Download Notes on World War II

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2007
December 5th
Simon Babakhani and Andreas Korfmann
Lecture Notes
World War II
Hitler’s Rise to Power
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In September 1919, the New German Government appointed Adolf Hitler to the position
of investigative officer of the Army
On September 14th 1919, Hitler joined the Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (The German
Workers Party)
The DAP was later re-named on February 20th 1920 to the Nationalsozialistische
Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (the NSDAP, or the Nazi Party for short)
After the re-naming of the party (on the 24th of February), its 25-point program was
released by Hitler, in collaboration with a Dr. Gottfried Feder.
Some important points of the program were :
o 1- The demanding of unification of all German speaking states.
o 2- Germany is to have Military, Political, and Economic equality to all other nations
in Europe (denouncing the importance of the Treaty of Versailles, and St. Germain).
o 3- The demanding that Germany should be given the right to colonize, for the
“sustenance” of the German people, and so that they can export their
overpopulated peoples elsewhere.
o 4- Only a member of the German race (Aryan) can be a citizen of Germany. This
meant that no immigrant would ever be considered a citizen; it also specifies that
Jews are not to be considered as citizens. All other points in the program refer
Aryans as citizens of Germany; all other races are not considered equal.
o 5- Everyone without German citizenship should be considered a guest, and should
fall under and be governed by a specific foreign legislation and set of laws.
o 6- That all political positions and political rights should only be held by citizens.
This meant voting or running of any government position is to be prohibited for
immigrants and Jews.
o 7- Citizens should be the first people of concern for the government, and if certain
necessities cannot be provided to everyone in the country, any immigrant or Jew is
to be expelled from the country, and all of their rights given to the German people.
o 8- Any further immigration of non-citizens is to be prevented. “We demand that all
non-Germans, who have immigrated to Germany since the [2 August 1914], be
forced immediately to leave the Reich.”
o 9- All citizens are to have equal rights and obligations.
o 11- “Abolition of unearned (work and labour) incomes. Breaking of rent-slavery.”
o 13- “We demand the nationalisation of all (previous) associated industries (trusts).”
o 15-“We demand an expansion on a large scale of old age welfare.”
o 18- “We demand struggle without consideration against those whose activity is
injurious to the general interest. Common national criminals, usurers, Schieber and
so forth are to be punished with death, without consideration of confession or
race.”
o 20- The state is to reconcile and re-establish an educational system that teaches the
beliefs and the ideology of the Nazi Party.
o *21- “The State is to care for the elevating national health by protecting the mother
and child, by outlawing child-labor, by the encouragement of physical fitness, by
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means of the legal establishment of a gymnastic and sport obligation, by the utmost
support of all organizations concerned with the physical instruction of the young.”
o 22- The demanding of abolishment of previous armies and the creation of a
German National Military
o 23- The “free” press is to be headed and/or supervised by a member of the German
race, and is to comply with the Government’s views. It is stated that all nonGerman papers are not to be published in the German language. If these regulations
are not follwed, the “criminals” are to be expelled from The Reich.
o 25- The demanding of total governmental control under the Nazi Party, and that
unlimited authority is to be given to the central parliament over the whole of
Germany and its organizations in general.
During this time, Hitler and other significant Nazi party members would hold lectures at
Munich beer halls; this included the Hofbräuhaus, the Sterneckerbräu, and the famous
Bürgerbräukeller (the future site of the infamous Beer Hall Putsch).
As a result of some of Hitler’s racial remarks towards Jews and his controversial statements
about the Treaty of Versailles, the German Police were already monitoring his lectures.
Hitler resigned from the Nazi Party (July 11th 1921) as a result of his dislike toward the then
leader, Anton Drexler’s policies on the future of the party.
Anton Drexler resigned from the party just 17 days after Hitler left, this was the reason for
Hitler joining once again and becoming the leader of the party.
On the 21st of September 1921, Hitler and other Nazi party members were jailed for causing
havoc and violence at a Provincial Farming Union meeting.
Hitler was sentenced to 3 months in prison, but only served about one.
Major rallies and meetings held and hosted by the Nazi Party, joining together as “brown
shirts”, the official name of the party’s supporters. This led to the creation of the
Sturmabteilung (Storm Troopers) and the Freikorps (Freedom Fighters), a more official
organization of Nazi Party followers.
Hitler later continued as leader of the party, and in the months between the end of 1922, and
the start of 1923, created the Stabswache (German for “Protective Squadron”), which later
became the S.S., or the official Nazi secret police.
At around the same time, he created the “Jungsturm and Jugendbund”, which later turned
into the Hitler Youth, an organization for the training of German children, to prepare them
for war and the service of the Reich.
The Beer Hall Putsch
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Inspired by Benito Mussolini’s infamous March on Rome (when Mussolini demanded the
abdication of the Italian prime minister on the account of a threatening march storming
parliament, a state of siege for Rome was organized, and eventually Mussolini took power of
Italy), Hitler organized a group of loyal elements in the army to set up barracks and
weaponry for a march on German Government, this was all done through the
Sturmabteilung, or the “Storm Troopers”.
The Nazi march on parliament was never ordered, but on the night of Thursday November
8th, to the afternoon of November 9th 1923, a coup d'état (the overthrow of a Government)
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led by Hitler and 20 other Nazi party leaders took place in Munich’s Bürgerbräukeller beer
hall.
The National Party’s aims were to overthrow the current Weimar Government in Berlin,
and the event was named the Beer Hall Putsch (German for coup).
600 storm troopers surround the beer hall and a machine gun was fired amongst the crowd,
all participants who entered the hall jumped up on the table’s, fired a gun in the air, and were
instructed to say “The national revolution has broken out! The hall is filled with six hundred
men. Nobody is allowed to leave. The Bavarian government and the government at Berlin
are deposed. A new government will be formed at once. The barracks of the Reichswehr and
those of the police are occupied. Both have rallied to the swastika.”
Gustav Ritter von Kahr, (leader of the German Monarchist movement was delivering a
speech at that time), was held to gunpoint by Hitler and followers, escorted to a back-room,
and threatened to support the Putsch or be shot.
After this, Hitler delivered a powerful speech to all 3,000 people in the hall.
Although gaining overwhelming support amongst the crowd, the Putsch was unsuccessful,
and did not accomplish a governmental overthrowing.
After the events of the 8th and 9th of November 1923, the Nazi Party was banned from
Germany.
