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Das Blitzkrieg
Setting the Stage
Recall that Hitler rose to power in Germany by
exploiting Anti-Semitism as well as anger over the
Treaty of Versailles.
The Treaty of Versailles crippled Germany
economically, stripped it of its colonies and took
away some traditional German territory.
Hitler Had his sights set on restoring Germany’s
glory one way or another…
Germany Sparks a New War in Europe
Hitler began his restoration
of German greatness by
announcing plans to annex,
or peacefully take over
Austria.
Many Austrians favored this
move, and in March 1938,
Austria was united with
Germany despite the fact that
the Treaty of Versailles
forbade unification between
the two countries.
Germany Sparks a New War in Europe
He next announced plans to take over Czechoslovakia,
especially its Western borders with Germany, as the area
contained about 3 million German speaking people.
These Germans favored this move, but losing this Sudetenland
would rob Czechoslovakia of its only defenses against
Germany, and the majority of Czechs opposed Hitler’s
intentions.
The Czechs asked the French and British for help, but without
consulting the Czechs, Britain and France appeased Hitler by
giving in to his demands so long as he promised not to take
over any other territory.
• Less than six months later, all of Czechoslovakia was made part of
Germany.
Germany Sparks a New War in Europe
Despite being bitter
enemies, Hitler and
Stalin signed a
“non-aggression
pact” in August of
1939. Hitler no
longer had to fear
fighting a two-front
war.
Germany Sparks a New War in Europe
Hitler next sought to
retake land that was given
to Poland so that they
may have a sea port after
WWI, and the Poles
asked the French and
British for help.
Figuring the French and
British would give in,
Hitler made plans to
conquer Poland, and on
September 1st, Hitler’s
armies invaded Poland.
Germany’s Lightning Attack
Learning from the stagnant, non-moving trench
warfare of WWI, Germany sought instead to fight
a war of movement called Blitzkrieg, or
“lightning war.”
Blitzkrieg called for a simultaneous use of armored
columns to penetrate weaknesses in enemy formations,
paratroopers to seize strong points behind the lines, and
aircraft to bomb and strafe positions from the air.
Western Poland was quickly overrun by Nazi forces,
and Stalin moved into Eastern Poland, Lithuania,
Latvia, Estonia, and attacked Finland as well.
Germany’s Lightning Attack
Today this is known as “combined arms”
and is the standard for military tactics in any
large scale operation, including how we
fought WWII, Desert Storm, and the initial
phases of the current war in Iraq.
The “Phony War”
Two days after Hitler attacked Poland,
France and Britain declared war and began
to mobilize their armies in anticipation of
fighting, but nothing happened.
However, Hitler invaded Denmark and Norway
in April, 1940, and Germany begain to build
bases from which Britain could be bombed into
submission.
The Fall of France
On May 10, 1940, Hitler
blitzed his way through
the dense Ardennes
Forest in Northern
France/Belgium/Luxemb
ourg and snuck through
France’s line of heavy
forts called the “Maginot
Line.”
10 days later, his fastmoving forces had
reached France’s coast.
The Fall of France
As his armies linked up in France, the remaining
French and British military forces were in danger of
being lost.
In an interesting and heroic event in a war that was going
poorly for the allies, a fleet of boats of any kind available
(including civilian yachts, fishing boats, paddle steamers,
even lifeboats) sailed to the beaches of Northern France and
rescued 338,000 French and British soldiers.
The Fall of France
In a month’s
time, German
forces had taken
Paris, and France
surrendered on
June 22, 1940.
The Battle of Britain
As France fell, Britain’s
Prime Minister Winston
Churchill swore that
Britain would never give
up.
He said “We shall fight on
the beaches, we shall fight
on the landing grounds, we
shall fight in the fields and
in the streets… we shall
never surrender”
The Battle of Britain
Even so, Britain was Hitler’s next target,
and he began softening it up by air.
In the Summer of 1940, the German Luftwaffe
(air force) bombed Britain, eventually
targeting British cities.
The Battle of Britain
Running mostly on luck, radar, and breaking
secret Nazi codes, Britain’s Royal Air Force hit
back with a vengeance.
By breaking codes and detecting German forces before
they struck, the British always managed to have fighter
planes in the right spot to stave off many German
attacks.
After riding out waves of German bombers for nearly a
year in bomb shelters, the British people found some
relief when Hitler called off his invasion and focused
on the Mediterranean and Eastern Europe.
The Mediterranean and the
Eastern Front
Mussolini had moved
into Africa long before
WWII, and was fighting
British forces. The war
began to turn against
Italy, and Hitler was
forced to send in the
Afrika Korps under
Germany’s most gifted
general, Erwin Rommel.
Yugoslavia and Greece
soon fell as well.
The Mediterranean and the
Eastern Front
Hitler bit off more than he could chew, however,
in making the same mistake that doomed
Napoleon Bonaparte over 100 years before.
On June 22, 1941, Hitler’s forces attacked the
unsuspecting Russian army and began to push deep
into Russia.
• Recall that the Great Purge had killed millions of people
INCLUDING many of Russia’s most capable military leaders.
The Mediterranean and the
Eastern Front
As they fell back, Russians resorted to a grim and
brutal struggle, burning or destroying everything
left behind in a “scorched earth policy” to deny
any use of anything to the Nazis.
Sieges often resulted when German forces approached
large cities, such as at Leningrad where nearly one
million people died as the city starved to death and ran
out of horses, cats, and dogs.
Hitler nearly conquered Moscow, Russia’s capital,
but fell short, and in time, would lose all that his
forces had gained.
Nazi Expansion in
Europe: 1941