* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Download WWII - Charles Best Library
Allied war crimes during World War II wikipedia , lookup
British propaganda during World War II wikipedia , lookup
New Order (Nazism) wikipedia , lookup
Role of music in World War II wikipedia , lookup
Consequences of Nazism wikipedia , lookup
World War II by country wikipedia , lookup
Economy of Nazi Germany wikipedia , lookup
Foreign relations of the Axis powers wikipedia , lookup
Military history of Greece during World War II wikipedia , lookup
Diplomatic history of World War II wikipedia , lookup
Allies of World War II wikipedia , lookup
Battle of the Mediterranean wikipedia , lookup
Invasion of Normandy wikipedia , lookup
Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of World War II wikipedia , lookup
Causes of World War II wikipedia , lookup
Historiography of the Battle of France wikipedia , lookup
American Theater (World War II) wikipedia , lookup
Écouché in the Second World War wikipedia , lookup
Technology during World War II wikipedia , lookup
WWII History 12 Ms Leslie Who’s to blame? 1.Allied powers for being spineless and allowing appeasement 2.Hitler being overly aggressive 3.WWI and WWII are just the same war. Europe just took a break. German Quick facts 1.After WWI, still far more powerful then neighbours 2.Has a growing population 3.Not prepared for a long drawn out war. 4.Hitler was aware of the effects of WWI on Germany – Social cohesion. 5.Hitler has many enemies – social democrats, Jews and Roman Catholics Blitzkrieg Short, intense attacks. Usually with aircraft Short wars = less drain on economy Allows German civilian lift remain normal until 1942 when the USSR fights back The Polish Campaign German commander = Gudenrian Deploy 40 infantry divisions 14 mechanized divisions Attack starts Sept 1, 1939. With in 1 week, the Nazi army is outside Warsaw. Sept 17 USSR invades from the East Sept 18, Polish gov’t flees into exile. Polish troops in Warsaw continue fighting bitterly until Sept 28, some units outside the city last until Oct 5. But it was futile Baltic States and the Russo-Finnish War Part of the Nazi-Soviet (MolotovRibbentrop) pact Oct 1939 Soviet troops enter Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Finland refuses Nov 30, USSR starts the Winter War with Finland. Winter War Soviets only successful in far north USSR inadequate and inferior troops Difficult terrain Bad communications Invasion declared illegal by League of Nations Feb 1, 1940 Red Army attacks again and Finland falls in March and signs the Moscow Peace treaty with USSR. The Phony War Sept 1939 - April 1940 German and French troops hunkered down in the Siegfried like or Maginot Line. Both waiting for a major push War is at sea U-boats sank 110 vessels in first 4 months Both sides laying mines Soon the German surface fleet is sunk or in retreat - never a significant force A British destroyer chases the German vessel ‘Altmark’ in to a Norwegian fjord and rescued 300 British prisoners on board. This violation of Norwegian neutrality convinced Hitler that the Allies could not be trusted to stay out of Scandinavia. Scandinavia 1940 March - French and British navies mine the waters and land in Norweigen Ports. April 9 Germans land in Oslo, Kristiansand, stavanger, Bergen and Trondhelm Norwegian resistance was quickly over come since Norwegian forces were not even mobilized and local Nazis led by Vidkun Quisling helped the invaders. Quisling is despised by Norwegians and his name becomes a term to describe ‘traitors’ Allies landed on the coast but it was too little, too late. Allies continue to fight until May but it’s futile Demark in attacked at the same time, complete German success came with in hours. Holland, Belgium and France May 10, 1940 the assault in the west begins Germany decides to avoid the Maginot Line by going through Belgium. They must go through Holland first The Dutch have a small, ill trained army, an air force of only 130 ish and they loose 50% of it Luftwaffe bombs airfields Parachute troops into key locations to secure bridges The main transportation in Holland is the rivers, take those and the Dutch navy is stuck. May 14, German tanks outside of Rotterdam. Decide to use the destruction of the city to shock politicians in to surrendering City is flattened, 30,000 die Same day, gov’t flees to UK and orders troops to lay down arms Skirmishes end on the 16 Blitzkrieg takes the country in 4 days Belgium and France Again paratroopers near bridges in Belgium British and French armies slow the advance in the North, but German advancement in the South make that position difficult to maintain Von Runstedt takes German army through the supposedly impassable Ardennes. May 12 - over the Meuse River Rapid German advance = confusion behind French lines. Nazi armies able to surround British expeditionary Force (BEF) Allies cut in half, Germans take Ports May 21, Britain strikes back at Dunkirk Successful