Although being banned, the Nazi party altered their name by method of proxy to the
National Socialist Freedom Movement for the 1924 German elections. Only 3% of the
German population voted for Hitler’s party, although many other socialist parties gathered
great support.
Hitler and other Nazi Party members involved in the Beer Hall Putsch were arrested; Hitler
himself was sentenced to 5 years in prison.
While in prison, Hitler wrote “Mein Kampf” (My Struggle), which outlined his National
Socialist political ideology, and contained an autobiography (of his life up until the
imprisonment).
Rise to power
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Hitler was released from prison in December of 1924, and the national ban of the Nazi party
was lifted.
The NSDAP only received 2.63% of votes in the 1928 German elections, inspiring Hitler to
re-educate and publicize his aims.
Hitler wrote a second book named “Zweites Buch”, meaning second book.
The SA (Storm Troopers) were campaigning and giving speeches in communist strongholds,
causing extreme tension between the National Socialists and the communists.
Many pistol-fights broke out between the National socialists (the SA) and the communists
(The Rotfront) at this time, in the streets of Germany.
Tensions increased dramatically when communist party leaders developed false and
demoralizing accusations against Nazi-activists, this later lead to brutal murders and the
making of an “anthem” written by murdered Nazi activist Horst Wessel. “Die Fahne hoch”
(raise the flag high), became the official anthem of the socialist movement, and later, the
German national anthem during Nazi rule.
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Political tensions in 1930 resulted in an increase of deaths, more than the previous two years
combined.
These occurrences lead to several prohibitions, including the wearing of the SA brown shirts,
and the holding of Nazi Party memberships in Prussia and Bavaria.
All this publicity and attention resulted in the party winning 107 seats (a total of 18.3%) in
the 1930 election, becoming the second largest party.
Although the great depression did not affect Germany as much as the United States until
September of 1930, it did play a major role in the popularity of the socialist party.
With unemployment rising, and unemployment insurance in heavy deficit, Nazi policies
began to appeal to the people of Germany.
At this time, Germany was ruled by a grand coalition ranging from Social Democrats to the
Peoples Party.
The April 1932 election showed even more support for the Nazi party, receiving 36.8% of
the vote, shortly after the 40% won by Paul von Hindenburg.
At the end of July 1932, the Nazi party obtained approximately 140,000,000 votes, securing
230 seats in the Reichstag.
After increasing support for the Socialist movement amongst the German people, Hitler
asked Chancellor Franz von Papen for the position of Chancellor, Papen then offered the
position of vice-chancellor, but Hitler refused.
As an attempt to abolish the violence and civil fighting on German streets, the government
implemented a law to which all ‘acts of political violence’ were to be punished by ‘lifetime
imprisonment, 20 years hard labour or death’. This was later put into effect and tried by
special courts. Hitler used this then newly-created law to eliminate his opponents during his
years as German chancellor.
Until January of 1932, Germany was in a state of chaos, financial despair and domestic
violence escalated, and the NSDAP was continuously banned and reinstated. A civil war
seemed imminent.
In the 1932 election, the Nazi party lost 14 seats in government, but still maintained their
second largest party position.
In November of 1932, Hindenburg (Chancellor by popular vote) offered Hitler the position
of Chancellor, only if he could remain in parliament as vice-chancellor.
Hitler agreed, and on January 30th 1933, Adolf Hitler became the newly-appointed German
Chancellor.
Gleichschaltung
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Gleichschaltung- meaning "equal switching", "synchronization"; meaning
"coordination", "making the same", "bringing into line" was the term used by the Nazi
government to describe their process in which they gained total power over Germany.
This involved abolishing the Weimar constitution.
On the following day of the Reichstag fires (the fires that burned down the German
parliament buildings, set ablaze by a Jewish immigrant, and member of the German
communist party. This incident was later used by Hitler to put blame on Jews and
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communists) (February 27th 1933), the German government (Paul von Hindenburg and
Adolf Hitler) issued the “Reichstag Fire Decree”
Most of the basic human rights established in the Weimar constitution were abolished
by the Reichstag Fire Decree.
The Reichstag Fire Decree then gave way to the government being able to capture,
arrest and eliminate any current political enemies.
This then led to the banning of all other political parties.
After the Reichstag General Election of 1933, most of the Nazi-appointed officials were
voted in, because of the eliminated competition, there were only Socialist party members
left.
Foreign Policy
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The German government looked to form good relations with Fascist Italy in hopes of
obtaining Austria. This resulted in the formation of the Rome-Berlin Axis on October 25th
1936, and the Italian adaptation of Anti-Semitism.
On November 26th, 1937 Nazi Germany signed the anti-comintern pact to consolidate
their alliance with Japan. It was directed against the Soviet Union
(comintern=communisim)
The year, Italy joined the pact. The Triple Axis was formed.
CAUSES OF THE WAR
Versailles Settlement
The roots of the war lie in the terms of the Versailles treaty:
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Germany lost all her colonies
Alsace Lorraine returned to France
Rhineland occupied by Allies for 15 years
Germany lost land to Poland
German army limited to 100,000 men
War guilt clause
Reparations
Germany claimed that they had been treated harshly and unfair. However the treaty was
too lenient to constrain Germany for long. (lose-lose situation)
The treaty also left other with grievances:
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Italy left empty-handed helped Mussolini rise to power and establish Europe’s first
fascist state.
It was not just the Treaty of Versailles that had left countries affected in the inter-war
years.
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The Bolshevik Revolution and the Treaty of Brest Litovsk (1918 with Germany) ended up
seeing Finland and the Baltic states win their independence from Russia, then Poland
did the same Russia had grown into an aggrieved power like Germany and Italy. The
Soviets also remained an enemy to non-communist states.
The main problem with the Treaty of Versailles was:
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Lack of agreement on how the terms should be upheld US showed little desire to
uphold the settlement, so it came down to Britain and France. France wanted Germany
to remain weak for her own security interest while Britain was concerned with the
survival of her empire and the recovery of trade.
By the time of France’s occupation of the Ruhr in 1923, Britain began to share the view
that the German’s were treated too harshly by the treaty.
As a result of this guilt that the British felt, the signed a series of agreement with
Germany that undermined the treaty (Locarno 1925- reparations scaled back and
Germany treated as equal) and in 1926 Germany was admitted into the League of
Nations.
By 1929, Britain and France agreed to end their occupation of the Rhineland but
France who still distrusted the Germans constructed the Maginot Line defences in 1929.
