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World War II
Kevin J. Benoy
Origins of the War
• World War II was the
most destructive conflict
in the history of the
planet.
• Total losses are
impossible to calculate.
• The issue of guilt is,
therefore, always
important and lessons are
always drawn from the
conflict and from its
supposed causes.
Origins of the War
• Most people point the
finger of guilt at Adolf
Hitler – not Germany
and not the western
leaders – though their
policy of appeasement
greatly facilitated
Hitler’s aggression.
Origins of the War
• Politicians generally see
appeasement as the root cause of
the war.
• Winston Churchill, an outsider at
the time, is generally regarded as
having been correct in his
assessment of the situation –
Chamberlain and Daladier lacked
backbone.
• The lesson learned by Anthony
Eden (later a British PM at the
time of the 1956 Suez Crisis) and
by John Foster Dulles (American
Secretary of State in the early
Cold War years) was that
dictators should not be appeased.
Appeasement is now a “dirty
word.”
Origins of the War
• Historian AJP Taylor in his
important book The Origins
of the Second World Warn
adopted a different
approach.
• He linked the two world
wars together; both were
products of a German drive
for domination of Central
Europe.
• Hitler was not, therefore,
the crucial factor. He was
merely a supreme
opportunist
Origins of the war
• Despite her defeat,
Germany was still far
more economically
powerful than most of
her neighbours.
• Her population growth
and economic and
military potential made
German domination of
Europe likely.
Origins of the War
• The ``German
problem`` had
survived the first
war and had
intensified.
• The harsh Treaty
of Versailles
made war
inevitable.
Origins of the War
• Today, most historians regard the
truth as lying somewhere in
between.
• Taylor`s assertion that the treaty
was a significant factor fails to
note that much of the Treaty was
dismantled in the 1930s – even
before Hitler appeared on the
scene.
• There can also be no doubt that
Hitler`s aggressiveness
contributed much toward
conflict.
• Yet it is also true that German
expansion – particularly in
Eastern Europe, whether the
leader was Stressemann or Hitler,
remained a goal.
Origins of the War
• Taylor downgrades the
assertion that Hitler
wanted a major war.
• He may be correct, but
there is strong evidence
that Hitler desired
something more limited.
• In the Hossbach
Memorandum, it is clear
that Hitler saw a war as
inevitable and that he
wanted it to be fought on
German terms.
Origins of the War
• Germany certainly was not
armed for a long, drawn out
conflict in 1939.
• Her armed forces were
equipped for short, sharp
conflicts against limited
opposition.
• Hitler knew that world wars
drain countries and require
social cohesion to fight them.
Despite his totalitarian control,
and partly because of it, there
were plenty of potential
opponents within Germany in
1939 – Jews, Catholics, Social
Democrats – even elements of
the military.
Origins of the War
• Short successful wars would
keep social tensions under
control and not drain the
economy so much as to
deprive German citizens of
comforts.
• Blitzkrieg tactics were
predicated on the need to
avoid, at all costs, a war of
attrition.
• Small wars keep options
open; total war eliminates
options.
Origins of the War
• German industrial capacity
was sufficient to fight a
single major opponent, but
not several at once –
especially if the USA were
to become involved.
• Historians note that until
1942, Germany was able to
fight their kind of war.
Consumer goods were still
being produced in quantity.
• After 1942, things changed
dramatically.
The Polish Campaign
• Germany deployed 40 normal
infantry divisions against
Poland and 14 mechanized or
partially mechanized divisions.
• Their tactics were based on
British plans from the 1920s
for small mobile forces. These
had been much improved by
General Heinz Guderian.
• Opposing Polish forces were
similar in number, but of the
12 Polish cavalry brigades, only
1 was armoured. Polish air
forces and naval units were
much inferior.
The Polish Campaign
• On September 1, 1939 the attack
was launched against Poland and
Danzig.
• On September 8, some German
units were in the outskirts of
Warsaw.
• By September 10 the scale of the
Polish disaster was clear. Its
forces were being encircled and
pounded from the air.
