Download World War II in Europe

World War II in Europe
Chapter 32
World War II
September 1, 1939:
World War II begins in
Europe with the German
invasion of Poland.
BLITZKRIEG
• “Lightning War” – coordinated and
rapid attacks of planes, tanks, artillery
• Soviets simultaneously took eastern
half of Poland
• Stalin then took the Baltic countries
(Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia)
The Winter War
(Nov. 1939-March 1940)
• When Finland would
not give the Soviets
military bases on their
territory, USSR invaded
• USSR failed to occupy
Finland, but gained
territory
Finnish ski troops in Northern Finland Jan. 12, 1940.
Fighting in Early 1940
• After invasion of Poland, Germany was idle for 7
months – “Phony War” or “Sitzkrieg”
• April 9, 1940: Germany invades Denmark and
Norway
• May 10: German Army invades France, Belgium,
Luxembourg and the Netherlands; Winston
Churchill appointed British Prime Minister
– French troops mass along Maginot Line
Nazi Invasion of France, Netherlands, &
Belgium
Evacuation of Dunkirk
(May-June 1940)
• Britain rushed every
ship (military or
otherwise) to Dunkirk
• Saved approx.
338,000 troops,
including “Free
French”
June 22, 1940: France Surrenders
• Germany occupied
Northern France
• Set up puppet
government known
as Vichy France
• Britain now left to
fight in Europe alone
Winston Churchill and the Battle of Britain
Winston Churchill and the Battle of Britain
• Hitler’s 1st Fatal Mistake
• British RAF (Royal Air
Force) pilots defeated
the Germans – British
had radar
• Battle fought over Great
Britain from July 10,
1940 to October 31,
1940
• “The Blitz” begins on
Sept. 7, 1940
• Germany never able to
invade Great Britain
Battle of Britain Cartoon
• Sept. 27: Tripartite
alliance formed
between Germany,
Italy and Japan –
become Axis
Powers
• By 1940, Axis
powers control all
of W. Europe
except neutral
Portugal, Sweden,
Switzerland
• Spain technically
neutral, but really
pro-Axis
•
•
•
Hungary and Romania
join Axis
1941: Bulgaria joins
Axis
Resistance
movements set up in
all occupied countries
Axis Power Expansion
through Sept. 1942
German Attack on USSR
• “Operation Barbarossa”
• Wanted oil and farmland
• Hitler’s 2nd fatal mistake
– Generals advised against it
– Opened up two-front war
• Soviet (“Red”) army not
effective or prepared
– Stalin had purged (removed)
many officers in 1937
• Soviet’s “scorched earth”
policy
– Supply lines back to Germany
too long
– Winter came and decimated
both sides
Siege of Leningrad
• The siege lasted for a total of 900 days, from
September 8 1941 until January 27 1944.
• The city's almost 3 million civilians (including about
400,000 children) refused to surrender and endured
rapidly increasing hardships in the encircled city.
Food and fuel stocks were limited to a mere 1-2
month supply, and by the winter of 1941-42 there
was no heating, no water supply, almost no
electricity and very little food.
• In January 1942 in the depths of an unusually cold
winter, the city's food rations reached an all time low
of only ¼ lb.of bread per person per day.
• In just two months, January and February of 1942,
200,000 people died in Leningrad of cold and
starvation. 2,000,000 people total died in the siege.
Allies Turn the Tide
• U.S. joins the war after Pearl Harbor
attacked (Dec. 7, 1941)
– 1st place they attack was in North Africa
• In Spring of 1942, Allies gained victory in
North Africa over Erwin Rommel, the
“Desert Fox”, at the Battle of El Alamein
– turning point
– Winston Churchill: "Before Alamein we never
had a victory, after Alamein we never had a
defeat.”
Allies Turn the Tide (cont.)
• Fall of 1942, Germans defeated by Soviets at Stalingrad
• May of 1943, Germans in North Africa Surrender
– Key British figure was Bernard Montgomery
– First fighting by Americans on the European Front (Dwight D.
Eisenhower)
• The Invasion of Italy
– U.S. General George S. Patton takes Sicily
– Mussolini overthrown
– “Bloody Anzio”
• Italy officailly joins the Allies
– Mussolini sets-up a quasi-government in Northern Italy
– German soldiers continue to fight in Italy (hold up in the Alps)
Attack on Stalingrad (1942-3)
More about Stalingrad
•Hitler ordered the taking of Stalingrad,
and the Battle was waged from July 17,
1942 to Feb. 2, 1943.
•Stalingrad was a major industrial city
and was on the Volga River, a vital
transportation route in Russia that could
be cut off if captured.
•Also important for propaganda purposes
•One of the bloodiest battles/campaigns
in history with about 2 million casualties
•Urban warfare – fighting took place in
streets, from buildings, etc.; snipers used
•Battle ended with German 6th Army
either killed or captured
•Turning point in the War in the East
Vassili Zaitsev
Soviet Counter-Attack
Operation Overlord: D-Day,
June 6 1944
D-Day
• Preparation for Invasion
– Buildup troops in England
– Germany prepares the coast of France for invasion
• D-Day (June 6, 1944)
–
–
–
–
Largest landing force in history invade Normandy
24,000 para-troopers sent the night of June 5th
175,000 troops land on the beaches
5,000 ships involved
• Invasion successful, though costly
• Within weeks all of France was under Allied
control
Normandy Beaches Assaulted
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Studio/1327/images.html
http://www.worldwar2database.com/html/normandy.htm
Cost of the Battle
• Paris liberated on August
25, 1944
• Hitler made one, last
desperate counterattack in
what became the Battle of
the Bulge from Dec. 16,
1944 – Jan. 28, 1945
Battle of the Bulge
End of the War in Europe
• April 28th, 1945: Mussolini and his mistress
executed by members of the Italian resistance
Hitler was terrified by
Mussolini’s fate and wanted
to avoid a similar fate at all
costs.
End of the War in Europe
• By April of 1945, American units were approaching Berlin
from the West, while Soviet troops were approaching from
the East
• Hitler realized it was the end, and committed suicide on
April 30th after marrying his long-time mistress, Eva Braun
• Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945 (V-E Day)
Hitler’s Bunker