Download File - Snyds History 12

Winston Churchill:
A Man of Profound Words
“Never in the field of human conflict was so much
owed by so many to so few.”
~ Sir Winston Churchill
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp6tzQ4R1tg
First they came . . .
• Is a famous statement attributed to Pastor
Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) about the
inactivity of German intellectuals following
the Nazi rise to power and the purging of
their chosen targets, group after group.
The Axis vs. The Allies
• The Axis Powers:
–
–
–
–
1936-1945
Germany
Italy
Japan
• The Allied Powers:
–
–
–
–
1939-1945
Britain
France
USA
World War II
1939-1945
The Second War to End All Wars
September 1, 1939
The Second World War Begins
Blitzkrieg
• New German invasion plan of “lightning war” practiced on
Poland
• Called for wave of aerial attacks to confuse/create havoc for
the enemy
• Followed by ‘Panzer’ (tank) divisions & motorized infantry
divisions
• Outflank the enemy in ‘Pincer’ movement (double
envelopment)
1. Fall of Poland
• Hitler’s ‘blitz’ rolled across Polish plains
– Flat geography aided to the success of the strategy (*remember
that!)
• Britain and France declare war on Germany two days later
(September 3, 1939)
• 17 September - USSR invaded from the east (per the Nazi-Soviet
Non-Aggression Pact)
• By 29 September, Poland was defeated
Poland Invasion
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Y9NexpibEo
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gw6kZtivBjY&feature
=related
2. The “Phony War”
Fall 1939-Spring 1940
• Sometimes referred to as “sitzkrieg”
– a lack of action on the Western Front; GB and Fr. are
preparing for war
• France and Britain bound to support Poland by alliance
• Poland was conquered before they could mobilize
– Airpower insufficient to travel that far
– Both wished to maintain air forces for expected German
attack
3. USSR vs. Finland
• Along with Poland the USSR’s Red Army wanted to
seize Finland and attacked on November 30, 1939
– Fins provided fierce resistance
– 4 month battle know as the “Winter War” took place
before Finland fell and signed a peace treaty on
March 12, 1940
• USSR also seized the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia &
Lithuania) from June 15-17, 1940
Finnish Ski Patrol
4. Conquest of Denmark, Norway
and Romania
• April 1940: Hitler attacks Scandinavia (previously took Belgium
and the Netherlands (Holland))
• Britain ‘raced’ Germany to Norway but lost
• Nazis overran Norway
– received assistance from Norwegian traitors called “fifth
columnists”
– both countries sought important Atlantic submarine bases
– Norwegian Resistance movement – Max Manus (film)
• October 1940:German army occupies Romania
– joined the Axis Powers
Scandinavia - Norway, Sweden,
Finland
5. The Invasion of the Western
Front
• May 10, 1940
– inaction ended with the Nazis attack “Benelux”
countries (Netherland, Belgium and
Luxemburg) and France
• Germans largely bypassed Franco-German border
– heavy mountainous terrain
– heavily fortified by the French with the
Maginot Line
–
http://genius.com/Winston-churchill-blood-toil-tears-and-sweat-address-to-parliament-on-may13th-1940-annotated
Maginot Line
5.The Western Front (cont)
• Nazi armies easily defeated the Allies
– British soldiers had crossed the English Channel to
support Benelux countries
– The fall of Belgium the British (and to some degree
the French) were trapped by German forces
• The point of escape was the port of Dunkirk (May 25,
1940)
– At Dunkirk over 300,000 troops evacuated by British
navy and volunteers
– considered a moral (not a military) victory by
British: best troops lived to fight another day
Dunkirk Evacuation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7JWumQ4swQ
6. The Fall of France
• Following Dunkirk Germans raced into France
• Much French resistance collapsed
– They were in a state of disarray
– Blitzkrieg was extremely effective
• Mussolini (Italy), confident of victory, declared war on
France on June 10, 1940
• Parts of the French government fled to London
6. The Fall of France (cont)
• On June 14, 1940 the Germans took Paris
– Hitler did a whirlwind one day tour; this was the last
time he would set foot in Paris
• The French surrendered on June 22, 1940
–
–
–
–
Maginot line proved useless
Slow movement of infantry
Fr. air force no match for German Luftwaffe
Internal political divisions – extreme right (fascists)
and extreme left (communists) both opposed war
6. Fall of France:
Terms of Surrender
• Fr. was forced to sign armistice in same place Germans
signed in 1918
• Escaped troops created “Free French in exile” under
leadership of a little known General: Charles de Gaulle
• North and Atlantic ports occupied by Nazis
– British sank French fleet to prevent German
acquisition
6. Fall of France: Terms of
Surrender (cont)
• Southern France was permitted a semiindependent government at Vichy in Southern
France (called Vichy France, 1940-1944)
– Run by Marshall Henri-Philippe Petain
– Collaborated with Nazis/were pro-Nazi
• The issue of collaboration became a very contentious one at
the end and after the war
– No real independence although deemed a “free zone”
and headed the Vichy government in the South of
France.
