Beginning of WWII

War Starts  Germany signed a Nonaggression pact with Soviet Union  Now can attack Poland without fear of Soviet intervention  Britain and France had sworn to protect Poland  Germany attacks Poland from the west  France and Britain declare war on Germany  Russia attacks Poland from the east  Poland falls quickly  Is divided up between Germany and Russia

Blitzkrieg  Meant “Lightning War”  Style of fighting to quickly defeat an enemy  First army must break through weak point in enemies defenses  Cutting off the outer defenses from communications  In the interior, German forces would cause havoc among civilian populations (attacking them)  Created chaos that made it difficult for opposing army to get involved in the battle  3 waves of attack: 1.Luftwaffe (air force) dive bombs the city  Destroys major infrastructure (roads, bridges, communication lines)  Sends civilians fleeing in panic 2.Tanks sent in immediately after with no time to recover  Attacked opposing military 3.Infantry sent in last  Defeat the weakened army  Once a target had been destroyed they moved to the next target immediately

Effectiveness  Blitzkrieg described by a French soldier within a 5 day period "When the dive-bombers come down, they (the French) stood it for two hours and then ran with their hands over their ears." "Sedan fell as a result of a bombardment……….it was a superb example of military surprise." "The pace is too fast……it’s the co-operation between the dive-bombers and the tanks that is winning the war for Germany." "News that the Germans are in Amiens………this is like some ridiculous nightmare."

Sitzkrieg  The next 6 months there was no action between Germany and the Allied Powers  Also got nicknamed “Phony War” or “The Bore War”

Germany Attacks  After a short period of inactivity, Germany conquers again  Norway  Denmark  Now ready to attack France  Once again through Belgium  France had HEAVILY defended their border with Germany (France/Germany border)  Broke through Allied defenses

France in Trouble  German breaks through resistance in Belgium  Enters France  Using blitzkrieg strategy, Germany pushes through France  France asks British forces in France for help  British evacuate to prepare to defend England from invasion  Paris is captured within a month!  France falls to German control

Battle of Britain  Hitler wants to invade England  Needs to weaken much smaller British air force first  Bombs England over a period of two months  Although outnumbered, British air force continually combats and defeats Luftwaffe  Eventually Hitler gives up  Turns eyes on Russia

Operation Barbarossa  Code name for invasion of Soviet Union  Hitler wanted Soviet Union’s land to support his “one race” of people  Soviet had lots of farmland and resources  Also lots of Jews  3 million soldiers and 3 thousand tanks invade Russia

Barbarossa’s Failure  Initially successful  2/3rds distance to Moscow  Russia retreats and burns farms as they do  Scorched earth policy  Germans run short on supplies  By time resupplies come, winter is setting in  Hitler pushes on  Putting his troops deeper into Soviet territory  More cold  Less supplies  Soviet Resistance and deadly winter destroy German forces  Germany is eventually driven back

Hitler’s Failed History Lesson  Roughly 120 years before someone tried to conquer Russia  Napoleon Bonaparte  Lost 97% of his troops  Both invaded in June  Both chased Russia deep into their country  Away from resupplies  Russia/SU used scorched earth policy  Hitler should have been more prepared…