• On September 17, the Soviets
pounced in the East – in
accordance with the MolotovRibbentrop Pact. Any hopes of
Polish resistance continuing in
the eastern Pripet marshes were
abandoned.
The Polish Campaign
• On September 18, the
Polish government fled
into exile.
• Warsaw gallantly held out
for another 10 days, while
isolated units fought on
until October 5.
• No meaningful help was
offered by Poland`s
Western Allies, since they
had ruled out an assault
on Germany`s western
defences.
The Baltic States and the Russo-Finnish War
• The Soviet attack also
involved occupation of
Lithuania, Latvia and
Estonia.
• Finland refused to give
in to Soviet demands
for Finnish territory.
• On November 30, 1939,
the Soviet Union
attacked.
The Russo-Finnish War
• Successful in the Far North,
the Soviets were repulsed
elsewhere.
• Soviet preparation had been
poor and Finnish troops were
superior to their enemy –
winter trained and equipped,
they resisted skilfully.
• Western governments even
considered sending military
help to the Finns via
Scandinavia – fortunately not
carrying out the plan as they
would have found themselves
fighting both Germany and the
USSR at the same time.
Russo-Finnish War
Finnish aircraft later in the war
• On February 1, 1940 the
Red Army attacked again,
this time using more than
just the Leningrad
regional forces.
• Finland was forced to
seek peace in early
March, on terms
favourable to the Soviet
Union.
• Later, Finland would ally
themselves with Germany
to win back lost territory.
Phoney War -- Sitzkrieg
• From September 1939 to
April 1940 the war in the
West was strangely
inactive.
• German and French
forces hunkered down in
defensive positions
behind the West Wall and
the Maginot Line.
• Both expected their
opponent to launch a
major push that did not
occur.
Disappearing artillery copula, Fort
Hackenberg, Maginot Line
Phoney War -- Sitzkrieg
• At sea, things were a little more
active.
• German U-boats sank 110 ships in
the first 4 months of the war.
• Most of the German surface fleet,
after some initial raiding, was
sunk or forced to return to home
ports and was not a major factor
in the war.
• A British destroyer chased the
German Altmark into a
Norwegian fiord 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
• In March 1940 the British
seriously considered landing
on the Norwegian coast and
mining its coastline.
• The British and French came
to an agreement on it on
March 21.
• The move was delayed with
catastrophic consequences.
On April 1,Hitler ordered
the invasion of Denmark
and Norway, to be carried
out on April 9.
Scandinavia 1940
• On April 9 the Germans
occupied all of Denmark
and landed at Oslo,
Kristiansand, Stavanger,
Bergen and Trondheim in
Norway.
• Resistance was quickly
overcome since neither
Denmark or Norway had
mobilized.
• In Norway, local Nazis, led
by Vidkun Quisling,
helped the invaders.
Scandinavia 1940
• Allied landings
followed, but it was too
little, too late.
• Resistance continued
until late May, but
events elsewhere
caused the Allies to
abandon Norway.
11 inch Norwegian Gun at Orcarsborg
Fortress – destroyed a German Cruiser
Attack in the West
• On May 10, 1940, the long
awaited German assault in
the West began.
• Hunkered down behind the
supposedly impregnable
Maginot Line, the French
felt confident that the
Germans would be
repulsed.
• However, the French were
to be mistaken if they
expected a World War I
style conflict.
Holland
• Holland was attacked
immediately, with
parachute landings at key
locations to secure bridges
and airfields.
• By May 12, German tanks
were on the outskirts of
Rotterdam.
• On May 13 the Dutch
government fled to Britain.
• Rotterdam was bombed and
within 4 days of the
outbreak of hostilities,
Holland had fallen.
Belgium & France
• In Belgium, parachute
landings brought rapid
success.
• Troops were dropped on
top of the Belgian fort of
Eban Emael and near key
bridges.
• Dummy parachutists were
also dropped over a wide
area to cause confusion
behind Belgian lines.