A Grand Alliance
The Big Three:
– Great Britain
(Winston Churchill)
– The U.S. (FDR)
– The Soviet Union
(Joseph Stalin)
Strategies for War:
– Defeat Germany
first
7. The Battle of Britain:
July 10-September 30, 1940
“Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and
so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its
Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will
still say, ‘This was their finest hour.’”
~ Sir Winston Churchill to the House of Commons of the UK
on 18 June 1940.
7. The Battle of Britain (cont)
• Battle name for control of the skies above GB and the
English Channel
• From a German point of view it is a necessary first step
to the invasion of the British Isles (known as Operation
Sealion)
• From a British point of view it is the battle of survival
because at this time GB was the sole remaining
(democratic) world power against Nazi aggression
“Operation Sea Lion”
Attack Plan
• Operation Sea Lion - Code name for Germany’s
planned invasion of GB (August 1940)
• German Luftwaffe vs. British R.A.F.
– Goering promised to eliminate the RAF in four days
– Air raid attacks began with shipping convoys in the
Channel during July, air fields on August 12, and
then radar stations
• Many believed no defense could be made against
bombing raids
Royal Air Force (RAF)
• British Air Marshall planned defense for years
– Realized defense would rely on production of fighter
aircraft
• Inferior in numbers to Luftwaffe; 3:1, but
maintained a kill ration of 1887 plan to 1017
planes
• RAF had superiority in quality with the Spitfire
RAF Spitfire
Radar + Enigma = Ultra
• British also had the advantage of radar technology:
– Used radio waves to detect German bomber and
fighter squadrons
• Also had benefit of Enigma code-breaker:
– A German cipher machine which enabled the British
to receive and decode German messages
• “Ultra” became the designation for signal intelligence
obtained by code breaking
German Luftwaffe
• Vastly outnumbered the enemy
• Underestimated effectiveness of British aircraft
production
• Pilots were better trained and had superior tactics
• Combat disadvantage….
BF-109
Messerschmitt
• Had less than 30 minutes flying time over Great
Britain
The Course of the Battle
• Began with raids on British shipping in the English
Channel in July 1940
– Britain strategically bombed Hamburg, Germany
• Moved to airfields in August, pushing 100 mile gap into
coastline
• British Air Marshall Hugh Dowding knew defending
airfields more important than German kills
– Aircraft could be replaced, pilots are much harder
Oops!
