Transcript File

World War II: Important Battles
Part 1
Western Campaign and battles at
sea.
The Blitzkrieg
• The success of the Blitzkrieg depended on two
things:
• 1) The better use and incorporation of
technology then your enemy.
• 2) Greater and more effective mobility.
• Hitler’s Blitzkrieg used shock tactics, its aim was
to paralyse the enemy by using the most up to
date technonlogy and military tactics.
• Motorised vehicles, tanks and air power were all
coordinated by the use of radio communication.
• Reinforcements were to follow in order to
capture the territory of the intended target.
▫ Hitler used this military tactic in all of his
European campaign, except for Britain.
‘Phoney War’
• This is a term that is used to describe the period
of September 1939 to March 1940.
• It is called this because there was hardly any
action on the western front.
▫ Britian and France had promised to defend
Poland, but realized very quickly that it would
have been impossible to do so.
▫ GB and Fr did not take any action on Germany
despite declaring war on them.
BEF in France and Dunkirk
• Prior to WWII France had built a series of huge
fortresses called the Maginot Line. They were located
along the Franco-German border.
▫ The thought was that no one could penetrate this line.
▫ The Germans did not attempt to do so, but in May 1940
they turned on France and instead of going over the
Maginot line, they took their tanks through the Ardennes
region of Belgium.
▫ While it was considered impossible to cross those forests
with tanks, the Ger`s proved everyone wrong and within
days the Allies were surrounded and facing defeat.
▫ BLITZKRIEG PROVED EFFECTIVE IN FRANCE!
Dunkirk -- GB
• The Allies were forced to withdraw to Dunkirk, this
proved to be bad as the troops (BEF) were trapped by
advancing Ger army.
▫ The Germans sent in Dive bombers to pound the Allied
troops and their equipment.
▫ Despite tremendous success, Hitler ordered his troops to
halt possibly suspecting a trap. Or perhaps because the
Ger`s lost many tanks in this battle.
• The British saw Dunkirk as a success, as the halt of
Germany allowed the evacuation of many Brits.
• May 26- June 4 : 330,000 and 10,000 troops were
evacuated by small boats and the British navy.
• The RAF outfought the Luftwaffe over Dunkirk.
• Dunkirk also allowed for all citizens, media and
government to come together and create a war effort that
lasted until 1945.
• Not much was said of the fact that the BEF had been
forced back home from Europe, nor that all heavy
equipment had been left behind or destroyed by the
Germans. Or that 300,000 troops had been left behind
to become prisoners.
French Troops at Dunkirk
• After the evacuations of the British, French troops were
left alone at Dunkirk to fight the German`s alone.
• The French could not keep up the fight alone against the
Ger`s and to make matters worse Italy declared war on
France on June 12th.
• The government had no choice but to surrender France
on June 21st, 1940.
• Other then the Vichy region, all of France was occupied
and run by the German army.
The Battle of Britain
• Hitler was unsure how to defeat Britain. The Blitzkrieg
tactics would not work as he could not cross the channel
that easily.
• He concluded that he needed to conquer them through
air and sea battles.
• Hitler was informed by his military advisors that there
would be no way Germany could defeat the RAF and the
British navy.
▫ Britain had the strongest navy in the world.
▫ Hitler did believe that the RAF could be wiped out by
German planes. Then he could focus on the British Navy.
• The German`s called this invasion Operation Sealion.
• July 1, 1940: the 1st German aircraft crossed the channel
and the air Battle of Britain had begun.
• It is important to remember that the Battle of Britain
was a series of smalls air battles everyday. They lasted
throughout the summer of 1940.
• Waves of German bombers accompanied by fighters
were sent over Britain.
• British fighters were sent to intercept them. The RAF
was consistently outshooting the Luftwaffe.
• After Lord Beaverbrook took over the aircraft
production, he focused on only building fighters not
bombers.
▫ July-September GB was making 563 planes per month.
More than Gemany.
• September 1940: Luftwaffe changed tactic to the Blitz.
▫ They began to bomb the city of London.
▫ While this produced terror for the civilians, it did give the
RAF a break.
▫ It was clear that Hitler gave up his plan of invasion by no
longer attacking the RAF, the RAF pilots were praised by
many and were the main cause of Hitler`s withdrawal of
Operation Sealion.
The Battle of the Atlantic
• Lasted from 1939-1944.
• Battle for the control of the North Atlantic Ocean.
• This was not as spectacular as the dog fights of the air,
but was equally important.
• The Atlantic provided vital trade routes to Britain and
the rest of Europe.
• The allies had used this body of water to gather supplies
from the US and Canada for the British troops.
• In the early stages of the War Germany knew they had to
cut these trade routes in order to be effective.
▫ German submarines were very effective at this.
▫ In 1940: Germans sank 1000 ships (over ¼ of the British
Merchant Fleet)
▫ 1941: Allies lost 1300 ships and another 1661 in 1942.
▫ Britain was only able to import 1/3 of what it normally did
in times of peace.
▫ Britain and the allies knew they needed to do something
drastic.
• Churchill’s main goal was fighting the U-Boat
campaign.
• 1943: Allies sunk 141 U boats and losing only 57
ships themselves.
• This forced the withdrawal of German fleet in
the Atlantic in March 1944.
• The allies won the Battle of the Atlantic.
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