The League of Nations
Britain places much faith in the League during the interwar years, but its failure as an
international diplomatic organization led to instability before the war.
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Many historians believe that the League was deemed a failure from the start- as the USA
and USSR both did not join.
In some ways, the League was fairly successful in the 1920s, but by the 1930s it fell
apart.
o In response to a shooting on the Albanian Greek border, Mussolini invaded
Corfu and demanded that the League not rule against him or he would leave.
The Conference of Ambassadors intervened and ordered Greece to pay a fine.
o When the League condemned the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, Japan just
left the League.
o The World Disarmament Conference (1932-1933) failed when Hitler walked out.
o The League placed sanctions on Italy after their invasion of Abyssinia. However
these sanctions were ineffective since they did not include the products
necessary in waging a war (coal, oil, steel and iron).
o By 1935, the League became irrelevant.
Why did the League fail?
o US rejected membership
o No permanent military force
o States tended to seek security independently of the League
o Members often appeased powerful aggressor states.
APPEASEMENT
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Appeasement: the political strategy of pacifying a potentially hostile nation in the hope of
avoiding war, often by granting concessions
Why Appeasement?
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British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain had believed that it was better to resolve
disputes through negotiation and compromise than through war.
By the mid-1920s, British policy was to give way to German demands for revisions to
Versailles.
Even France was committed to appeasement:
o France was traumatized by the loss of life
o Politically and socially divided
o Feared conflict with Germany
o Appeasement was really a policy forced on France because of its weakness.
In Britain there was an overall sense that Hitler might have legitimate grievances. They also
feared a confrontation with a newly re-armed Germany.
Chamberlain was sympathetic with Hitler’s desire to unite the German-speaking people of
Austria, Poland and Czechoslovakia.
Chamberlain wrote: “I believe the double policy of rearmament and better relations with
Germany and Italy will carry us safely through the dangerous period”
Chamberlain feared war
Britain believed that the League of Nations would solve problems so there was no need to
threaten Hitler with war.
Britain was not materially ready to fight a war in 1938
Chamberlain misjudged Hitler’s honesty
Fear of communism
Anglo-German Naval Agreement
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Agreement signed between Germany and Britain in 1935 that essentially permitted the rearming of Germany. Raised the ratio of German ships to British ship to level of 35:100.
Re-Militarization of the Rhineland
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Both Locarno and the Treaty of Versailles stated that the Rhineland should be
demilitarized.
In March 1936 Hitler sent nineteen German infantry Battalions to the Rhineland as
well as a few planes. He expected the French to cross the German border to stop
the German advance.
The French did not invade because they were psychologically unprepared to fight a
war against Germany.
Britain did not see the German move as harmful, so they did not protest.
Hitler continued to add fortifications and military units to the Rhineland in the years leading
up to the war.
Spanish Civil War
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Britain and France allowed Germany to test its armed forces in the Spanish Civil
War.
Hitler was allowed to use German bombers on the side of the Nationalists.
Anschluss
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The Nazis planned for an uprising in Austria. The Austrian police discovered that its
repression would be used as a pretext for a German invasion. The Austrian Chancellor was
bullied and threatened by the Nazis and agreed to Hitler’s demands of including Nazis in his
cabinet. Hitler sent in troops and ran a plebiscite where the union (Anschluss) was
approved by a massive majority (1938).
Because Hitler decided to act at a last minute, Britain and France had little warning of the
Austrian crisis. Chamberlain recognized that there was little he could do. France protested,
but many Austrians expressed their joy at joining Germany.
Sudetenland Crisis
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After Germany annexed Austria, Hitler set his sights on the Sudetenland, a German
speaking area of Czechoslovakia ruled by a Nazi politician- Konrad Heinlein.
 Hitler denounced the Czechs for alleged persecution of the German minority.
 USSR and France both had Alliances with Czechoslovakia and were not prepared
materially or politically to go to war.
 Hitler directed his Field Marshall Wilhelm Keitel to prepare for an Invasion of the
Sudetenland even if the French were to intervene.
 Chamberlain warned Germany not to intervene and urged the Czech president to
compromise with Konrad Heinlein.
 The French premier, Edouard Daladier visited Chamberlain in London and agreed
that all of the Sudetenland with more than 50% Germans by given to Germany. The
Czech government was consequently pressured to accept it.
 Hitler then increased his demand to include the entire Sudetenland being occupied
by the German army and the withdrawal of all Czechs and Slovaks from the region.
 Britain and France rejected these demands- France and Czechoslovakia mobilized.
 Chamberlain proposed a conference to avoid war, Hitler agreed. Chamberlain,
Daladier, Hitler and Mussolini met in Munich in September 1938.
 The settlement gave Germany the Sudetenland beginning October 10th, as long as
Hitler promised to go no further. Chamberlain and Hitler also signed an agreement
to resolve their further differences peacefully.
 Chamberlain returned to Britain to meet cheering crowds where he famously said:
“My good friends, for the second time in our history, A British Prime Minister as
returned from Germany bringing peace with honour. I believe it is peace for our
time”.
Response
 Chamberlain and Daladier hailed it as a success
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British opposition leader Winston Churchill saw it as a “total and unmitigated
defeat” for British.
Hitler despised Chamberlain for promoting the agreement as a success for peace.
Stalin was angry since the USSR was not included in the conference and that Britain
and France colluded with Germany. Stalin feared that this collusion would lead to
the partition of the Soviet Union between western and fascist powers his response
was to sign the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (non-aggression treaty)
The Czechoslovakians were angry that the decision had been forced upon them.
In March 1939, Nazi forces invaded the Czech area around the Sudetenland
(Bohemia and Moravia). Slovakia was established as a Nazi puppet state.
Chamberlain consequently felt betrayed by Hitler and decided to take a tougher
stand against Germany. The British and French armies were mobilized.
Italy felt like a second-rate member of the Axis and sent Italian troops into Albania
and succeeded in making an Italian protectorate.
The Abandonment of Appeasement
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As Franco won the Spanish Civil War in Feb 1939 and Mussolini conquers
Albania in April 1939, it seemed that fascism was on the rise everywhere.
Chamberlain promised to defend Poland this made war inevitable if Hitler
attacked Poland
The signing of the Pact of Steel (May 1939) that obliged both Germany and Italy
to support one another in the event of a war. This showed that Hitler was building
up for a war.