• German bomber squadron accidentally bombed civilians in
London
• Churchill orders retaliatory attack on Berlin (civilian
bombing of Berlin = vowed never to do)
• September 7, 1940 - Goering orders change in target to
London
– Effectively ended strategy of attacking airfields
– Ordered squadrons to fly in close formation to protect
assets - made for better targets
– Allowed the RAF to rest and rebuild
The Blitz: The Bombing of London
• Hitler hoped to demoralize the British people by
bombing London and other cities; it did the opposite
• Fighter Command could continue to shoot down
German bombers
• Englanders rallied around Churchill
– “We can take it”
– Took up moral outrage at the damage caused
(including to Buckingham Palace)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sw8BpcWgET8
The Blitz: Hitler Defeated
• Planned invasion of Britain had to be postponed
indefinitely
• The British victory in this battle was significant
because:
– First time Hitler had been denied conquest
– Setback for Hitler meant the war would be long and
the USA would join soon
– Allies had a springboard to launch the reinvasion of
Europe
….a footnote
• British strategists failed to learn a lesson of Battle
of Britain: bombing runs were not terribly
effective
• Later in the war Bomber Command would lose
more personnel in one night over Germany than
during the entire defense of Britain
8. Barbarossa
The Nazi Invasion of the Soviet Union
Background
• Operation Barbarossa was the name given by
Hitler to his attack on the USSR
– Barbarossa the man was a fabled German warrior from
the 1190s
• Three Nazi goals were to be accomplished:
– Lebensraum – inferior people in the East would have to
make way for the “master race;” Soviets were “rotten at the
core”; welcome the invasion
– Acquire the “breadbasket of Europe” – the Ukraine and
other vast resources of the USSR
– Destroy his arch-rival: Communism
Ukrainian: wheat fields
Background (cont)
• Operation Barbarossa ultimately led to Hitler’s
downfall
• At the time though the decision was not so foolish:
– Nazis dominated Western Europe and Balkans
– British bombing raids were having little impact
– Germany had more than 7 million men, many with
valuable experience
• Hitler needed another victory to keep Nazi momentum
Background (cont)
• Stalin had done nothing specific to prepare for a German
attack
• General acceptance that Soviet army was the weaker force
– had taken months to conquer Finland
• Nazis had invaded and occupied Romania in October 1940
• Mussolini had invaded Greece
– Hitler needed to send troops to conquer Yugoslavia then
Greece
– Delayed his attack of Soviet Union
The Initial Attack
• On June 22, 1941 Hitler double-crossed Stalin when he
attacked on a front stretching from the Baltic to the
Black Sea
– This created a front 2000 miles long
• Soviets caught completely by surprise
– Stalin had refused to accept warnings from advisors
and from Churchill
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDn6Nk29dYU&feature=related
The Offensive
• A three pronged offensive:
– Army Group North was to go for Leningrad
– Army Group Centre would go for Smolensk
– Army Group south, would go for Kiev
• Blitzkrieg initially worked very well - advanced more
than 400 miles in 3 weeks
• After initial success, the German army faltered allowed Soviets to regroup
Soviet Counterattacks
• Advance on Moscow postponed until end of September
• Nazis got within 20 miles of Russian capital (Moscow)
– Halted before entering the city
• Stalin rally his people and the Russian forces to fight for
“mother Russia”
– The ideology had little value as a tool for rallying the
population
Soviet Counterattacks (cont)
• Invoked the scorched earth policy
– The Soviet government traded territory for time
– Retreating forces and civilians destroyed everything left
behind so Nazis could not use
– Villages and crops were burned, animals were
slaughtered, wells were poisoned
– The Germans were not to be allowed to live off the land
Continuing the Attacks
• By November, Soviets began series of counterattacks
• By December, Germans had lost all forward initiative
• Before winter, the Nazis seized Leningrad (formally St.
