World War II: A Non- Canadian Perspective Or, what was happening in the other theatres of the war

North Africa

German Goals  Support their ally Italy, who had been defeated by the British in the desert  Conquer North Africa and the British- controlled Suez canal  Gain complete control of the Mediterranean Sea  Drive east toward the oil-rich Middle East -- Saudia Arabia, Iraq & Iran (Persia)

Allied Goals  Stop the German advance and secure the Suez Canal and Eastern Mediterranean  Drive the Germans out of North Africa  Create a staging area for the invasion of southern Italy

Allied Tanks: Part of the Problem

German Tanks: Their Main Advantage

Key Weapons Supermarine Spitfire German Flak 88mm

The Key Battle: El Alamein

Results of the Battle  Field Marshall Erwin Rommel’s “Afrika Korps” drove the British back to Egypt  At the Battle of El Alamein the British General Bernard Montgomery defeated Rommel  The Germans retreated and were driven out of Africa by February, 1943

Operation Barbarossa: The Invasion of Russia

Hitler’s Motives For Invading  Hitler wanted “Lebensraum” (living space) for the German people  Hitler hated Communism  Hitler considered the Russian people “untermenschen” (sub-humans)  Russia had all of the natural resources and oil the German war machine needed.

The Invasion Plan

The Early Part of the Battle  German attack with 3.2 million troops with 1 million Axis allied troops in support  Russia has about 5.7 million troops, but they are badly lead and unprepared  Attack begins on June 22, 1941  German armies drive the Russians back during the Summer and Fall of 1941

The Winter Campaign  The German advance slows as it nears Moscow  Germans suffer 1.3 million casualties  Russians suffer killed and 2.5 million missing or captured  The German attack broke down in the cold of the Russian winter – December 8, 1941 it was minus 52 degrees!!

Results of the Battle  Most of the German military (75%) is committed to the Eastern Front (Russia)  Germany launches another attack in the Spring, but are defeated at Stalingrad  From July 1943 (Battle of Kursk) until the end of the war the German army is on the defensive