and shakes up the German high command British tanks match Nazi tanks Attempt at Dunkirk fails because Nazis use anti-aircraft guns May 23rd, Evacuations at Bollogne start, 4,000 troops at first, another 1,000 later by fishermen Britain has suffered worst defeat ever Winston Churchill become Prime Minister May 23 - BEF and French forces are split BEF near Lille, 40 miles from Dunkirk French are further south German Panzers are 10 miles from Dunkirk "Nothing but a miracle can save the BEF now," wrote General Brooke in his diary. On 23 May, he put the army on half-rations. In Britain, 26 May was designated a "Day of National Prayer" for the Army WWII is about to end in German victory But….. May 24 - Hitler inexplicably halts the attack against the BEF Might want to be saving his troops to attack France This event leads to the escape of hundreds of thousands of troops Evacuation of Dunkirk May 25 it starts While being pounded from the Luftwaffe, 120,000 BEF pulled out by May 30th Luftwaffe is also dropping leaflets reading “British soldiers! Look at the map: it gives your true situation! Your troops are entirely surrounded — stop fighting! Put down your arms!” The Allied soldiers mostly used these as toilet paper. June 2nd - 224,000 more BEF evacuated and 94,000 French By June 4 it was over - 338,000 troops in Britain while their equipment is on the beach Reasons for success RAF and Royal Navy 900+ fishing vessels and private yachts men Waters at Dunkirk are shallow, so battle ships can’t get close Soldiers would wade out into the ocean and wait for fishing boats to pick them up and take them to the navy ships Showed the solidarity of the British Some came as far at the Isle of Man and Glasgow ‘Dunkirk spirit’ http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwar s/wwtwo/launch_ani_fall_france_campa ign.shtml Invasion of France June 7 - Rommel heads south June 9 - Cross the Seine June 10 - French Gov’t moved to Tours, Italy declares war on France June 12 - French commander tells Reynaud France is beaten June 14 - Paris falls, Gov’t flees to Vichy June 16 - Reynaud resigns and his successor Petain asks the Germans for armistice June 22 - French surrender happened in the same railway coach, at Compiegne, that the 1918 armistice had been signed in. Germany occupied the Northern and Western coasts, gaining fine submarine bases, and the French army was demobilized. Britain is now alone in the fight against Germany. Why were the German’s successful? German Panzers and Luftwaffe superior. Awesome leadership But actually had a smaller army Allies had out of date ideas - fighting in an old-fashioned way. French failures French high command obsessed with defense Ignored experts like Charles de Gaulle that tanks should be massed together for rapid movement Airpower ignored France not ready for was economically and psychologically France already had a rising fascist movement Battle of Britain Nazis called it Operation Sea lion Luftwaffe = 2,800 planes RAF 700 and counting August 12 - aerial attacks on harbours, radar stations, aerodromes and munitions factories Again Hitler inexplicable switches tactics Instead of wiping out the RAF when he had the chance, he attacks Civilians This allows the RAF to recoup The Blitz Refers to the aerial bombardment of London Sept 7 Luftwaffe bombards London in retaliation for an RAF bombing of Berlin London bombed for 57 nights in a row Blitz lasts from Sept 1940-May 1941 127 large night attacks, 71 of which are in London 2 million houses destroyed, 60% are in London 60,000 civilians die, 87,000 wounded The Queen, a teenager at the time, lives through it all RAF advantages Parachuted pilots land on home soil Luftwaffe can only be in the air 60-90 mins Britain had superior radar 1,389 Luftwaffe lost - 792 RAF lost Operation Sea lion called off as with out air superiority any invasion force would be cut to pieces by the Royal Navy North Africa and Greece June 10, 1940 Italy declares war and invades North Africa and Greece In Africa, Mussolini has no success, Britain pushed Italian troops into Libya, Capturing 130,000 prisoners and 400 tanks Rommel and the German Afrika Korps had to bail out the Italians Royal Navy sinks half the Italian fleet in harbour at Taranto In Greece the Italians are pushed back to Albania. Tide turns in Africa Rommel able to push British out of Lybia June 1942 German forces 70 miles from Alexandria, Egypt April 1941, Germany invades Yugoslavia and Greece Push through to Athens and push out the British and the Anzac troops May 1941, Crete falls to Germany 36,000 allied troops die Operation Barbarossa Hitler does not count on the USSR staying out of the war. He invades on the premise it’s always been part of the plan for the 1,000 year Reich Attack a tactical mistake 3 pronged toward Leningrad in the North, Moscow in the center and Ukraine in the South 3.5 million troops are committed with 3,500 tanks and 5,000 aircraft USSR caught off guard, major