Petersburg), Kiev and key cities on route to Crimea, but
most importantly they were halted a mere fifty
kilometers from Moscow
The German Failure
• Soviets lost more than 2 million men but Barbarossa’s
strategic objectives had not been met
– German had vast stretches of Soviet territory and had
devastated the Red Army
– The Caucasus oil fields remained in Soviet hands
• The Red Army was able to mount dangerous
counteroffensive
German Failure (cont)
• German planners failed to account for winter in
USSR; it stopped the Nazis onslaught
– Equipment was damaged and bogged down
– Nazi soldiers ill-prepared (many froze to death)
– supply lines became too extended (blitzkrieg relies on
speed)
•
Soviet army fought with extreme heroism, despite
initial mistakes
– It would take over four years to fully roust the Nazis
from USSR
9. The African Theatre
Desert Rats vs. the Desert Fox
The Value of North Africa
• North Africa became a strategic theatre of War for
several reasons:
– The Suez Canal
• Could lead to control of the Canal, the vital British shipping
connection to the Far and Middle East
– Oil
• Lead to a possible control of Middle East oil resources
(strategic resources b/c of highly mechanized/mobile
conflict
• Italians under Mussolini were first to invade N. Africa attacking Egypt in September 1940
• British counterattacked in December 1940
Suez Canal
Oil in North Africa
The Desert Fox
• General Erwin Rommel led the German forces, the Afrika Corps
• Arrived in Feb. 1942 to help the Italians
• Had led French invasion in 1940
• Drove the British out of Libya
• Invaded Egypt but later defeated
• footnote: part of a plot to kill Hitler - more about that later
The Desert Rat
• General Bernard Montgomery (Monty) led British
forces
• Arrived in Aug. 1942
• Built a stockpile of weapons and men for eventual
attack
• Broke through Rommel’s forces in October 1942
El Alamein: The Turning Point
• In October 1942 the stage was set for a decisive battle
in North Africa
• El Alamein is close to the Suez canal (about 60
miles/100 km)
– capturing this site would mean control of Suez
• German forces were principally controlling Libya
• October 23 – November 3: Rommel defeated by
Montgomery “Desert Rats”
– began retreat towards Tunisia
Significance of El Alamein
• Suez Canal remained in Allied hands
• Hitler was denied access to the oil of the Middle East
• It proved to the Allies that Hitler’s best forces could be
beaten
– The geography of North Africa was ideal for tank and
aircraft warfare
– Large distances could be covered in combat and
retreat
North African Battle
The U.S. Arrives in Africa
• November 1942 the Americans arrive in Morocco
– Had joined the war in December 1941
• Led by General Dwight David Eisenhower (Ike)
• Launched ‘Operation Torch’ on Nov. 8, 1942
• Negotiated deal with Vichy France - had over 100,000 troops in
North Africa
• Led forces against Germany from the west
– The Germans were trapped, Rommel escaped
George S. Patton
OLD BLOOD AND GUTS
http://www.history.com/topics/w
orld-war-ii/george-smith-patton
Operation Torch Landings - November 1942
Significance of the Battle in
North Africa
• Prepared way for liberation of Italy
• Reopened routes to the Middle East
• Showed Hitler’s forces best forces could be beaten
• It was the first U.S./European alliance action
10. The United States and WWII
From Isolationism to Full Combat
a. Neutrality Acts of 1939
• Originally Congress wanted it to be illegal to sell any
arms to belligerents
• Shortly after war began, Franklin Roosevelt convinced
Congress to permit Cash and Carry sales to Britain
– i.e. if you can pay for it up front and ship it yourselves
- we’ll sell it to ya!
– Designed to give limited assistance to Atlantic sea
powers (Britain and France) while maintaining
American neutrality
Big thoughts…
• What advantages might the American
Congress see to a policy such as the
Neutrality Act?
• What economic benefits might it have?
• What social or political benefits might it
have?
b. Changes in Public Opinion
• Roosevelt went to great pains to try to convince the
American public of the dangers to American national
security posed by the Axis powers
• When France fell in 1940, Americans began to realize
Britain stood alone between them and a hostile Fascist
world
• Congress began to support a vast military buildup and
aid to Britain by all measures short of war
c. Military Preparedness
• Congress authorized a two ocean navy and a huge air
force
• In 1940 Congress passed the Selective Service Act
– provided for America's first peacetime conscription
d. Destroyer-Naval Base Deal
• Roosevelt traded fifty "over age" destroyers to
Britain
– exchanged for military bases on British territory in the
Western Hemisphere
• Britain needed the destroyers to combat German
submarines
• The U.S. needed the bases as defensive outposts
e. The Lend-lease Act of 1941
• March 11, 1941 Roosevelt signed the Lend Lease Act
– Give supplies to powers fighting causes friendly to the
USA; the President could lend or lease goods to any
nation whose defense he deemed necessary for the
defense of the U.S.