Anglo-Soviet talks fail in Aug 1939 because:
o Suspicion: Chamberlain and Stalin did not trust eachother and Poland did
not trust USSR.
o Choice: If Stalin sided with Britain, the USSR would be fighting in
Poland on Britain’s behalf- but if he sided with Hitler the USSR would get
have of Poland practically free.
o Appeasement: Stalin thought Britain would leave him to fight Hitler
alone.
o Britain Delayed: the official made it to the USSR too late.
But instead German Soviet Pact occurred.
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (Treaty of Non-Aggression)
Timeline
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As part of the renewal of friendly relations between the USSR and Nazi Germany,
Stalin replaced his Jewish foreign minister with Molotov, who was more open to
peace with Germany.
The German foreign minister was Joachim von Ribbentrop
First a German-Soviet trade agreement was signed.
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As the Anglo-Soviet talks began to fail, Stalin entered a secret agreement with
Nazi Germany.
On Aug 24, a 10 year non-aggression treaty was signed between the two powers:
o negotiation if either party disagreed
o Neutrality if either went to war against a third party
o No membership of a group.
o One secret clause that was only revealed after the war was that Germany
and the USSR agreed to divide the Scandinavian and Baltic states into two
spheres of influence.
Why Was the Pact Signed?
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It gave Russia time to prepare for war
Stalin hoped that Britain, France and Germany would enter a long war of attrition
Stalin was unhappy with Britain, so he turned to Germany
Hitler thought that signing this pact would force Britain to back down over
defending Poland.
GENERAL LONG TERM CAUSES
GENERAL LONG
TERM CAUSES OF
WWII
(TRIPFEN)
EXPANSIONISM
DESCRIPTION
German, Italian and Japanese imperialist desires:
 Italy wanted to recreated the Roman Empire
 Invasion of Abyssinia
 Invasion of Albania
 Invasion of Greece
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Germany wanted Lebensraum
 Germany wanted to regain its lost territory after WWI:
Polish Corridor, Silesia, Danzig, Memel, Posen and the
Saar.
 The idea of a Greater Germany: unite all German
people under one nation.
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Japan wanted to regain territory that it had captured in
WWI
 This includes the Shantung Peninsula, former German
Pacific islands, parts of Siberia and the Russia port of
Vladivostok.
FASCISM,
NATIONALISM
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TOTALITARIA NISM
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Fascist governments believed that the structure of the army
should be emulated by the rest of society.
Fascists like Hitler and Mussolini believed that war was
necessary for improvement, so they not opposed to starting
a European conflict.
Nationalism was used by leaders to build public support for
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ISOLATIONISM
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PROTECTIONISM
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RACISM
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a was
Single party states like Germany, Italy and USSR made
decisions without public consent.
US foreign policy was isolationist- they did not involve
themselves in European affairs in the interwar years
Their economy was protectionist- they did not want to rely
on any other nations for economic well-being.
The public in Britain and France was very isolationist
because they did not want to relive the horrors of WWI.
This attitude of non-interventionism prevented any country
from intervening to stop Hitler’s buildup to war.
Belief in master races and inferior races
Social Darwinism had put races against each other- Teuton
vs. Slav.
National self-determination developed the idea of panGermanism and pan-Slavism (which excluded other races
from a nation).
Hitler’s desire to wipe out inferior peoples/races.
THE WAR
BLITZKRIEG: Lighting War
Blitzkrieg: defeating the enemy by means of a strategic envelopment executed by mechanized
forces, with overwhelming air-support, leading to operational collapse.
The Conquest of Poland
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German forces were planning an attack on Poland since March 1939
The bulk of their army was in the east, which left their border with France
vulnerable- so they had to take Poland quick (the opposite of the Schlieffen plan
east and west)
German army that was to attack Poland was divided into two parts- Army group
North (630,000 men) and Army group South (860,000 men)
Poland had little over 1 million poorly equipped men in its forces. It had 180 tanks
compared to Germany’s 2000 and 313 aircraft compared to Germany 2,035.
Poland was surrounded by Germany on three sides.
On September 1st Germany attacked
o The Luftwaffe quickly destroyed the Polish railways which hindered the
Poles’ mobilization
o The Luftwaffe also destroyed most Polish airbases, so many of their planes
could not land.
o The Panzers division made deep incursion into Poland, dividing the Polish
army into pockets
o The German troops then destroyed these Polish pockets.
o Within 10 days most of northern and western Poland was under German
control
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Britain and France delivered a ultimatum to Germany- to leave Poland.
Sept 3- UK, New Zealand, Australia and France declare war on Germany
Sept 10- Canada declares war on Germany
On the 17th of September, the Russians invaded from the east as called for in the
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.
The same day the Russians invaded, Germans encircled Warsaw
The Polish government was replaced by Nazi rule. German annexed Danzig and the
land between Silesia and East Prussia.
Russia took eastern Poland.
THE PHONEY WAR
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Little military activity over the winter of 1939-1940 labeled Phony
Warehouses in London were filled with cardboard coffins expected to hold all the
Britons soon to be killed by a German air strike.
The RAF dropped leaflets in German towns to get the population to rise against
Hitler.
Hitler wanted a real war, after the Allies rejected his peace proposals he prepared for
a Western Offensive.
The real war began to develop as Stalin annexed the Baltic states and demanded
Finland. The Finns refused, so the Soviets fought a winter war and suffered a
humiliating defeat.
THE WESTERN FRONT (OPERATION WESERUBUNG)
 Hitler was convinced that Britain would soon violate Norway’s neutrality by
invading
 Norway was important to Germany because:
o It served as a naval base for U-boats going to the Atlantic
o A route for iron ore shipments from Sweden
 German General Falkenhorst decided to use Denmark as a land bridge to get to
Norway
 The Danish did not resist the German invasion.
 On April 7 German transport ships, part of the Kriegsmarine carrying 10,000
soldiers set off to Norway and land at various locations along the North Sea cost of
Norway
 The next day German airborne troops landed near Oslo.
 Much of Norway fell under Nazi control by the end of April, except for a few
mountain forts and villages.
 By capturing Norway and Denmark and most of the Baltic sea, Sweden war
encircled by Germany and the Soviet Union.
