftwaffe outnumbered the RAF 2:1
• Britain built planes and trained pilots as fast as
possible
• Churchill rallied the British people
• “We shall defend our island, whatever the cost
may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall
fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the
fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills;
we shall never surrender.”
Spitfire
ME-109
Battle of Britain
• The Luftwaffe suffers heavy losses; Hitler
calls off the invasion
• Churchill: “Never in the field of human
conflict was so much owed by so many to
so few.”
• But, Germany continued bombing British
cities for two more years! (“The Blitz”)
V-1 Flying Bomb
and V-2 Rocket
London Bomb Damage
USSR
• June 1941, Hitler broke his non-aggression
pact with Stalin and launched the largest
invasion in history (3 million men!)
• “Operation Barbarossa”
• Germany quickly captured hundreds of
miles of Soviet territory, killed and captured
millions of Russians…
USSR, cont.
• Stalin makes an alliance with Britain, but
there is little Britain can do to help
• Stalin ordered his army to stop the Germans at
all cost, but the Germans still advanced
• By Dec. 1941, the German army was just a
few miles from capturing Moscow…
German Controlled Territory, Dec. 1941
December 1941
• The Allies are in bad shape; Hitler appears
unstoppable
• The only country strong enough to stop Hitler
is the US, but most Americans are isolationist
• Churchill goes to America and begs Roosevelt
for help, but FDR says the US will stay
neutral unless directly attacked
• Then, on December 7th 1941, Churchill’s
prayers are answered in an unexpected way…
To Be Continued…
REVIEW
With a neighbor:
- Outline Hitler’s rise to European
domination
- Significant events?
PROPAGANDA
AXIS
“Our Beloved
Fuehrer
Demonstrates
German
Superiority by
Capturing France.”
ALLIES
“Hitler Captures
France: We Could
Be Next! Support
the War Effort”