Download Early Stages of War: Germany on the Offensive

Early Stages of War: Germany on the Offensive
Early Conquests:
After taking Poland, Germany turned towards Northern Europe. In April,
1940 Hitler attacked Denmark and Norway. It took only two months to take
these countries. He then turned towards Holland, Luxembourg and Belgium
in May. The Blitzkrieg proved to be too much for these countries as well.
Battle for France:
The Maginot Line
After WWI France had developed an intricate line of defense known as the
Maginot Line. This was a heavily armed tunnel system that spanned the
entire border between France and Germany. It made the French feel safe
from any German attack. On May 12, 1940 Germany invaded France.
Instead of attacking the Maginot line, the Germans simply went around it.
The Maginot line proved to be an expensive joke that was never used.
The Miracle of Dunkirk
When France was invaded Britain sent in troops to help defend the country.
Both France and Britain though were not prepared for the speed of the
Blitzkrieg. The German army forced the allies back to the French city of
Dunkirk where they remained trapped. The allies faced certain defeat while
Hitler prepared the Luftwaffe for the final blow. In his delay the British
sent out a call for help. Nearly 900 ships (including fishing boats and
passenger craft) came across the fogy English Channel. Between May 27 and
June 4 over 300,000 soldiers were evacuated to England from Dunkirk. It
was expected that only 10,000 would have survived.
The Fall of France
On June 13, 1940 Paris was occupied by Germany and two weeks later France
surrendered.
The Battle of Britain
On July 10, 1940 Hitler ordered an air attack on British ships in the English
Channel signaling the start of the Battle of Britain. Hitler’s plan was to
destroy Britain’s fighter planes, factories and the morale of the people.
This would allow him to mount a ground attack. At first the German
Luftwaffe was extremely successful by knocking out airfields and supply
factories. The Royal Air Force (RAF) despite being badly outnumbered held
it’s ground. On September 7, 1940 two German planes bombed London which
prompted Churchill to retaliate with a strike on Berlin. An infuriated Hitler
ordered an all-out assault on London which peaked on September 15th. This
allowed the RAF time to recover and turned the tide of the Battle. By the
end of the summer Hitler realized that he could not win control of British
air space. The RAF won the Battle of Britain.
Hitler Invades the Soviet Union
On June 22, 1941 Hitler violated the non-aggression pact by invading Russia
during Operation Barbarossa. The blitzkrieg was successful at first,
reaching within 39 km of Moscow. Russia used a ‘scorched earth’ policy in its
retreat, which involved destroying all resources that could be of use to the
enemy- livestock, crops, and supplies. By winter, Hitler’s troops were ill
prepared for the temperatures (-50 degrees Celsius) and they along with
their equipment began to freeze. Russia’s unlimited supply of soldiers along
with the weather forced Germany to retreat by January 1943. the Soviet
Union suffered over 21,000,000 casualties during WWII.