cities fall quickly Leningrad and Moscow remain out of reach as Panzers become bogged down in the rain and mud of October and the -40 C weather in the winter War in the Far East Hitler had hoped Japan would enter the war against Japan They attack the USA instead On July 26, 1941 Japan made an agreement with Vichy France to occupy bases in French Indo-China USA responds with an oil embargo on Japan USA also demands Japan pull out of China Tojo has become Prime Minister He plans to launch an attack on American, the Dutch and Britain Pearl Harbour Dec 7 , 1941 353 Japanese planes wreck havoc for 2 hours Destroy 350 aircraft, 5 battle ships and kill 3,700 people On the same day Japan attacked the Philippines and Hong Kong Japan sank British Naval ships ‘Prince of Wales’ and ‘Repulse’ as they came to help intervene By May 1942, the Japanese Hand captured Malaya, Singapore, Burma, Hong Kong, the Dutch East Indies, the Philippines, Guam and Wake Island Dec 8 , 1941 USA joins the fight Things looking up for the Allies With the USA in the war, any war of attrition would eventually go in favour of the allies The peak of the Axis power is between the summers of 1943 and 42, it’s all down hill from there Battle of Midway June 1942, Americans counter attack Japanese forces 5 aircraft carriers and 5,000 soldiers They sink 4 Japanese carriers, mostly because Americans had broken the code and knew when Japanese attacks would happen In the battle of the Pacific, air power is crucial. Japanese losses at Midway were huge Japanese looses 2 more carriers in the Battle of the Coral Sea General Macarthur starts ‘Island Hopping’ in the Solomon Island, heading towards Japan El Alamein, Egypt Oct 1942 Rommel’s Afrika Korps driven back by Montgomery’s 8th army Allied army uses a lot of deception to win Radioed wrong locations of attacks Built a dummy pipeline Made dummy tanks of plywood attached to jeeps in the South In the North tanks were disguised to look like lorries Axis powers laid a half million landmines German forces - 80,000 soldiers and 540 tanks Allied forced 230,000 and 1,440 tanks RAF superior Allies had broken the code to they knew in advance German plans Axis powers pushed back to Tunisia Allies landed in Morocco and Algeria, opening up a front in the west as well Rommel had received a "Victory or Death" message from Adolph Hitler, halting any withdrawal. German forces had to withdraw on the night of November 3-4. By November 6 the Axis forces were in full retreat and over 30,000 soldiers had surrendered. In May 1943, 275,000 German and Italian troops surrendered and an invasion of Italy was made possible. Winston Churchill said of this victory: "This is not the end, this is not the beginning, nor is it even the beginning of the end, but it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." He also wrote "Before Alamein, we had no victory and after it we had no defeats". Battle of Stalingrad 1. 2. 3. 4. July 17, 1942 - Feb 2 - 1943 Why Stalingrad? It’s called Stalingrad Huge Industrial City Give Germany a base in USSR Huge oil fields in the Caucasus German 6th Army led by General von Paulus with 330,000 troops City destroyed by the end of August Luftwaffe dropped incendiary bombs onto wooden houses But the Russians refused to surrender Red army pushed back to a 3-4 km stretch along the Volga River Able to supply their troops by barges Germans never try to cross the Volga The Germans, however, were growing dispirited by heavy losses, by fatigue, and by the approach of winter Operation Uranus Red army encircles the remaining 250,000 member 6th army Hitler refuses to allowed Paulus to retreat and orders him to ‘stand and fight’ 6th army grows weaker as they start to run out of food and are not prepared for winter A German division was sent eastward to rescue the 6th army, but Paulus was not allowed to fight Westward to meet up with them. Hitler told them to fight to the death promotes Paulus to field marshal (and reminds Paulus that no German officer of that rank had ever surrendered indicating Hitler expected him to commit suicide). Jan 31, 1943 Paulus surrenders, defying Hitler Twenty-four generals surrendered with him, and on February 2 the last of 91,000 frozen, starving men (all that was left of the 6th and 4th armies) turned themselves over to the Soviets. they no longer respected Hitler. Paulus was catholic and therefore would not commit suicide Soviets recovered 250,000 German corpses around Stalingrad another 550,000 Germans were wounded or missing. Of the 91,000 Germans captured half would die in a march to Siberian prisoner camps only 56,000 made it home. The last of them returned in 1955. Paulus was captured, tried and released in 1953. He became an outspoken opponent of Hitler and served as a witness against the Nazis during the War crime tribunals. There were probably 1.1 million Red Army soldiers that died and 40,000 civilians Reasons the 6th Army lost 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Blitzkrieg