Transcript World War II in Europe

World War II in Europe
1939-1945
The Outbreak in Europe
• Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact
• Blitzkrieg in Poland (September 1, 1939)
• Poland surrenders (Hans Frank is Nazi
administrator in Poland)
• Blitzkrieg into Sitzkrieg
• Renewed offensives—Norway and
Denmark (April 1940)
Poles fought tanks with horses
Stuka dive bomber over Warsaw
Ten Monumental Decisions, 1940-41
(Ian Kershaw)
• Great Britain decides
to fight on (1940)
• Hitler decides to
attach U. S. S. R. (fall
40)
• Japan decides to
seize “golden
opportunity” (1940)
• Mussolini’s invasion
of Greece (1940)
• FDR’s aid (1940-41)
• Stalin decides he
knows best (1940-41
• FDR’s decision for
undeclared war
• Japan decides for war
(fall 41)
• Hitler’s declaration ov
war vs. U. S. (Dec. 41)
• Hitler opts for “final
solution.” (Fall 41)
Nach Westen
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Invasion of France and surrender
“Miracle” at Dunkirk
Division of France
Battle of Britain
Radar and Enigma
Italy into the Balkans—leads to Operation
Marita (August 1941)
• Romell in North Africa
Maginot Line
Maginot Line
Operation Barbarossa
• Quest for Lebensraum and a war for
civilization.
• June 22, 1941 invasion begins
• Scorched earth policy
• Soviet Rally
• Stalingrad
• Soviet Counterattacks
War of the Century: When Hitler
fought Stalin
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Battle of Stalingrad, 1942
Operation Uranus, Nov. 1942
Battle of Kursk, July 1943
Soviet Transformation + Lend-Lease
“Great Patriotic War”
Gen. Georgi Zhukov
Battles of Smolensk (Aug.-Oct. ’43) and Narva (Feb.Aug. ’44)
• Operation Bagration (June-August ’44)
• July 20, 1944 Plot—Operation Valkyrie
• Battle of Berlin (April-May ’45)
Soviet Partisans hanged by Nazis in 1943
Zhukov, 1896-1974
Rommel, 1891-1944
Eisenhower, 1890-1969
Montgomery, 1887-1976
Western Front
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Battle of El Alamein (23 Oct.- 5 Nov., 1942)
Operation Torch—(Nov. 8, 1942)
Casablanca Conference (January 1943)
Battle of the Kasserine Pass (Feb. 19-25, 1943)
Invasion of Sicily, July 1943
Teheran Conference (Nov. 28-Dec. 1, 1943)
Anzio landings (January 1944)
Fall of Rome, (June 4, 1944)
Operation Overlord (June 6, 1944)
Paris liberated (Aug. 25, 1944)
Operation Market Garden (“a bridge too far.”) (Sept. 17-25, 1944)
Battle of the Bulge (Dec. 16, 1944-January 25, 1945)
Bridge at Remagen (March 8, 1945)
McAuliffe, 1898-1975
The Battling Bastards of Bastoge
Dresden Firebombing Raid damage;
Cremating corpses at Dresden
Torgau, April 25, 1945
Jodl signs at Rheims, May 7, 1945
World War II casualty statistics vary greatly. Estimates of total dead range from 62
to 78 million people, the deadliest war ever. Civilians killed totaled from 40 to 52
million, including 13 to 20 million from war-related disease and famine. Total
military dead: from 22 to 25 million, including deaths in captivity of about 5 million
prisoners of war. Over 14% of the Soviet Population perished; about 8% of the
German population perished; only .032 of the U. S. population perished; Next to
the Soviet Union, China suffered the most deaths at 20 million, about 4% of the
total population.
Dollar costs for the war ($288,000,000,000 for U. S. alone in 1940 dollars; it
would be $5,000,000,000,000 today); U. S. S. R. spent about 9,000,000,000,000
rubles in today’s purchasing power. The total cost of war in today’s dollars is
$15,000,000,000,000-$20,000,000,000,000.