Countries controlled by Germany before the Battle of Britain

Review: Battle of Britain Battle of Britain July 1940

Battle of Britain

The ALLIES fight back Headed by Prime Minister of Great Britain Sir Winston Churchill

BATTLE OF BRITAIN: The Luftwaffe conducted thousands of bombing attacks on British military and civilian targets. At first, they bombed only military and industrial targets. But after the Royal Air Force [RAF] bombed berlin in retaliation in September, the Germans bombed civilian centers. Some 23,000 British civilians were killed and 30,000 injured between July & December. Thousands of planes battled above Britain, Germany, and the English Channel. Each side lost more than 1500 aircraft. But British defenses held. Due to the failure of the Luftwaffe to establish air supremacy, Hitler canceled his invasion plans in October, but continued bombing raids. Hitler’s focus of attack was towards the EAST.

USSR USSR War in Europe AXIS ALLIED Remember this?

This is a map of the geo-political disposition of Europe. May 1941. This is a map of the geo-political disposition of Europe. All gray and red countries are under the Axis powers. This changes in JUNE 22, 1941

Hitler and Stalin shook hands over their invasion of Poland in September 1939. World War II began But Wait … what is this???

June 22, 1941: Germany invades the USSR called Operation Barbarossa. It was the largest military operation in history, with 3 to 4 million Axis troops attacking in a Blitzkrieg. This was the culmination of Hitler’s belief that the German ‘master race’ should seek Lebensraum (living space) in the east, at the expense of the ‘subhuman’ Slav people, who were to be exterminated or reduced to forced labor. In Mein Kampf & in many speeches, Hitler claimed that Germans needed this space. His Lebensraum policy was mainly directed at he Soviet Union. He was interested in the Ukraine where he planned to develop a German colony.

The Axis Dictators 1939-1941 And then there were 2

June 22, 1941 - Germany attacks Soviet Union as Operation Barbarossa begins…

The Soviet Union is now an ALLIED power. OPERATION BARBAROSSA: Hitler always hated communists so the attack should not have been a surprise. However, Stalin estimated that Hitler would not be able to invade until 1942. Stalin was a year too late. The Soviet Union is now an ALLIED power.

A change of color for the Soviet Union.

The RUSSIAN FRONT: The first few months of the war was disastrous for the Soviet Union. The German northern forces surrounded Leningrad while the center group made steady progress towards Moscow. German forces had also made deep inroads into the Ukraine. Kiev was under siege. By October, 1941, German troops were only fifteen miles outside Moscow.

The RUSSIAN FRONT: In November, 1941, the German Army launched a new offensive on Moscow. Freezing temperatures of 12 degrees and 24 inches of snow sabotaged the tanks’ starters. The Soviet army held out and the Germans were brought to a halt. Stalin counter-attacked on December 4. The German army, demoralized by its recent lack of success, was taken by surprise and started to retreat. By January, the Germans had been pushed back 200 miles. GERMANY WAS LOSING FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 1936. The Winter of 1941-42 proved to be was one of the worst in Soviet history. The record low temperature in ‘42 was minus 68.8 degrees without the wind chill factor..

December 7, 1941

We will Help each other defeat the NAZIS!!!! NOT The Big Three: Leaders of the Allies 1941-1945 We will Help each other defeat the NAZIS!!!! NOT

The Battle of Stalingrad – TURNING POINT OF THE WAR IN EUROPE In the summer of 1942 German General Paulus advanced to Stalingrad with 250,000 men. Progress was slow, fuel was rationed. At the end of July 1942, a lack of fuel halted the Germans. By August, needed supplies arrived and the Germans advanced. Within weeks German troops killed/ captured 50,000 Soviets. On August 18, Paulus was 35 miles from Stalingrad & ran out of fuel again. The struggle continued until January…

JANUARY 31, 1943 German Troops Surrender At Stalingrad Starving German troops at Stalingrad surrendered. They had been surrounded by the Soviets since November. 90,000 Germans died of starvation or exposure. 100,000 died in battle the final month. Surrender had been forbidden by Hitler. But Paulus had no choice. He still had 100,000 men to take care of.

WHERE WERE Stalin’s ALLIES? The battle for Stalingrad is over. Over 91,000 Germans were captured. German prisoners were forced to march to Siberia. 45,000 died during the march to the POW camps. 7,000 survived the war. The Soviets suffered WHERE WERE Stalin’s ALLIES?

WHERE WERE Stalin’s ALLIES? Stalingrad casualties: The Axis suffered 850,000 total casualties: 400,000 Germans 200,000 Romanians 130,000 Italians 120,000 Hungarians The USSR suffered 1,129,619 total casualties 25,000 to 40,000 Soviet civilians died at Stalingrad WHERE WERE Stalin’s ALLIES?

Operation Torch: the Allied Plan to take Northern Africa

Soon after the landings, French troops defected to the American side. NOVEMBER 8, 1942 Operation Torch The invasion of North Africa was designed to encircle German troops stationed there. American troops went ashore in French NW Africa. Soon after the landings, French troops defected to the American side. American and British troops advanced towards Tunisia, where they met stiff German opposition.

Tanks-a-lot

Tanks were the Key to victory in North Africa Tunisia

Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery MONTY Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery

General George S. Patton

General Dwight D. Eisenhower: He commanded the Allied Forces landing in North Africa in November 1942; on D-Day, 1944, he was Supreme Commander of the troops invading France.

General Erwin Rommel: The Desert FOX…commanded the Afrika Corps where his tactical awareness and his natural flair in mobile warfare, turned possible defeat into victory. 1941-1942

Allied victory in Africa US soldiers in captured German tank

The first major British-American operation of the war was commanded by Dwight D. Eisenhower. It was successful, but months of fighting the Germans tested the British-American alliance. Hitler told Rommel to stand and die in El Alamein, but Rommel disobeyed and retreated on November 4, 1942. The British were victorious. Four days later Americans landed in North Africa. The Afrika Korps began its retreat from North Africa. El Alamein was the last major battle in the war that was exclusively British.

1943 Timeline Jan 23, 1943 - Montgomery Brits take Tripoli. Feb 14-25 - Battle of Kasserine Pass between the U.S. tanks and German Panzers in North Africa. US victorious March 20-28 - Montgomery breaks through in Tunisia. April 6/7 - Axis army in Tunisia withdraws May 7, 1943 - Allies take Tunisia. May 13, 1943 - German and Italian troops surrender in North Africa.

JULY 23, 1943 Allies Land At Palermo, Italy Allied troops, under the command of General Patton, captured the city of Palermo in Sicily. The victory came less than two weeks after Allied forces first landed on Sicily. This marked the first invasion of part of an Axis homeland.

SEPTEMBER 12th 1943 Allies Land In Italy On September 3, the Italian government, led by Mussolini having been dismissed by King Victor Emanuel, surrendered to the Allied forces. At the same time, the British and Americans began an assault on Italy, now defended by occupying Germans.