Belgium and France
• Successful British &
French reinforcement of
the Belgians
temporarily halted the
German advance on a
line from Antwerp to
Namur, but German
advances further south
made this position
untenable.
Belgium and France
• Von Runstedt’s Army
Group A had the most
success, advancing
through the Ardennes
region – thought
impassable to armour.
• By May 12, the Germans
crashed through to the
Meuse River.
• Soon the Germans were
across it and driving on
toward the English
Channel.
Belgium and France
• The rapid German
advance created
confusion behind French
lines.
• When Guderian crossed
the Aisne, the French
commander informed
Reynaud that there were
no reserves available to
counter and that Paris
might fall in two days.
Belgium and France
• On May 20, Guderian was at
Abbeville, and on the 22nd
he turned northward to
threaten Calais and Dunkirk.
• Reinhardt cut across the
British rear.
• Now the Allied forces were
cut in half, with the forces in
the north encircled with
their backs to the sea.
• The German success even
exceeded the most
optimistic expectations.
Belgium and France
•
•
•
•
•
The confusion also owed much to a
failure in the French command
system, which was overly centralized
and unable to cope with rapidly
changing situations.
French units were allowed little
flexibility.
As early as May 16, Churchill went to
Paris and asked about the position of
France’s strategic reserve. General
Gamelin replied “there is none.”
When Weygand replaced Gamelin
and his plane was forced down as he
attempted to regain contact with the
front – he lost all contact with
anyone for some time.
For 4 days, British General Gort
received no orders.
Belgium and France
• The Allied problem was compounded by retreating
civilians clogging roads. Allied troops were sympathetic;
advancing Germans simply pushed them off the roads.
Belgium and France
• A British counter-attack
at Arras revealed
weaknesses in the
German forces.
• Two weak tank and two
infantry battalions
slammed into Rommel’s
7th Panzer Division’s
flank.
• The British Matilda tanks
were slow but heavily
armoured and German
tank rounds bounced off
them.
Belgium and France
• The light German armour
was no match for the
heavier British tanks (or
French armour for that
matter).
• However, German
leadership was superior
and Rommel ordered that
his men lower their
88mm anti-aircraft guns
to use against the
Matildas.
Belgium and France
• Had the attack involved two
armoured divisions, rather
than brigades, the war might
have turned out differently.
• However, the French decision
to use armour as infantry
support weapons instead of
mobile units proved fatal.
DeGaulle argued strongly for
the alternative tactic to no
avail.
• Furthermore, French tanks ran
on aviation fuel, while German
tanks could use ordinary petrol
– so could keep moving on
captured supplies, even when
supply lines were cut.
French Char-B main battle tank
Belgium and France
• British evacuations
began soon after.
• On May 23, 4,000
troops were shipped
back from Boulogne
and another 1,000
removed from Calais on
trawlers, drifters and
yachts on the 25th and
26th of May.
Operation Dynamo - Dunkirk
• The biggest evacuation took
place from Dunkirk,
beginning on May 26th.
• Pounded from the air, the
British pulled 126,000
troops out by May 30.
• By June 2nd, the remainder
of the BEF was withdrawn.
• On the morning of the 4th,
the operation ceased.
Some 338,000 Allied troops
landed safely in England –
though all of their
equipment lay abandoned
on the beaches
Operation Dynamo - Dunkirk
Operation Dynamo - Dunkirk
• The success of the operation was
due to the efforts of the RAF and
the Royal Navy – and to the brave
work of thousands of fishermen
and yachtsmen who took part.
• It was also due to Hitler’s order to
stop the German advance on May
24.
• Perhaps this was based on
discomfort over the Arras
counter-attack.
• Perhaps Hitler felt Britain might
come to peace terms if not
humiliated by a surrender at
Dunkirk.
• Whatever the case, hundreds of
thousands of troops escaped to
fight again.
France Collapses
• Though spun as a
tremendous success,
the French campaign
was a mess. Another
220,000 French and
British troops evacuated
from northern ports
but...