 In June 1940 an agreement was reached between Germany and Sweden that allowed
for the free passage of German soldiers and equipment through Sweden (neutral)
THE FALL OF FRANCE
 Germany needed to take France because:
o Did not want to give Britain a foothold into Europe
o Did not want to fight a war on two fronts
 For the attack, the 3 million German troops deployed for battle were divided into
three groups that would attack different areas:
o Group A would conduct the Sickle Cut through the Ardennes north end
of Maginot Line. Also included three Panzer corps.
o Group B would attack the low countries (Belgium and Netherlands). They
would encircle any Allied troops who made it to the mainland.
o Group C launched small attacks along the Maginot Line and to Defend the
Rhine and Ruhr.
 France had a manpower shortage- so they conscripted a third of all the men in
France aged 25 to 40. Total army- 6 million. They did not distribute enough in the
North though.
 In May 1940, there were 3.3 million French, Belgian, British and Dutch soldier in
northern France.
Fell Gelb (Case Yellow)
 On the night of May 10th, German Army Group B attacked Belgium and the
Netherlands.
 Some French division were sent to the Netherlands to fight the Germans, but found
the Dutch already in retreat and followed them.
 The Luftwaffe quickly obtained air superiority, disrupting Allied communication.
 The Dutch surrendered on May 14th after the German bombing of Rotterdam.
 German Army Group B was weakened significantly as they entered Belgium from
Netherlands and needed to engage the Allies in combat before Army Group A could
enter through the Ardennes.
 To overcome the well fortified Belgian fortress Eben Emael the Germans sent in
gliders to take the fort as well as paratroopers to capture the bridgeheads of the
Albert Canal.
 The Belgians retreated and the French were overwhelmed by the rest of Group B
and the Panzer Corp.
 Then German Army Group A easily defeated the French and the Belgians in the
Ardennes because they did not have a great enough anti-tank capacity and the
Germans had many tanks
 As the German Army advanced towards Paris, the tanks lagged behind the infantry,
which put them in a vulnerable position.
 The French did not attack because they were reeling from their defeat. The French
President Paul Reynaud (successor to Daladier) even phone the new British Prime
Minister Winston Churchill and said that France has been defeated.
 [In a sombre meeting with the French commanders, Churchill asked General Gamelin, "Ou est la
masse de manoeuvre?" ["Where is the strategic reserve?"] which had saved Paris in the First World
War. "Aucune" ["There is none,"] Gamelin replied. Later, Churchill described hearing this as the
single most shocking moment in his life. Churchill asked Gamelin when and where the general
proposed to launch a counterattack against the flanks of the German bulge. Gamelin simply replied
"inferiority of numbers, inferiority of equipment, inferiority of methods"] Quoted
 This marked the end of Allied efforts to defend France.
Dunkirk
 A city in France on the English Channel.
 The Axis troops were so successful in their invasion of France that the Allied troops
had to be immediately transported from the mainland using all the British vessels
capable of crossing the channel (even bathtubs and pleasure craft were used to
transport the British soldier back the UK)
 This was the largest military evacuation in history, and the defeat of France left just
Britain and the Commonwealth to fight the Axis powers.
Fall Rot (Case Red)
 France had lost most of its best army division and had no significant reserves left
 If the frontline was pushed further south, it would become too long for the French
to man
 France felt abandoned because of Dunkirk
 Mussolini declared war on Britain and France on June 10th, really just to benefit from
the German success.
 France government relocated to Bordeaux and declared Paris an open city. It fell to
German armies on June 14th the second time in 100 years that Germany occupied
Paris.
 The Luftwaffe had complete control over French airspace and bombed any military
targets. The remainder of French airpower retreated to North Africa.
 French president Reynaud resigned and was replaced by Philippe Petain, a WWI
hero. Petain signed an armistice with Germany on June 22.
 France was divided into North (complete German control) and South (a Nazi puppet
state was established, centred at Vichy. Its leader, Petain submitted to German
demands he was later tried for collaboration with the Nazis
 Within a month, 3 nations had been defeated by Germany, one of them a Great
European Power.
Nation
Germany
France
Britain
Belgium
Deaths
27,000
90,000
68,000
23,000
BATTLE OF BRITAIN
 Germany started to prepare for the invasion of Britain- operation Sealion
 Most of Britain’s supplies had been lost at Dunkirk but their navy was still strong
 Because the English Channel was protected by the Royal Navy and RAF, the
German leaders (both Goring and Hitler) sent in the Luftwaffe to destroy British
aerodromes and Radar stations.
 By summer 1940, they switched their attention to bombing British cities and
industries this was the Blitz.
o Major cities attacked, Birmingham, London (east side), Belfast
o Bomb refuges set up in Tube Stations
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The diversion of the efforts of the Luftwaffe allowed the RAF to rebuild and
challenge the Luftwaffe which had dominated the skies of Britain.
Forced Hitler to abandon Operation Sealion
BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC
 With the fall of France the French navy was removed and French ports now
housed German ships
 The Royal Navy was overstretched had to guard English Channel, protect the
Mediterranean in place of the French and escort Merchant vessels.
 Somewhat alleviated by the Destroyers for Bases Agreement: Britain exchanged
land rights to several of her overseas possession for 50 destroyer ships from USA>
 U-boats were very successful: Wolf Pack Technique mass attacks by U-boats
against convoys
 The German Navy ships were fairly successful.
o Operation Berlin commerce raid near Azores successful
o The loss of technically superior Graf Spree and Bismarck was a major loss
o After the loss of the Bismarck, Hitler focused on U-boats more
 The Allies suffered greater losses in capital ships such as aircraft carriers
 The British obtained a German enigma machine which was able to decipher German
codes so the British could plan convoy routes that avoided German U-Boats
 In 1943, the British developed the H2S radar system to detect German U-boats. In
turn the Germans developed the Naxos radar detection system so they could send
fighters to destroy the British radar system.
 Black May a major turning point in the Battle of the Atlantic where the Allies
faced fewer losses and the German Navy lost 25% of their U-boats in service.
 By 1944, Allied ship building had advanced significantly with the mass-production of
U-boat proof Liberty cargo ships and other anti submarine tactics  the Germans
started to back out of the Atlantic and lost the battle.
 This allowed for a large-scale supply build-up in Britain necessary for the D-Day
landings.
MEDITERRANEAN CAMPAIGNS
Battle of Greece
 The Italians attacked Greece in 1940 from Albania which they captured before the
war
 The Italians were unsuccessful and were driven out by the Greeks
 In 1941 the Germans intervened to help the Italians and were able to capture Greece
and Yugoslavia.