only good for long distance Civilians fought back Luftwaffe outnumbered Stalin would not allow retreat Germans never attempted to cross the Volga 6. Hitler did not expect a long fight The importance of the Battle Shattered the myth of German invincibility In the summer was the Battle of Kursk largest tank battle in History Soviet forces were now superior to Germany What was the Battle of Stalingrad like? Bitter fighting raged for every ruin, street, factory, house, basement, and staircase. Even the sewers were battle grounds Some of the taller buildings, saw floor-byfloor, close-quarters combat, with the Germans on one level, Soviets on the next, Germans on the next, etc., firing at each other through holes in the floors. A lot of Snipers http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic -video/562720/18896/In-the-Battle-ofStalingrad-the-advancing-Germans-arefinally The War in the Atlantic 1940 Italian fleet cripples May 1941 - Bismark sunk - last German surface raider German transports to Crete lost that same month U-boats Advancements in U-boats gave Germans the edge at sea Able to dive deeper Have a sound-absorbing rubber coating Have a chemical bubble making decoy Allied advantage over U-boats Sonar can find them underwater really well - forces U-boats to stay on the surface Broke the Enigma code USA send more destroyers to Britain The U-boat threat Start of 1942 only 90 U-boats with another 250 under construction Able to sink 4 million tonnes of slippage while only loosing 21 U-boats A U-boat was sunk in the St. Laurence Spotted off the coast of Vancouver Island - Rader Hill By July 1943, the Allies could produce ships at a faster rate then the U-boast could sink them. This was due to improved allied equipment (the addition of long range patrol aircraft and detection equipment) and the additional warships following American’s entry into the war. War in the Air In the Pacific bombers paved the way for Marines in the ‘island hopping’ campaign American Planes kept the transport of goods to Allied troops Paratroopers essential in getting behind enemy lines Fire Storms After Defeat in Russia, Germany could no longer bomb European cities. The allies continued to bomb cities. The Ruhr, Cologne, Hamberg and Berlin What is a Firestorm? It is achieved by dropping incendiary bombs, filled with highly combustible chemicals such as magnesium, phosphorus or petroleum jelly (napalm), in clusters over a specific target. After the area caught fire, the air above the bombed area, becomes extremely hot and rose rapidly. Cold air then rushed in at ground level from the outside and people were sucked into the fire. Dresden Feb 13, 1945 40,000 people killed in 1 nights bombing Had not been attacked yet Has no anti-aircraft guns 650,000 people in the city, mostly refugees from advancing Red Army Another fire storm in Tokyo in March 1945 killed 80,000 and destroyed 1/4 of the city Despite massive destruction to German cities, Production did not falter until October 1944. Krupp Munitions factories permanently out of action June 1945, Japanese production destroyed Axis collapse - Italy Allies recognize to attack the weakest first Invade Sicily in July 1943 successfully Mussolini is dismissed by the King and flees North Replaced by Badoglio who dissolved the Fascist party in 2 days and declares war on Nazi Germany October 1943, Allies capture Naples and Badoglio signs an armistice Germany sends troops into Northern Italy Allied victory in April 1945 Mussolini tried to escape to Spain by dressing in a German uniform and traveling with the retreating German army He and his mistress are captured by Italian Communists and executed After being shot, kicked, and spat upon, the bodies were hung upside down on meat hooks from the roof of a gas station. The bodies were then stoned by civilians from below France Allies were reluctant to open up an Western front after Dieppe an Allied attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe on the northern coast of France on 19 August 1942. The assault began at 5:00 AM in the morning and by 9:00 AM the Allied commanders had been forced to call a retreat. 3,623 of the 6,086 men who made it ashore were either killed, wounded, or captured. June 6 - 1945 D-DAY the Normandy landings began along a 60 mile stretch of the Normandy coast between Charbourg and Le Havre. New engineering marvels like the ‘mulberry harbor's (artificial harbours) and PLUTO (pipeline under the ocean) helped the 326,000 men land and remain well supplied. Eventually 3 million men were landed in France. Paris is Liberated Aug 25 Brussels and Antwerp liberated in Sept Battle of the Bulge - Hitler risks everything in Dec. Nazis loose 600 tanks and 100,000 soldiers (out of 500,000) Hitler knows if he doesn’t win here the war is lost Fighting over the Ardennes American, UK and Canadian troops involved 600,000 Allies all together Germans had some success at beginning But American