• In 3 weeks, over 1
million Allied troops
were captured
France Collapses
• On June 7 German tanks
under Major General Erwin
Rommel broke through
toward Rouen and on the
9th they crossed the Seine.
• On June 10 the French
government relocated to
Tours and Italy declared war
on France and Britain.
• On June 12 the high
command informed
Reynaud that France was
beaten
• On June 14, Paris fell.
France Collapses
• After further removing the
government to Bordeaux on
the 16th, Reynaud resigned
and his successor, Marshal
Petain asked the Germans
for an armistice.
• On June 22nd, at Hitler’s
insistence, the French
surrender took place in the
same railway coach at
Compiegne that the 1918
armistice had been signed
in.
France Collapses
• Germany occupied the
northern and western
coasts, gaining fine
submarine bases.
• The French army was
demobilized.
• Marshal Petain governed
unoccupied France from
Vichy, but this was little
more than a puppet
government that
collaborated with the
Germans.
France Collapses
• German successes in the
West exceeded even the
wildest expectations of
the German High
Command.
• Credit for the victory lies
in German leadership in
the field.
• Guderian’s and Rommel’s
brilliant field generalship
and German air
superiority were key
factors.
France Collapses
• In the words of British
military analyst, BH LiddellHart:
– “Far from having the
overwhelming superiority
with which they were
credited, Hitler’s armies were
actually inferior in numbers
to those opposing them...he
had fewer and less powerful
tanks than his opponents
possessed. Only in airpower,
the most vital factor, had he a
superiority...their success
could easily have been
prevented but for the
opportunities presented to
them by Allied blunders that
were largely due to the
prevalence of out of date
ideas.”
France Collapses
• The French surrender
was not accepted by all
French forces.
• Charles DeGaulle and
the troops evacuated to
Britain, decided to fight
on, calling themselves
the “Free French.”
France Collapses
• The French High command
was obsessed with the idea of
defense, to the point where
they refused to accept that
offensive tactics should be
developed.
• Generals ignored the advice of
experts like Charles DeGaulle,
that tanks and armoured
vehicles should be massed
together to allow rapid
movement, rather than
parcelling them out to infantry
division which slowed them to
the pace of marching men.
• The use of close air support
was ignored completely.
France Collapses
• Beyond this failure of
leadership lurked other
reasons for the rapid collapse:
– France was economically and
psychologically unprepared for
war. About the only thing that
the political Right and Left
agreed on was that war must
be avoided – so no national
fervour developed.
– Military defeats gave the fascist
elements in the country a
chance to come out into the
open and defeatists overcame
the efforts of Reynaud to
convince his colleagues to
continue the war from North
Africa.
France Collapses
• In a move that soured
British/French relations for
decades after the war, the
British decided that they
could not allow the French
Mediterranean Fleet to
eventually fall into German
hands, despite Vichy French
insistence that this would
not happen.
• The British launched a
surprise attack on the
French Algerian naval base
of Mers-el-Kebir –
destroying the French fleet
at anchor in the port.
Battle of Britain
• With the fall of
France, Britain (and its
empire) stood alone.
• Fortunately, Britain
did have a substantial
anti-tank defense –
the English Channel.
• It would now be up to
Goering’s Luftwaffe to
destroy the RAF and
force the Royal Navy
out of the Channel to
open the way for
invasion.
Battle of Britain
• In August, attacks began on
harbours, radar stations,
airfields and munitions
factories.
• The RAF was hard-pressed and
it looked very much like the
RAF would have to relocate
from vulnerable southern
bases.
• However, in September the
German tactics changed. In
retaliation for an RAF raid on
Berlin, turned to bombing the
British capital.
• The RAF in the South were
given a reprieve.
Battle of Britain
• British radar stations and
southern airfields remained
operational.
• Though outnumbered, the
British had some significant
advantages:
– Pilots who bailed from
damaged aircraft could fly
again the same day if
uninjured. German aircrew
were captured.
– British fighters could stay in the
air longer than the 90 minute
limit for German fighter
escorts.
