Download The Axis Advances

The Axis Advances
Poland
• Sept. 1, 1939
• Reveals power of Hitler’s blitzkrieg (lightning
war) – used tank and airpower technology
• Luftwaffe (German air force) attacked
followed by tanks, encircling the Polish army,
forcing them to surrender
• Germany invaded from the west, Russian from
the east
• Within a month, Poland ceased to exist
• France and Britain waiting out the winter
behind the Maginot Line – this quiet time
known as the “phony war”
• Hitler launched blitzkrieg against Norway and
Denmark, both fell
• German forced slammed into the Netherlands
and Belgium
Miracle of Dunkirk
• Port town in Northern France
• May 1940 – Germany surprise attacked
through the Ardennes Forest in Belgium
bypassing the Maginot Line
– this forest was considered invasion proof
• German troops poured into France
Miracle of Dunkirk
• Retreating British forces were trapped
between the Nazi army and the British
Channel
• Britain sent all available naval vessels,
merchant ships, and fishing boats to rescue
stranded troops
– 338,226 Allied troops were rescued
• This heroic rescue raised British morale
France Falls
• German forced headed for Paris from north
• Italy attacks from south
• France surrendered – June 22, 1940 – Hitler
forced the French to sign the surrender
documents in the same railroad car in which
Germany had signed the WWI armistice
• Germany occupied northern France
• Set up a “puppet state” in the south, capital at
Vichy
Entrance Slip
• Sit down and begin assignment
immediately
• Follow directions on board 
• Write what you remember
• Do not use notes
• Not here yesterday? Write your name and “absent”
Operation Sea Lion
• AKA Battle of Britain
• Fought by air fleets
• Britain had the home field advantage – could
refuel and recover men and planes
• Germany targeted British radar stations and
air fields
• Germany’s FIRST DEFEAT in WWII
– Hitler’s heart wasn’t in it
5 Phases – Battle of Britain
1) Channel battle – feel it out, attack ships
2) Operation Eagle – huge attack on radars, Hitler
believed it would break Britain
3) Attack on airfields – Britain now under pressure
and forced to respond
4) Battle of London – bombing pounded London
but saved Britain; they could fix radar/air fields;
Germany had more planes than picked up on
radar
5) Blitz – Sept. 1940; 57 nights of bombing London,
then sporadically until May 1941
Africa and the Balkans
• Sept. 1940 – Mussolini ordered forces from Libya
(Italian colony) into Egypt
– British army fought back
– Hitler sent General Rommel (“Desert Fox”) to help
• Successful in 1941 and 1942
• Oct. 1940 – Italian forces into Greece
– Met resistance and German forces again provided
reinforcements
– Greece and Yugoslavia added to Axis empire
• Bulgaria and Hungary joined the Axis alliance
Germany Invades the Soviet Union
(pg. 571)
1) How did Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union
nullify the Nazi-Soviet Pact?
2) Why did Hitler want to conquer the Soviet
Union?
3) How far did German troops advance in the first
few months?
4) What prevented the Germans from gaining
victory?
5) How did Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union
work against him?
Germany Invades the Soviet Union
1) How did Hitler’s invasion
of the Soviet Union nullify
the Nazi-Soviet Pact?
2) Why did Hitler want to
conquer the Soviet Union?
3) How far did German
troops advance in the first
few months?
4) What prevented the
Germans from gaining
victory?
5) How did Hitler’s invasion
of the Soviet Union work
against him?
1) Hitler promised Germany would
not invade the Soviet Union
2) He wanted its resources and he
wanted to crush communism in
Europe and break Stalin’s power
3) They reached deep into the Soviet
Union and were about to capture
Moscow and Stalingrad
4) Cities’ defenses and the winter
weather
5) It led to cooperation between the
Soviet Union and Britain and tied up
troops and supplies with a fierce new
enemy
Homework due tomorrow (4/13)
• Take the role of someone living in Leningrad in
1942, during the German siege.
• Write a journal entry describing what life was like
within the city.
– Remember to include things from fighting to food
– Describe how you feel about the hardships
• Use pg. 572 in the text
• Write in full sentences (at least 5)
• Be creative!
Operation Barbarossa
• Code for the invasion of Russia
• June 22, 1941
• Since Hitler could not successfully invade
Britain he thought he could get Britain to
surrender if he occupied resourceful land in
Russia
• Saw Russia as having too many Jews and
Communists
Operation Barbarossa
• Initial invasion was a surprise to the Red Army
and very successful for the Germans
• The march through Russia took too long and
the Red Army gained support from the Allies
• General Winter caused them to once again
fight a two front war
Pearl Harbor
• December 7, 1941
• Japanese attack on the U.S. naval base in
Hawaii
• Prior to the attack Japan was staging phony
talks with U.S. diplomats
• Over 2,000 casualties, 21 ships damaged or
destroyed
• Brought the U.S. into WWII
“December 7, 1941…
A date which will live in infamy.”
Stalingrad
• Strategic area of Russia (Railways, waterways and
communications)
• August 19, 1942
• The Red Army was forced to retreat into the suburbs
• Stalin planned a counter for November 19
• The counter was incredibly successful and even
surrounded the German troops
• An army of 300,000 was reduced to 94,000 by the
time they surrendered in January of 1943
Battle of El Alamein
• The African Front – Led by Axis filed leader Erwin
Rommel
• Axis pushed through Egypt towards Alexandria – a
stronghold for the allies
• General Montgomery “Monty” issued an attack on
the Germans beginning October 23, 1942
• Forced the Germans to Retreat over 1500 miles
• Decisive victory for the allies
D-Day: Operation Overlord
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Letter from Troops describing the Invasion
Voice of Thomas Valence
Voices of a German Soldier
Objective: Catch the German forces by
surprise in France
• General Eisenhower fooled the Germans into
believing the attack was coming elsewhere in
France
D-Day: Operation Overlord
• On June 6, 1944 the Allies launched the
largest amphibious assault in military history
• The operation was a turning point in the
European War
• The beginning of the liberation of France
(August 25, 1944)
Battle of the Bulge
Account by Bob Conroy: The Sound of Bullets
• December 16, 1944
• Began as a German Counter-offensive
• Allied Victory that opened the door to an
invasion of Germany