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Hitler’s Lightning War
I.
Germany Sparks a New War in Europe
A. Germany’s lightning War
1. Joseph Stalin signed a ten year non-aggression pact with Hitler.
a. Stalin was excluded from the Munich Conference
b. Not eager to join the west
2. Hitler plans to conquer Poland
a. September 1, 1939 surprise attack on Poland
b. France and Great Britain Declare War on Poland
c. Poland first test of blitzkrieg or lighting war
B. The Soviets Make Their Move
1. September 17 Soviet troops to occupy Eastern Poland
2. Annexes Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia
3. Finland resists
a. One million Russian troops sent to Finland
b. Russians not prepared for winter fighting
c. Outnumbered and out gunned Finns defended their country
d. March 1940 Finns surrender
C. The Phony War
1. France and Britain mobilize along the Maginot Line
a. Maginot Line a system of fortifications along border of France
b. Some referred to it as the phony war
2. Germany soldiers sat on the Siegfried Line
a. Referred to it as the Sitzkrieg or sitting war.
b. Soldiers were very bored
3. April 9, 1940 Germany invades Denmark and Norway
a. Four hours later Denmark fell to Germany
b. Two months later Norway fell to Germany
II.
The Fall of France
A. May 1940 Hitler begins sweep through Netherland, Belgium and Luxembourg.
1. Part of strategy to attack France
2. Keeping Allies attention
3. Tanks and troops sent through the Ardennes
4. Moved across France reaching coast in ten days
B. Rescue at Dunkirk
1. May 1940 Germans trapped allied forces at Lille
2. Outnumbered and outgunned Allies retreated to Dunkirk
3. Great Britain set out to rescue the army.
a. Fleet of 850 Ships crossed English Channel
b. Civilians craft joined the rescue.
C. France Falls
1. June 14 Germans take Paris
2. French leaders surrender June 22, 1940
3. Germans took control of Northern Part
4. Set up puppet government in Southern France
5. Charles de Gaulle set up a government in Exile in London.
III. The Battle of Britain
A. Winston Churchill prime minister of Great Britain
B. Hitler planned to invade Britain
1. Wanted to knock out Royal Air Force and to land troops on England’s shore.
2. Summer of 1940 Luftwaffe began bombing Great Britain
3. Started out bombing airfields and aircraft factories
4. September 7, 1940, began bombing cities to break British moral.
B. Royal Air Force fights back
1. Two new advancements turn the tide
a. Radar
b. Britain obtained an enigma machine to break British code
2. Germans gave up daylight raids in October 1940
3. Battle of Britain continued until May 10 1941.
IV. The Mediterranean and the Eastern Front
A. Axis Forces Attack North Africa
1. Mussolini attacks British controlled Egypt in September 1940
2. Pushed 60 miles into Egypt
B. Britain Strikes Back
1. February 1941 Britain had swept 500 miles across North Africa
2. Took 130,000 Italian Prisoners
C. Hitler sent Afrika Korps
1. Erwin Rommel led Tanks
2. Battle lines move back and forth
3. Rommel earned nickname “Desert Fox”
D. The War in the Balkans
1. Hitler planned to attack his ally the USSR
2. Persuaded Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary to join axis.
3. Yugoslavia and Greece resisted.
a. Yugoslavia fell in 11 days
b. Greece fell in 14 days
E. Hitler Invades the Soviet Union
1. Operation Barbarossa
2. June 22, 1941 Germans invade USSR
3. Germans advance 500 miles in USSR
4. Russian reinstate scorched earth policy
5. Sept. 8 Leningrad under siege
a. Nearly one million Russians died
b. City refused to fall
6. Hitler attacked Moscow
7. Temperature fell, Germans in summer weight uniforms
8. Hitler declared no retreat
9. German army held line until March 1943.
10. Hitler gained nothing but lost 500,000 German soldiers
V. The United States Aids Its Allies
A. 1935 and 1937 passed Neutrality Acts
1. Illegal to sell arms to nations at war
2. Illegal to lend money to nations at war
B. September 1939 allowed sale of arms paid for in advance and transport on their ships.
C. March 1941 – Passed Lend Lease Act
D. Roosevelt and Churchill issued the Atlantic Charter
E. September 4 German U-boat fired on the U.S. destroyer in the Atlantic
1. Roosevelt responded by ordering Navy to shoot German Uboats on sight.
2. U.S. involved in an undeclared naval war with Hitler