 The Germans were able to overcome Greek resistance on the Mainland, but Greek
and Commonwealth forces retreated to Crete
 The Germans used airborne paratroopers to capture the island
North African Front (afrika corps imageS)
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Before the war Italy expanded in possessions in Libya as well as invaded the
independent country of Abyssinia.
When the war broke out, the Italians captured Somaliland from the British and
attempted to take Egypt.
Hitler sent an Afrika Corps (led by Field Marshall Erwin Rommel) to Libya to aid
the Italians. Mussolini accepted the fact that his Italian divisions in North Africa
would be more successful against the British if they were led by Rommel
Why did the Allies fight for North Africa they wanted to ease Axis pressure on the
Soviet Front
Why did the Axis fight in N.A.  they wanted to cut of oil supplies to the Allies and
use the oil for their own war machine
In September 1940, a 200,000 strong Italian army invaded British Egypt form Libya.
They were poorly equipped (unmechanized) but were still able to penetrate Egypt.
The British (only 35,000) were able to push the Italians back to Libya
The Germans under Rommel came to help and pushed the British back to the
Egyptian border
The British now with help from the French and Indians moved the front line back to
Libya.
In a final push into Egypt, Rommel faced British General Montgomery at El
Alamein.
Battle of El Alamein both Axis and British defended their positions strongly. It
was really a stalemate in the end, but the British did prevent the Germans from
reaching Alexandria.
The Second Battle of El Alamein the Germans were decisively defeated by the
British.
o Ended German expansion in North Africa
o Ended Axis hopes of capturing Suez Canal and reaching Middle Eastern
Oilfields
The EASTERN FRONT
Operation Barbarossa
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Commenced on June 22nd 1941, initiated by Germany
German Invaded Soviet Russia, terminating the non-aggression pact between the two
nations
Main goal of operation Barbarossa was to conquer the European parts under Soviet rule.
Germany had gained some significant economic and tactical ground during this operation
(e.g. Ukraine)
The largest invasion in recorded history, in terms of soldiers and casualties.
Germany sent in approximately 3.3 million men, ,2000 tanks, 7,000 artillery pieces, and 2,500
aircraft.
The Germans were, however pushed back out of Moscow and could not sustain enough of
an offensive to maintain control over the entire German-Soviet border
The German failure of Operation Barbarossa would eventually lead to the fall of Nazi
Germany.
Battle of Moscow
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Soviets were able to prevent a serious, German threat of invasion of their capital.
Lasted between October 1941 until January 1942.
Hitler believed that Moscow, the largest and most powerful city in the Soviet Union would
be a largely significant asset to the Axis powers.
Germany’s original Operation Barbarossa plans were to take Moscow within four months of
fighting, but complications in Leningrad and Kiev, delayed the siege.
Siege of Leningrad
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Was one of the longest sieges of a city in modern history
German siege on Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) started on September 8th 1941, and lasted
until January 27th 1944
With German forces pushing into the Soviet Union, a series of fortifications were
constructed in Leningrad, most of which were constructed by Soviet civilians
Thousands of civilians died as a result of German air raids on Leningrad
Bombings and shelling on Leningrad during the months of August through October resulted
in several fires, and necessities were destroyed.
Extreme rationing and increasing civilian casualty rates resulted in the Siege being dubbed
one of the deadliest in the Eastern Front.
The Siege ended when a division of the Red Army pushed the remaining German offensive
units out of their fortifications in the city.
Battle of Stalingrad
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Occurred between August 21st 1942 and February 2nd 1943
Considered the bloodiest battle in human history, and longest, lasting 199 days
The capture of Stalingrad would’ve meant a major industrial and resourceful gain for Hitler
and the Axis powers.
As shortages were becoming more common the deeper the Axis armies were reaching into
Soviet Russia, shortages of supplies grew (especially for oil), and Stalingrad promised a gold
mine of resources to supply the Axis armies through the region.
The city also bore the name of Hitler’s political arch-rival, Joseph Stalin; the capture of this
city would mean large propaganda and ideology advances and opportunities.
Stalin caught wind of all this and ordered anyone strong enough to hold a rifle into battle.
Hitler, although advised to concentrate on Moscow, sent the majority of his troops to the
southern Russian front, in hopes of gaining control of the vast oil fields in the region.
The start of “Operation Blau” (Operation blue) , which was the code name for the planned
siege of Stalingrad, had been delayed due to other, less serious battles in the north.
Operation Blau finally took place on the 28th of June 1942.
After gains in the assault on Voronezh, Hitler intervened and ordered troops to join
Operation Blau, resulting in a major traffic jams in the transportation of troops on limited
road space
Heavy air bombing begun the battle, resulting in massive civilian casualties.
Hitler’s overall obsession with Stalingrad lead to the German army’s weakness, and defeat
Germany lost several thousand soldiers in the battle of Stalingrad, resulting in a major
German defeat.
Battle of Kursk
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Was the last major battle on the Soviet front
Lasted from the 4th of July 1943 to the 20th of July 1943
Both Hitler’s waiting on his “super weapons” for an offensive, and the delays due to the
weather and the de-thawing of the ground led to the re-building of Soviet forces
after waiting to re-arm, Germany’s Operation Citadel saw the arrival of new, technologically
advanced weaponry, including new tanks
At around this time in the war, German air superiority was not guaranteed, and the
Luftwaffe was not heavily relied on
German losses were inflicted by soviet minefields and artillery
On July 9th and 10th, Hitler spoke to and summoned Nazi naval officers to “temporarily” call
of Operation Citadel, it was later called off on the 17th of July and the SS Panzer Korps were
transferred to Italy.
Hitler’s decision to call off operation Citadel at the peak of the battle was criticised several
times, and was a direct source of controversy
The Germans lost the battle on the 20th of July, although losing, Germany did manage to
partially destroy enemy mobile operational units.
WAR IN THE PACIFIC
Second Sino-Japanese War
 Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931 over false pretexts
 In 1937 Japan invaded China because:
o To find more natural resources
o To expand its empire
o To spread out its confined population
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In 1940 Japan invaded French Indochina
In 1941 the Japanese signed a Non-Agression treaty with the Soviets (the Soviets did
not want to fight a war on two fronts)
 In 1941 Japan blockaded trade to the US Philippines and the Dutch East Indies
 The US, UK and Netherlands responded by putting an embargo on all Japanese
trade
 The Japanese did not fear the Allies because they felt that they were only concerned
with the war in Europe.
