1. Hitler’s Lightening War Ch. 32.1

2. Review  How did Hitler defy the Treaty of Versailles? Building up his armyBuilding up his army Moving into the RhinelandMoving into the Rhineland The League of nations was able to stop Hitler and Mussolini’s aggression. T/F FalseFalse

3. Review  What was the non-aggression pact?  A pact made between Hitler and Stalin, where both parties agreed to NOT attack each other.  The pact further said they would not attack each other for 10 years, and that they would secretly divide Poland between them.  They also agreed that the Soviet Union would have control over the Baltic States (Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia)

5. September 1, 1939  Hitler led a surprise attack at dawn on Poland.  Planes invaded Polish airspace, raining bombs and terror.  German tanks and 1.5 million troops invaded the Polish border.  Warsaw (the capital of Poland) crumbled.  This was the first act of WWII in Europe.

11. Great Britain and France back Poland  France and Great Britain declared war on Germany on September 3.  Poland fell three weeks before France or Great Britain could mobilize for war.  Hitler took the western half of Poland.  Stalin took the eastern half of Poland.

13. Blitzkrieg  Hitler’s new style of military warfare became known as ‘Blitzkrieg’.  It involved fast moving airplanes and tanks, followed by massive infantry, to take the enemy by surprise.  Blitzkrieg forces swiftly crushed all opposition with overwhelming force.

14.  After Poland fell, Stalin took control of Eastern Poland.  Stalin also annexed Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia without any struggle.  However, Finland resisted.

16. Soviet Union invades Finland 1939  November 1939, Stalin sent 1 million Soviet troops into Finland.  He thought his soldiers would have a quick victory, so he did not worry about the upcoming winter.  The Finns were outnumbered, but they fiercely defended their land.  In the freezing weather, they attacked on skis.  The Soviet troops struggled in the snow and became crippled by frostbite.  However, the Soviets ended up winning because they had more troops.  In March 1940, Stalin forced Finland to surrender.

21. The Phony War  Great Britain and France set up a series of forts along the ‘Maginot’ line in France.  Allied forces stared eastward toward the enemy but nothing happened.  The Allies waited for the Germans to attack for almost seven months.

24.  The Germans finally attacked Denmark on April 9, 1940.  In four hours, Denmark fell.  Two months later, Norway surrendered as well.

27. May 1940  Hitler gained control of Holland, Belgium, and Luxembourg and began marching toward France.  By May 26, the Germans had trapped the Allied forces in the French city of Lille.  The Allies escaped to the beaches of Dunkirk, but they were trapped.

31. Rescue of Dunkirk  In one of the most heroic acts of the war, Great Britain set out to rescue the army.  It sent a fleet of 850 ships across the English Channel to Dunkirk.  Along with Royal Navy ships, civilian crafts (yachts, lifeboats, motorboats, paddle steamers, and fishing boats) joined the rescue effort.

32.  From May 26 – June 4, this armada, under heavy fire from German bombers, sailed back and forth from Britain to Dunkirk.  The boats carried 338,000 soldiers to safety.

35. France falls  On June 10, Mussolini joined forces with Hitler and declared war on Great Britain and France.  Italy then attacked France from the south. (German troops already occupied the north)  France fell by June 14.  Nazi troops triumphantly marched down Paris’s main boulevard.  France officially surrendered on June 22.

36. Charles de Gaulle  French general who fled to London.  He set up a ‘government in exile’ committed to re-conquering France.  De Gaulle organized the Free French military forces and battled the Nazis until France was liberated in 1944.

38. Winston Churchill  Newly elected prime minister  (Do you remember who was the Prime minister before Churchill? Hint: This person was pleased with the agreements made at the Munich Conference.)  Neville Chamberlain

39. Winston Churchill  Declared that his nation shall never give in.  “We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets…we shall never surrender.”

40. Hitler attacks Great Britain  Operation Sea Lion – plan was to first knock out the RAF (Royal Air Force) and then land 250,000 soldiers on England’s shores.  In the summer of 1940, Germany’s Air Force, called the Luftwaffe, began raining bombs on Great Britain.

42. England outnumbered  The RAF had 2,900 planes to the Luftwaffe’s 4,500.  The Germans targeted British airfields and aircraft factories.  On September 7, they began bombing cities, especially London.  Bombs exploded daily in city streets. Civilians were killed, and buildings were set on fire.  Despite these losses, the British fought back.

