Changes and Advancements in Technology and Tactics World History 35IB – Bustamante -- WWII

The German Blitzkrieg The Blitzkrieg was a ‘lightning attack’ created by the Germans. September 1939, Hitler’s Germany invades Poland with “Blitzkrieg”, the German offensive strategy: 1- Dive bombers attack the target. 2-Tanks were sent in to destroy what defense remained of the target. 3-German Soldiers moved in to occupy the territory.

Weaponry Germans developed rocket propulsion that made the first ever long range missiles possible. Nicknamed Doodlebugs by the British, these were launched from Germany and flew deep into England before detonating. Fortunately guidance systems were not yet developed so they randomly fell in areas that sometimes produced casualties and sometimes did not.

Doodlebug aka Buzz-Bomb The Doodlebug, a.k.a. buzz bomb, was one of Hitler's last vengeance weapons. It was a 2,000 Lbs. bomb with a mere range of about 500 miles. They were "guided" by programming the simple 4-bit computer on board to cause the missile to dive after a certain number of rotations of the propeller on front. The first considered successful attack occurred against London on June, 13 1944.

Nazi Germany invented the first assault rifle the Sturmgehwer or STG-44 - Sturm= storm Gehwer=gun= storm gun. They also mass produced sub machine guns such as the MP40 or Thompson automatic (GB).

The Proximity Fuse Developed by Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab in the U.S., it was used as an anti-personnel weapon in the Battle of the Bulge, and against Kamikaze bombers in the Pacific. The Norden Bombsight. Developed by the U.S., it was instrumental in improving the accuracy of bombing in Germany.

The biggest difference in weapons from WW1 as compared to WW2 was the use of tanks and aircraft. Aircraft carriers replaced battleships as the centerpiece of naval warfare doctrine. The Americans had lots of battleships in WWII, but used them mostly as floating anti-aircraft platforms. Some say the aircraft carrier was responsible for the defeat of the Japanese. Jet engines. The Germans were the first to produce a jet fighter, but it came too late in the war to have any strategic impact.

Air and Sea cont.. Radar and sonar had a significant impact in countless military battles. Radar was developed primarily by the British, and was instrumental in winning the Battle Of Britain. The Atomic Bomb. Little Boy and Fat Man were probably the most significant new technology used in the war. The threat of nuclear weapons was unleashed on mankind as a result of this wartime development especially in the upcoming cold war.

Other Technologies Computers and Code Breaking: The British used Colossus, the first electronic computer, to help break codes. Alan Turing, British mathematician and cryptanalyst, changed the course of the Second World War, and created the foundation for the modern computer.

The breaking of the Enigma code by the British at Bletchley Park was instrumental in winning the war and was kept secret much longer than the other secret developments of the war. It also played a part in the U.S. victory at Midway in the Pacific, preventing the Japanese from achieving what would have been a devastating blow to the U.S. Navy in the Pacific.

Alberich The Germans developed a rubber coating for their U-boats. It had multiple purposes, but its main purpose was to try and absorb sonar waves so the U-boats would be more stealthy and less visible to Allied radar. The coating also, to a lesser extent, made the U-boats quieter when underwater so that Allied ships listening for underwater sounds were less likely to hear the sounds of their onboard machinery etc. It also didn't return as loud of an echo from Allied sonar as did a plain metal hull.

The Jeep The original vehicle which first appeared as the prototype Bantam BRC became the primary light 4-wheel-drive vehicle of the US Army and allies during the World War II and postwar period.

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