• Roosevelt requested new legislation to maintain the U.S. as
the "arsenal of democracy”
– immediately extended substantial aid to Britain
– later gave aid to other Allies, including Russia
– Ordered American merchant ships carrying lend-lease
goods be escorted by U.S. navy vessels part way across
the Atlantic
f. Embargo on Goods to Japan
• United States opposed Japan's plans for an east Asian
empire
– In 1940-41, the U.S. protested Japanese occupation
of French Indo-China
• When protests proved ineffective, Roosevelt
embargoed sale of aviation gasoline, scrap iron, and
other strategic materials to Japan
– This "froze" Japanese assets in the United States
g. Japanese attack Pearl Harbor
• Japanese resented American interference in Japanese
expansion plans
– Greater East-Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere
• On December 7, 1941, Japan staged a "sneak attack" on
US naval base at Pearl Harbor
– Japanese planned to "humble" the United States and
assure Japanese domination of eastern Asia
g. Japanese attack Pearl Harbor
(cont)
Forced U.S. actively into the war
– Germany and Italy declared war on U.S.
– Axis hoped by forcing U.S. into a Pacific war, U.S.
would be unable to complete military preparations
and would end Lend-lease aid to Britain and USSR
Pearl Harbour
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAnOtWm5OrM
This Day Will Live In Infamy
Yesterday, Dec. 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy - the United States of
America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the
Empire of Japan.
The United States was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Japan,
was still in conversation with the government and its emperor looking toward
the maintenance of peace in the Pacific...
... the Japanese government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States
by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace...
...As commander in chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all
measures be taken for our defense.
Always will we remember the character of the onslaught against us.
No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the
American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory...
...Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that that our people, our
territory and our interests are in grave danger.
With confidence in our armed forces - with the unbounding determination of our
people - we will gain the inevitable triumph - so help us God.
I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by
Japan on Sunday, Dec. 7, a state of war has existed between the United States
and the Japanese empire.
11. The Battle of the Atlantic
Lifeline to the Allies
The Menace of the U-boats
• Britain needed to keep open shipping lanes to North
America
• Shipping lanes suffered from the unprotected region
beyond range of ship or aircraft known as Mid-Atlantic
Gap
• German U-boats sank 100s of Allied ships
– Üntersee boats (German submarines - U-boats)
hunted merchant shipping in Wolf Packs
accompanied by bombers
North Atlantic shipping lanes
German U-Boats
The Course of the Battle
• Germany had much success in early part of the war
• By the middle of 1942 Germany was sinking ships
faster than Allies could build them (Allies experienced
net loss)
– In the Spring of 1943 over 107 Allied ships sunk in a
single twenty day period
Atlantic Defense:
Reversing the Trend
• Allies began to make effective use of radar
• Developed aircraft with longer flight range to protect
shipping
• Ships organized into large convoys (up to fifty ships) with
more warship escorts
• Towards the end of 1943, German U-boats had less of an
effect allowing for clear shipping lane
– Note: Canada played a significant role defending the
Atlantic
12. The Eastern Front
Pushing West towards victory
a. Winter in the USSR
• USSR 1941-42: harshest winter in fifty years
– Halted mechanized warfare; immobilized tanks and
airplanes
• Hitler miscalculated the length of time German troops
would be in the USSR
– Assumed would be home by winter so not given
provisions
– The German troops had to “dig in” to the snow
banks; troops died of exposure by the thousands
b. Counterattack +
Counteroffensive
• While Germans suffered through winter, Stalin launched
counterattack
• When spring 1942 arrived, Hitler opened a
counteroffensive
– He would abandoning goal of Moscow and attack in
the North (Leningrad) and in the South towards
Stalingrad
– Goals were to progress towards the Caucasus oil
fields
c. Battle of Stalingrad
• Began in September 1942 in Stalingrad (formally
Volgograd)
– Vicious, street by street urban warfare
– Extremely high casualties
• By late November German forces cut off and surrounded
– Hitler refused to permit surrender; told the German
Commanding Officer, Von Paulos, to fight to the
death and not retreat
– Air support from Goering never arrived
– Over 300,000 Nazi soldiers surrendered in early 1943
• Crossing The Volga
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yOBC
GwMpeo
• Do you know how to shoot?