Pearl Harbour
 On December 7, 1941 the Japanese launched a surprise attack on the US naval base
at Pearl Harbor Hawaii.
 Half the US fleet was destroyed in the war
 The next day Japan attacks Hong Kong and the Philippines
o American troops (Macarthur) were forced off the Island to Austrialia
o The Japanese invaded Hong Kong from China. The Commonwealth forces
fought for over two weeks until their supplies ran out on Christmas day and
they shortly surrendered after. Canadians were involved- 1975 CDN;s
killed.
o From these two attacks, Japan collected 80,000 POWs notorious abuse
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On December 8th, 1941, the USA formally entered the war as they declared war on
Japan
The tide had shifted the tides in favor of the Allies
In 1942, the Allies regrouped and launched counter-attacks against the Japanese.
They managed to capture most of the Pacific islands the Japanese had invaded
Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa
 Extremely important capture by the US because it was so far the only territory that
has been part of Japan for centuries
 These islands were directly south of the Japan Home Islands and were heavily
defended
 The two airfields allowed for emergency landings of US B-29 bombers
 The Japanese defended these islands with Kamikaze bombers and suicide fighters,
but the US marines were able to overcome them.
 Once captured, these island served as a stepping stone in reaching the Japans home
islands made the firebombing of Tokyo possible.
Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
 US forced Japanese surrender by unleashing this new weapon of mass destruction
 President Truman approved the attacks that were expected to make the Japanese
surrender.
 On August 6, 1945, the “Enola Gay” (an American bomber) dropped the first
nuclear bomb over Hiroshima and then three days later another bomb was dropped
over Nagasaki. The two bombs killed a total of 130 000 Japanese.
 The atomic bombs attacks in Japan were the first use of nuclear weapons in war.
The use of nuclear bombs ended the relief of the war’s end and brought on a whole
new international conflict over atomic weapons.
 Brought on VJ day
THE INVASION OF FORTRESS EUROPE
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Started with Operation Torch invasion of North Africa, led by Eisenhower
included Americans, and British against Vichy France. (1943)
The Allied invasion of Sicily and southern Italy followed finally the Allies broke
into the European mainland.
Battle of Ortona The Canadian forces were fighting to destroy the fortifications
in the town of Ortona on the Adriatic coast. There they confronted the German
Army where fighting in the streets lasted for much of December. By the end of the
month, the German defenses were crushed.
With the defeat at Ortona, the Allies were free to march to Rome.
Italian King Victor Emanuel dismissed Mussolini for his failure in defending Italy
The first Axis power was defeated.
Operation Overlord
 With Italy taken by 1944, the Allies planned for the invasion of France
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The allies organized 2 million troops for the invasion – (1.2 million US, 600,000 UK,
the rest Canadian mostly and Free French)
 The Germans were very weak in the West because 85-90% of their troops were
caught up fighting the Soviets on the Eastern Front.
 Really there were only two German division guarding the whole French coast.
 However the Germans had constructed the Atlantic Wall which was a series of
Defences along the French coast (barbed wire, Belgian gates, bunkers)
 The Allies had tricked the Germans that the invasion was going to happen in Calais
rather than Normandy (the Germans only left 50,000 out of 400,000 troops in
France to guard Normandy)
 On the day of the invasion (D-Day) the Allies landed at five beaches on the
Normandy coast. Canada took Juno beach.
 This was the largest amphibious invasion in History
 The allies achieved most of their objective for the first day
 The allies now slowly advanced through France (US captured the strategic deepwater port of Cherbourg on June 26).
 By August, Allied troops stationed in Corsica took part in Operation Dragoon where
they invaded the south French coast and advanced through southern France until
they met the D-Day invaders at Paris
 From here the Allies spread out across northern France and liberated the Low
Countires. The Canadians cleared the Scheldt Estuary and liberated the Netherlands.
 To weaken German civilian moral and undermine their war effort, before the fullscale invasion of Germany, the Allies firebombed many Germany cities including
Hamburg and Dresden.
o This was the most controversial Allied action during the war since it was
targeted at civilians
o Allied bombers would dump petroleum jelly on the cities and then ignite
them with the bombs humans would actually melt in the intense heat.
o 600,000 German citizens were killed in the firebombing more than the
Atomic Bomb Attack
Battle of the Bulge (Jan 1945)
 German counter-attack against the Allies invading Northern France
 Germans broke the thinly defended American front in Belgium
 The Germans took advantage of the foggy weather and penetrated deep into Allied
lines, creating a bulge
 The Americans attacked the German bulge from the North and South.
 Then the Allies pushed into Germany
The Invasion of Germany
 The Allies crossed the Rhine in March 1945
 The British headed North East toward Hamburg and later to Denmark.
 The Americans encircled the Ruhr (major industrial centre) and took 300,000
German POWs.
 They continued to advance through Southern Germany until they met up with the
Soviets at the Rhine.
Battle of Berlin
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As the Soviet pushed in from the East, they captured Poland from Germany. By Spring
1945, Soviet Troops entered Germany.
In April 1945, they reached Berlin.
The Soviets referred to this battle as the “Berlin Offensive Operation”
Two Soviet armies consisting of massive numbers attacked Berlin from the East and the
South, while a third army came in on Berlin from the North.
Hitler and other important Reich leaders committed suicide before the Battle was over.
Remaining German defensive forces finally surrendered on the 2nd of May
Germany was then overthrown with violence and fighting until the end of the war and
Germany’s defeat on the 8th of May, 1945.
The War then ended on the 8th of May
REASONS FOR THE ALLIED VICTORY
 Hitler’s errors
o Not completing the invasion of Britain
o The blitzkrieg invasion of Russia
o not foreseeing that the war could go on into winter 1941
o Not turning the Soviet population against Stalin’s regime
 Stalin’s strong leadership elicited national patriotism
 The industrial base (The US) was not in the path of war
 The size of the US economy and the production capabilities of the USSR.
CLOSING CONFERENCES AND TREATIES
Yalta Conference Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill met at Yalta on the Crimean peninsula
in February 1945. It essentially set up post-war Europe.
 Talks about formation of a United Nations began
 German loses territory to Poland (Poland is shifted westward)
 Establishing democratic elections in Poland
 Planned on dividing a defeated Germany into 4 quadrants controlled by different
Allied powers
 Set reparation payments for Germany to make
 Really laid the ground-works for Cold War Europe
Potsdam Conference and Agreement took place in July and August 1945 at a former
Hohenzollern palace in Potsdam, Germany. It decided how to manage a defeated Nazi
Germany (which had agreed to unconditional surrender on May 8th, VE day).