44. Enigma  Two secret weapons turned the war in Great Britain’s favor.  Radar – an electronic tracking system that could tell the number, speed, and direction of incoming warplanes.  Enigma – a German code-making machine. It was smuggled into Great Britain in 1938. The British had access to German secret messages.

46.  Germany gave up daytime bombing in October 1940 and bombed only at night.  Londoners spent nights in air-raid shelters in the city’s subway system.  The Battle of Britain continued until May 1941.  Stunned by British resistance, Hitler called of the attack.  The world learned that Hitler could be blocked.

48. The ultimate prize  Hitler planned on dealing with Britain later  He turned his focus to the Balkans and then to the ultimate prize…the Soviet Union

49. North Africa  Mussolini ordered Italy’s North African army to move eastward to gain control of Egypt. (Egypt was under control of the British.)  He also wanted control of the oil fields in the Middle East.  Within a week, Italian troops pushed 60 miles into Egypt forcing the British back.

50. Great Britain Strikes Back  In December, the British struck back against the Italians.  It turned out to be a disaster for the Italians.  By February 1941, the British had swept 500 miles across North Africa.  They had taken 130,000 Italian prisoners.

51.  Hitler stepped in to save Mussolini.  In February, Hitler sent Erwin Rommel, known as the ‘Desert Fox’, to Libya.  Rommel’s mission was to command the newly formed, Afrika Korps.  Rommel was determined to take control of the Suez Canal and Egypt.  The Germans finally pushed the British back and seized the city of Tobruk.  It was crushing loss for the British.

53.  While Rommel was busy in North Africa, Hitler was busy in the Balkans.  The Balkan countries were key to attacking the USSR.  Hitler wanted to build bases in southeastern Europe and wanted to make sure the British would not interfere.  Hitler invaded Yugoslavia and Greece.  Yugoslavia fell in 11 days. Greece surrendered in 17 days. The Nazis celebrated their victories by raising swastikas on the Acropolis in Athens.

57. Operation Barbarossa  Hitler’s plan to invade the Soviet Union was called Operation Barbarossa.  Early Sunday morning, June 22, 1941, Hitler began the blitzkrieg invasion of the Soviet Union.  The Soviet Union was not prepared.

59.  The Germans gained 500 miles inside the Soviet Union.  As the Russians retreated, they burned and destroyed everything in the enemy’s path. What is this military strategy called?What is this military strategy called? When did the Russians use this strategy before?When did the Russians use this strategy before?  Scorched Earth policy – used successfully against Napoleon

60.  By September 8, Germans had surrounded Leningrad and isolated the city.  German bombs destroyed warehouses where food was stored.  Desperately hungry, people began eating cattle and horse feed, cats, dogs, crows, and rats.  1 million people starved to death, but Leningrad did not surrender.

61.  Hitler moved on to Moscow, the capital of the Soviet Union, on October 2.  By December, the Nazis advanced on the outskirts of Moscow.  Soviet General Georgi Zhukov counterattacked.

62.  As temperatures fell, the Germans in summer uniforms, retreated.  Their fuel and oil froze.  Tanks, trucks and weapons became useless.  Hitler ordered the troops, “No Retreat!”  The Germans held the line against the Soviets about 125 miles west of the capital.  It cost 500,000 German lives.

68. U.S. helps  Remember the Neutrality acts? These were laws that prohibited anyone to sell arms or lend money to nations at war.These were laws that prohibited anyone to sell arms or lend money to nations at war. President Roosevelt could see that the U.S. would have to get involved. In order to prolong the involvement of the U.S., he persuaded Congress to allow the Allies to buy American arms and weapons.

69. Lend-Lease Act  Under the Lend-Lease Act, the President could lend or lease arms and other supplies to any country vital to the U.S.  By summer of 1941, the U.S. Navy was escorting British ships carrying U.S. arms.  In response, Hitler ordered his submarines to sink any cargo ships they met.

71. The Atlantic Charter  Roosevelt and Churchill secretly met on a battleship off Newfoundland on August 9.  They two leaders issues a joint declaration called the Atlantic Charter.  It upheld free trade and democracy.

72. What I don’t get is if it was a ‘secret’ meeting, why are there pictures of it? And why are there so many people?

73. U.S. Destroyer goes down  On September 4, a German U-Boat suddenly fired on a U.S. destroyer in the Atlantic.  Roosevelt ordered navy commanders to respond.  They were to shoot German submarines on sight.  The U.S. was now involved in an undeclared naval war.