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMvT
R012Dmg
Road to Liberation
• Germany now on defensive
• Hitler lost some of the best units of his once mighty
army
• Hitler denied access to Caucasus oil fields
• US lend-lease aid making its way to the USSR via Iran
• Stalingrad was the road to liberation of Eastern Europe
13. Welcome to Italy
From Sicily to Rome
a. Landing on Sicily
• North African defeat helped to pave way for Italian invasion
• Stalin preferred an invasion of France but after Dieppe the
Allies needed more time to prepare
– Allied attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe on
the northern coast of France on 19 August 1942 – 60%
were wounded, killed or captured
• Allies want to isolate Germany because they needed to first
eliminate Italy
– planned to invade Sicily as a staging ground for the
attack on Italy
Landing on Sicily (cont)
• July 1943 - Allies invade
– The Allied forces landed on Sicily using an amphibious
attack
• Resistance from Italians was minimal - German military in
Sicily put up a great fight until forced to evacuate
• Allies captured important landing ground
– Note: during the Sicily campaign, Mussolini was deposed
by his own people and Italy surrendered kind of… Hitler
rescued him and placed him in Northern Italy as a
puppet dictator
b. Mainland Italy
• September 1943, Allies landed at Salerno and Taranto
• Fighting in Italy was some of the toughest in the war
– it took Allies until June 5, 1944 to capture Rome
– Fighting in Italy would not end until May 2, 1945
• April 1945, Mussolini re-captured (having been earlier rescued
by Hitler)
– He and his mistress hung were killed and hung on display at
an Esso gas station in Milan
– Cursing and stoning Mussolini became object of favorite
Italian pastime!
14. The Second Front
The End of the War in Europe
The Western Front after 1940
• Most of the Western front fighting between 1940 1944 was limited to aerial
• Germany continued Blitz on U.K. - as ineffective as
British and American strategic bombing on Germany
• Strategic bombing served three purposes:
– Kept Allies fighting in the West
– Attempted to limit German ability to conduct war at
all
– Worked to demoralized the enemy
Terror Bombing
• Most long range missions unsuccessful until late 1943
• Allies conducted terror bombing on Germany who took
up the “we can take it” attitude
• German cities targeted in hopes of achieving total
destruction and disrupting civilian populations.
– Excess took place on both sides
1.Operation Overlord
• The planned invasion of France: Operation Overlord
(aka D-Day, Normandy Invasion, “The Longest Day)
• Commanded by American Dwight D. Eisenhower
– made supreme commander of Allied forces
– Commander three million men
• D-Day was originally planned for June 5, 1944 but
postponed because of poor weather
The Landing:
D-Day Officially Begins
• The official day for Operation Overlord is June 6, 1944
• It was the single largest amphibious landing (via
Higgins Boats) ever carried out
– Beaches named Utah and Omaha were to be taken
by the Americans
– The British took the beaches of Gold and Sword
– The fifth beach, Juno, was taken by Canadian forces
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpDQ
z_iwPtY&feature=related
2.Liberating France
• The Allied forces were met with fierce Nazi resistance
– These were forces held back from Russian front
• The Resistance (formerly an underground anti-Nazi
organization) came out in the open and assisted the
Allies
• Suffering heavy casualties, Allies eventually pushed
Nazis out of France
• On August 25, 1944 Charles De Gaulle led Allies into
Paris
Vive la France Libre
3.The Road to Berlin
• By September Allies (Americans) were near the
German border
• Suffered setback at Operation Market Garden
– Dropped three airborne divisions behind the German
lines in Holland only to have them cut to pieces by
the Germans
• On 15 December, Germans launched last major
counteroffensive - Battle of the Bulge – and found a
weak spot in the Allied front in Ardennes
Buzz-Bomb Revenge Attacks
• The Allies were able to fly the skies over Germany
almost unopposed
• With little hope of winning the Germans began their last
ditch efforts with revenge weapons
– Began launching of V-1 or buzz-bombs (unmanned