– Radar ensured that the British
had early warning of German
attacks and could allocate
resources efficiently.
Battle of Britain
• German losses were
heavy – 1,389 German
planes were lost,
compared to 792
British aircraft.
• New British fighter
aircraft (Spitfires and
Hurricanes) were as
good or better than the
planes they fought.
Battle of Britain
• London and other British
cities were badly hit – but
civilian morale remained
high.
• Hitler called off Operation
Sea Lion, the invasion of
Britain, and turned his
attention elsewhere,
knowing that without air
superiority any invasion
would be cut to pieces.
• Bombing of cities would
continue, though on a
smaller scale.
North Africa & Greece
• Mussolini entered the
war when he was sure
that Germany was on the
path to winning.
• Though his forces did
badly against the French
in June, 1940, the
German victory ensured
territorial gains.
• Italy initiated two
campaigns himself –
against Egypt and Greece.
North Africa & Greece
• Both Italian offensives
came to no good.
• The British counterattacked against Italian
Libya, thrashing them at
the Battle of Bedafomm,
capturing 130,000
prisoners and 400 tanks.
• Germany had to dispatch
General Erwin Rommel
and the Afrika Korps to
prevent complete
annihalation.
North Africa & Greece
• In another campaign,
British and Imperial
forces took Italian
Somaliland and
Ethiopia.
• Against the Greeks, the
Italians fared as badly –
being driven out of the
country and well back
into Italian occupied
Albania.
Taranto
• On November 11 & 12, 1940
the British launched an
audacious raid that showed
the importance of naval
aviation.
• A British fleet containing the
aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious
attacked the Italian port of
Taranto.
• 21 Swordfish torpedo planes
sank one battleship and badly
damaged two others. Only
two planes were lost.
• The Italian naval threat was
greatly reduced as the Italians
avoided contact with the
British on the high seas.
North Africa & Greece
• In 1941 the tide turned
again in North Africa as
Rommel pushed the
British back out of Libya.
• By June 1942 Rommel
was only 70 miles from
Alexandria and
threatening the Suez
Canal. At Tobruk the
British suffered a
humiliating defeat.
North Africa & Greece
• The Italian disaster
against the Greeks also
forced Hitler to act in
the Balkans.
• In April 1941 German
forces invaded
Jugoslavia and drove on
to Greece.
• British and ANZAC
troops were rushed in
to help – but to no avail.
North Africa & Greece
• In May 1941 Germany
captured Crete.
• However, despite the loss of
36,000 Allied troops, the
Balkan adventure created
serious problems for the
Germans.
– The best units of German
paratroops were decimated in
the attack on Crete.
– A guerilla war in Jugoslavia tied
down significant German
forces for the rest of the war.
– Hitler delayed his planned
invasion of Russia for a crucial
few months.
Operation Barbarossa – the USSR
• Hitler did not trust Stalin
to remain out of the war.
• With the invasion of
Britain ruled out, the
over-confident fuhrer
looked elsewhere.
• Perhaps hoping that the
Japanese would join him,
Hitler plotted Operation
Barbarossa – the invasion
of the USSR.
Operation Barbarossa – the USSR
• The attack was a
tactical mistake – but
if historian Hugh
Trevor-Roper is
correct “...to Hitler
the Russian campaign
was not a luxury; it
was the be-all and
end-all of Nazism; it
could not be delayed.
It was now or never.”
Operation Barbarossa – The USSR
• The attack was in 3
prongs: toward
Leningrad in the
north, Moscow in
the centre and the
Ukraine in the
south.
• 3.5 million troops
were committed –
along with 3,550
tanks and 5,000
aircraft.
Operation Barbarossa – the USSR
• Stalin was caught
completely off-guard.
– Military planning was caught
between earlier plans for a
defensive struggle – made
before the Nazi-Soviet
Pact)and new ideas for an
offensive.
– Stalin refused to believe
British warnings of the attack
– or even the warnings of his
own intelligence services.
– Even after the invasion began,
he told forces at the front not
to respond to provocations.