Who attended:
 Stalin of the Soviet Union
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Truman (replaced the deceased Roosevelt) of the USA
Britain was first represented by Churchill, then Atlee.
The Terms of the Agreement:
 Division of Germany and Austria into four occupation zones as well as the capitals
 A trial for Nazi war criminals
 Giving the Germany territory of Pomerania and Silesia to Poland as well as parts of
East Prussia to both Poland and the USSR.
 Soviet union received 10% of German industrial capacity in the Soviet Zone
 Make sure that German standard of living did not exceed the European average
 Decentralizing the German economy
 Dismantling German war capabilities.
RESULTS/CONSEQUENCES OF WWII
Short Term
 30 Million were killed directly in the war (half were Russians)
 6 million undesirable killed
 Europeans infrastructure was in ruins
 20 million displaced
 Internal stresses within occupied countries between people who had resisted and
who had collaborated with the occupier
 Showed that fascism failed
 Immediate spread of Bolshevism
Long Term
 European domination had ended it was now a world of two superpowers
 Germany (short term) France and Britain (long term) were destroyed as great powers
 Soviet Union became a major force in Europe- it extended its empire and established
the Warsaw Pact.
 The US sided with many Western European countries (through the Marshall Plan)
and formed Nato
 These two alliances formed to basis of the Cold War
 Racism and Anti-Semitism became unaccepted
 Governments around the world progressed socially created social security, fair
income tax, employment measures (Atlee and de Gaulle)
 Led to the Nuclear Arms race
HISTORIOGRAPHY
The Causes
 The Orthodox view is that Hitler was completely at fault for starting the war.
Specifically it was his aims to dominate Europe and expand Germany
 The Revisionist theory
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o Hitler’s beliefs were nationalistic, just like any other country in Europe
o Hitler was like any other German statesman
o It was partly Britain and France’s fault for their appeasement, which gave
Hitler the wrong idea
o Hitler really just misjudged the situation
o Hitler’s policies were really just a continuation of German imperial practices
o Germany needed to expand to recover from its economic slump in the
1930s it needed more resources.
A compromise was that Hitler did have aggressive long-term aims but was not as
rigid and up-tight about how he was going to achieve them
A Soviet perspective links Fascism to capitalism. Fascism is the ideological
opposite to Communism. Really this relation to capitalism it not correct, as Facism
existing at an extreme end of the political spectrum means that there is high
government involvement therefore capitalism cannot exists.
Other historians believe that Hitler’s actions were based mainly on Revenge
o It is actually a valid argument because of Treaty of Versailles and his
contempt for Britain and the Soviet Union. . He did fight in WWI.
A common German Perspective on the war:
o Opposed Hitler’s racial views
o Did see the benefits of Hitler in rebuilding Germany
o Saw that the German’s were outnumbered by the Allies.
o Germany’s allies were not strong.
o Constant complaint of Italy pulling down Germany
 The Italian failure in North Africa, needed German support
 IT was through Sicily that Italy that the Allies penetrated Europe
THESIS
Causes of the War
 In the case of World War II, it is more fair to put the blame on Germany, than in
World War I
 Even though Hitler did have legitimate reasons for violating the Treaty of Versailles,
his aggressive behavior has no justification
 And in some ways the blame can go on Britain and France because of their policy of
appeasement.
 After Hitler first broke his promise, then why should they have made more
concessions to him
 Their willingness to do anything to prevent war, actually led to the outbreak of war
in some ways.
During the War
 It cannot be said that Hitler was a bad strategist, but he did run into problems when
evaluating situations and then deciding what action to take.
 The war could have ended much better for Germany.
 The fall of France was a great achievement.
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If Germany had focused more of their efforts for a greater period of time on
defeating Britain they would never of had to deal with two front.
Invading the Soviets meant that he had to abandon his efforts in capturing Britain.
Coming unprepared to Russia and still believing in Blitzkrieg led to the long,
dragged on and very consuming (materially and militarily) conflict in the East.
Hitler was unable to accept failure, let alone learn from it.
It he recognized this flaw and reflected after losing the Battle of Britain and thinking
twice before invading the USSR, Germany might have done better in the war.
Hitler’s suicide exemplifies this fear of failure that he possessed.
After the War
 Even though the general agreement at the end of war essentially brought about an
entirely new war- The Cold War- the allied treatment of Germany was successful in
the long-run
 Even though Germany was broken up, it was not just left in ruin like after the First
World War.
 Its economy was restructured by the Allies (especially with the help of the Marshall
Plan). The prosperity that West Germany experienced in the decades following the
war, ensured that Democracy remained in place.
 When the Allies left West Germany, it was able to support itself and actually grew
into a major force in the world- but a more positive force.
 The East on the other hand: though it may have not been as well as economically as
the West, its fine social institutions developed a highly educated and professional
society that effectively integrated with the West when communism fell.
 So the initial division of Germany did not have the negative effects that many
expected- in fact it prevented Germany developing into an aggressive military power
like after WWI, instead it became an integral nation in the free world- today
possessing the largest economy and population in Europe as well as one of the
highest standards of living in the world.
EVALUATION OF WWII
The Ultimate Example of Total War on a Global Scale
 By 1941, every world power was involved in the war and it spanned 5 continents
 The civilian population had never been so greatly involved in a war before. Why?
o Never has there been such a destructive force threatening the nations of
world
o After France was defeated, Britain was all alone to fight Germany. It came
down to civilian work in the war effort determining the future of the world
o Siege of Leningrad.
o The Blitz
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Civilians were seem as legitimate targets from the begginig:
o The SS Einsatzgruppen in Germany eliminated entire groups of the
population in occupied countries
o Bombing raids were targeted at civilians
The holocaust was the one of the most severe genocide in history, and surely the
most systematic. Changed the racial makeup of Europe.
War was fought on all types of terrain
Troops number had never been so high- armies were measured in the millions
Casualties for battles commonly reached into the 100s of thousands an occasionally
into the millions.
It was a war that changed warfare for ever
o Technological advances
o New tactics and strategies
Never had so much territory been taken over in Europe by essentially a single power
in so few years greater than Napoleon- almost rivaled the Roman Empire.
The effects truly changed the world order lasted for half a century
There were only two world wars.