and UK troops came and pushed them back By Jan 16 Nazi army in retreat Last large scale attack by Hitler Through Feb Allies continue to advance Patton leads his army to Colbenz by March Montgomery crosses the Rhine on March 2324 after an attack from Germany Germans preferred to allow Western allies to advance rather then wait for the Soviets to occupy them The Eastern Front Has the most battles, the most losses After Loosing Kursk ad D-day German forces could not hold back the Red Army Aug 1944, Romania changes sides and joins the allies This opens up an attack route through the south Oct 20, Belgrade, Serbia, Falls to Tito’s Partisans. Tito was the leader of the Yugoslavia resistance. He’s a commie, becomes prime minister for 35 years Nov 4 Red army in Budapest, Hungary Finland Surrenders in Sept Jan 17 - USSR takes Poland April 25 - Berlin encircled Soviet and American troops shake hands at Elbe River Death of Hitler Hiding in his Führerbunker. (now a parking lot) By Mid-April 1945, Goring and Himmler have deserted Midnight April 28 Hitler married his Ling time girlfriend Ava Braun April 29 Red Army 1 mile from Führerbunker. Hitler hears about Mussolini’s fate Tests a cyanide capsule on his favorite dog, Blondi. April 30 - noon- Red Army 1 block away, Has his last meal Around 2 pm he and his wife say their good byes and retreat to their room. They both take cyanide pills and Hitler shoots himself in the head After his death everyone in the bunker started smoking, a practice Hitler for forbade. Goebbels has the bodies moved outside and doused with gasoline and set on fire The bodies are burned for 3 hours and hastily buried in a shell crater May 1 - Goebbels and His wife poison their 6 young children They then go up to the garden and have an SS officer shoot them in the back of the head. Their bodies were only partially burned. May 2 - Soviets find Hitler and Ava and his 2 dogs. Since the bodies were in the soviets possession they have since been ‘lost’ and no one knows what happened to Hitler’s body for sure Hitler is succeeded by Admiral Doenitz who does not care to fight on Before he surrenders he’s able to save 55% of Berlin’s troops and civilians by moving them to Western ally occupied areas instead of towards the soviets Midnight May 8, 1945 the European War ends The Pacific The allies has 2 choices, north through the Aleutians or south through Micronesia. First allies take the Solomon Islands and the Bismark Archipelago Continue through the Philippines. Japanese resistance is futile as the allies fire power is superior. Kamikaze attacks cause a great deal of damage. Cause allied high command to worry about the kind of resistance they would meet in a land invasion of Japan The Fight for Iwa Jima showed the Japanese fighting spirit. Of the 18,000 Japanese soldiers only 216 survive In the assault in Okinawa, 355 kamikaze raids. Worlds largest Battleship the ‘Yamato’ is sent on a suicide mission… it only had enough fuel for a 1 way trip… it is sunk on April 7 Rangoon (Burma) is Liberated on May 1, 1945 Throughout July 1945, Japanese mainland is heavily bombed 67 cities fire-bombed Hirohito is given an ultimatum to surrender at the Potsdam conference but he refuses The Manhattan Project 1942-45 the Americans are working on an atomic bomb with American, British, Canadian and Danish scientists Fear Germany is also working on an atomic bomb Employs 130,000 people and costs $2 billion Bombing of Hiroshima August 6, 1945. A modern city with concrete structures The bomb was called ‘little boy’ Killed 140,000 – 80,000 of which died immediately Missed it’s target of a bridge and hit a medical clinic Detonated 600 m in the air = more damage Total destruction for 1.6 km square with fires for 11 km square Americans had warned other civilians in the past of bombings with leaflets, but Hiroshima was not warned. Nagasaki Large sea-port, mostly wooden structures The bomb was called ‘fat man’ Killed 80,000 – many were refugees from Hiroshima Detonated 450 m in the air, heat blast of over 3,900 degrees C and winds of more than 1,000 km/hour 15–20% died from injuries or the combined effects of flash burns, trauma, and radiation burns, compounded by illness, malnutrition and radiation sickness. August 10 Japan surrenders. Sept 2 war officially comes to an end Was it necessary? Truman says he was trying to save allied lives by preventing a land invasion In July Japan as already talking peace with Russia A lot of destruction with the firestorms Why did the axis powers lose? Shortage of key materials Allies built more planes and Aircraft carriers Axis powers took on too much There are soooooo many Russians Axis powers did not learn from mistakes Effects of the war 30 million killed - half from Russia 21 million displaced No peace treaties like after WWI occupied instead Welfare systems set up Nuclear weapons New world powers - USA and USSR Cold War starts almost right away United Nations replaces the League. End :)