flying bombs – early cruise missiles) and V-2’s
(ballistic missile rockets that flew at supersonic
speeds)
– Did not have an impact on the outcome of WWII but
were the future of warfare
←V-1
V-2 →
Dresden Raid
• February 1945 the Allies began massive terror bombing
of Dresden, Germany
– Was of no military significance but represented a
large untouched target
– Hoped to rush the Germans into surrender
• This fire-bombing raid killed over 100,000 German
people
Berlin is Taken
• Late April 1945 the Americans and Soviets met
in the south of Germany (just outside of Berlin)
at the River Elbe
– The German military had been cut in two
– Soviets sought to completely demolish Berlin
Hitler Dies
• 30 April?, 1945: Hitler committed suicide with
his wife Eva Braun
– The exact cause (cyanide capsule + gunshot to
the head) and date of the death of Adolf Hitler
has not been determined
– A well known theory states that on 30 April
1945 Hitler committed suicide by gunshot and
cyanide poisoning in his bunker,
Fuhrerbunker, with Eva
Hitler’s Appointed Successor
• Hermann Goering was his appointed as Hitler’s designated
successor in 1939
– When Hitler declared that he would remain in the Berlin
bunker to the end, Goering, who had already left for Bavaria,
misinterpreted this as an abdication and requested that he be
allowed to take over at once; he was ignominiously dismissed
from all his posts, expelled from the Party and arrested
• On 30 April 1945, after the death of Adolf Hitler and in
accordance with Hitler's last will and testament, Grand Admiral
Karl Dönitz was named Hitler's successor as Staatsoberhaupt
(Head of State), with the title of Reichspräsident (President) and
Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces - he was the last
President of the Third Reich
The Surrender
• Hitler was unaware that the German surrender had already
begun
• On the day before his death all German troops in Italy laid
down their arms.
• On May 4, German forces in Holland, Denmark and
northwest Germany surrendered to British Field Marshall
Montgomery
• On May 6, Donitz authorized General Alfred Jodl to
"conclude an armistice agreement" with General Eisenhower
The Official End
• The Germans wanted a separate peace with the allied troops in
the West in order to continue their battle with the Russians in the
East.
• Eisenhower would have none of it. He ordered the Germans to
surrender unconditionally the next day.
• The Germans acquiesced, signing the surrender document on
May 7, in the French city of Reims.
– The cessation of fighting took effect at 11:01 PM on May 8.
– The Russians insisted that a separate signing take place in
Berlin on May 9.
– After six catastrophic years, the war in Europe was over.
VE Day (Victory in Europe)
• 2 May - Germany falls to Russians
• 7 May - Germany unconditionally
surrenders
• 8 May 1945 - VE Day
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDyA6sr9ZU&feature=fvsr
VE Day - May 8, 1945
The Pacific Theater
• Within 6 months of Pearl Harbor (Dec. 7, 1941), Japan had a
new empire.
– Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere
• Japanese racial purity and supremacy
– Treated Chinese and Koreans with brutality.
• “Rape of Nanjing”- Japanese slaughtered at least
100,000 civilians and raped thousands of women in the
Chinese capital between Dec. 1937 and Feb. 1938.
– Could have consolidated
– “victory disease”
• After Pearl Harbor, American military leaders focused on
halting the Japanese advance and mobilizing the whole
nation for war.
The Pacific Theater:
Early Battles
• After Pearl Harbor, American military leaders focused
on quickly devastating/halting the Japanese advance and
mobilizing the whole nation for war.
• American Forces halted the Japanese advances in two
decisive naval battles:
– Coral Sea (May 1942)
• Planes vs. planes (supported by aircraft carriers)
• U.S. stopped a fleet convoying Japanese troops to
New Guinea
• Japanese designs on Australia ended
Early Battles: Midway
– Battle of Midway (June 1942)
• Japanese Admiral Yamamoto hoped to capture
Midway Island as a base to attack Pearl Harbor
again
• U.S. Admiral Chester Nimitz caught the Japanese
by surprise and sank 3 of the 4 aircraft carriers,
332 planes, and 3500 men.
– American cryptanalysts (analyze and decipher
secret coding systems and decode messages for
military)
Importance of Midway
• The Japanese defeat at Midway was the turning point
in the Pacific:
– Japanese advances stopped
– U.S. assumes initiative
– Japanese have shortage of able pilots
• Censorship and Propaganda
– News of the defeat was kept from the Japanese
public
Mobilization in the U.S.
• The war effort required all of America’s huge
productive capacity and full employment of the
workforce
– Government expenditures soared
• U.S. budget increases:
– 1940 $9 million
– 1944 $100 million
– Expenditures in WWII greater than all previous
government budgets combined (150 years)
– GNP 1939 91 billion 1945 166 million
The Beginning of the End in the
Pacific
• Yamamoto is assassinated by the U.S. (April 1943)
• Loss of Saipan (August 1944)
– “the naval and military heart and brain of Japanese defense
strategy”
– Political crisis in Japan
• The government could no longer hide the fact that they
were losing the war.
• Tōjō resigns on July 18, 1944
• Battle for Leyte Gulf (October, 1944)
– Total blockade of Japan
– Japanese navy virtually destroyed
– Kamikaze (divine wind) flights begin
A Grinding War in the Pacific
• In 1945, the U.S. began targeting people in order to coerce
Japan to surrender
– 66 major Japanese cities bombed
– 500,000 civilians killed
• Intensive air raids over Japan
– Iwo Jima (February, 1945)
• American marines invaded this island, which was
needed to provide fighter escort for bombings over
Japan
• Okinawa (April, 1945)
– All 110,000 Japanese defenders killed
– U.S. invaded this island, which would provide a staging
area for the invasion of the Japanese islands.
Atom Diplomacy
• FDR had funded the top-secret Manhattan Project to
develop an atomic bomb (Albert Einstein was an scientist on
this project)
• Dr. Robert Oppenheimer successfully tested in the summer
of 1945
• FDR had died on April 12, 1945, and the decision was left
to Harry Truman
• An amphibious invasion could cost over 350,000 Allied
casualties
Turning Points
of the War: The Pacific
• August 6, 1945 – Enola Gay (pilot: Paul
Tibbets) drops bomb on Hiroshima
– 140,000 dead; tens of thousands injured;
radiation sickness; 80% of buildings destroyed
• August 9, 1945 – Nagasaki
– 70,000 dead; 60,000 injured
• Emperor Hirohito surrenders on Aug. 14,
1945. (VJ Day – Victory in Japan)
– Formal surrender signed on September 2
onboard the battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay
Hiroshima
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xs3JE4WRL-8&NR=1
Hiroshima
Hiroshima After The Bomb
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYQ88GB4zBA&feature=related
Nagasaki
The Cost of WWII
• Germany- 3 million combat deaths (3/4th on the eastern
front)
• Japan – over 1.5 combat deaths; 900,000 civilians dead
• Soviet Union - 13 million combat deaths
• U.S.A. – 300,000 combat deaths; over 100,000 other deaths
• When you include all combat and civilian deaths, World
War II becomes the most destructive war in history with
estimates as high as 60 million, including 25 million
Russians
Winston Churchill:
A Man of Profound Words
“Never, never, never, give up.”
~ Sir Winston Churchill
WWII: Films and whatnot
• Schindler's List (biographical;
1993)
• U-571 (2000)
• Hiroshima (1995)
• Band of Brothers (miniseries;
2001)
• The Tuskegee Airmen (1995)
• Conspiracy (2001)
• The English Patient (1996 )
• Charlotte Gray (2001)
• Saving Private Ryan (1998 )
• Enemy at the Gates (2001)
• The Thin Red Line (1998)
• Pearl Harbour (2001)
WWII: Films and whatnot
• The Pianist (biographical;
2002)
• Defiance (2008)
• Winter in Wartime (2008)
• Sophie Scholl: The Final
Days (2005)
• Into the Storm (biographical Churchill; 2009)
• Flags of Our Fathers (2006)
• Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
• Max Manus (biographical;
2008)
• Atonement (2007 )
• Valkyrie (2008)
• Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Recent WWII Films Etc.
• The Pacific (TV; 2010)
• The King’s Speech (2010)
• Dear Friend Hitler (2011)