Operation Barbarossa – the USSR
• German successes early in the
campaign were stunning.
• Entire armies were encircled and
captured or destroyed. 28
divisions were destroyed and 70
divisions lost up to 50% of their
strength. 1200 planes were lost.
• However, Leningrad and Moscow
remained just outside their grasp.
• As Autumn rains turned roads to
muck and supply lines became
stretched, the German advance
stalled.
• Winter followed and
temperatures dropped – to as low
as -38 c. German troops were ill
equipped for a winter campaign.
The Pacific War
• Japan was, of course, fighting in
China since 1937. The decision to
go South, rather than North took
place in the mid 30’s.
• However, Japan was under
significant pressure from the
Americans – in the form of an
embargo on oil and scrap-metal
after the Japanese occupation of
French Indo-China in June, 1941.
• On October 16, General Tojo
became PM and war looked
imminent.
• The Japanese staked everything on
a surprise attack on the American
Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbour,
Hawaii and a simultaneous attack
on British, Dutch and American
Asian territories. Japan would
seize the resources it needed.
The Pacific War
• Admiral Yamamoto’s Naval
Task Force struck Hawaii on
December 7, 1941.
• This was an attack modelled
on Taranto, but infinitely larger
in scope.
• 353 Japanese aircraft wreaked
havoc for 2 hours:
– 350 US aircraft were destroyed
– mostly on the ground.
– 5 battleships were sunk.
– 3,700 lives were lost.
• Crucially, none of the
American aircraft carriers were
in port that day
Click here for FDR’s “Day of Infamy Speech”
The Pacific War
• The same day (Dec. 8 on the
other side of the
International date line),
Japanese forces attacked the
Philippines and Hong Kong
air bases.
• Bangkok, Thailand was
occupied on Dec. 9.
• Invasions soon began of the
Philippines, Malaya, Burma
and several key Pacific
Islands.
• The British warships Prince of
Wales and Repulse were
sunk by Japanese naval
aviation.
The Pacific War
• The Japanese attack was
a calculated gamble.
• The USA now entered the
war – against both Japan
and Germany.
• World War II would now
become a war of attrition
in which to superior
productive capacity of the
Allies would ultimately
triumph.
The Tide Turns – the Pacific
• At Midway, in June 1942, the
Americans beat off a major
Japanese attack which included 5
aircraft carriers, 400 planes, 17
large warships and an invasion
force of 5,000 soldiers.
• 4 Japanese carriers were sunk –
partly because the Americans
were reading the secret Japanese
naval code.
• 2 more Japanese carriers were
sunk off Australia in the Battle of
the Coral Sea.
• Though the Americans also lost
heavily, American production
would soon make good the losses
and British carriers were
dispatched to fill the gap.
The Tide Turns - Russia
• October found the
Germans almost within
sight of the Kremlin.
• On October 2 the
Germans launched
Operation Typhoon to
take the Soviet capital.
The Soviets defended
desperately.
• In December, General
Zhukov mustered
sufficient forces to
counter-attack.
The Tide Turns - Russia
• Hitler and the German High
Command drastically
underestimated the forces that
the Soviet Union could muster.
Since the start of the war the
Soviets lost up to 5 million
soldiers – including 3.9 million
now prisoners of war.
• Despite these losses, they still
fielded 6.2 million, including
around 2.7 million on the
Moscow Front at the end of 1941
– including veterans of the border
war with Japan in Siberia.
• Equally worrying was the
appearance of increasing
numbers of new Soviet T-34 tanks
– far superior to anything in the
German arsenal.
Turning the Tide - Russia
• Though the Battle of
Moscow merely blunted the
German attack, it was a
huge boost to the Soviets.
• Events of late 1942 and
early 1943 would prove
more decisive.
• In 1942, with Spring thaw,
the Germans renewed their
Russian offensive.
• In the summer and winter
of 1942/43 the world’s
attention was focussed on
the city of Stalingrad.
Turning the Tide - Russia
• The city was destroyed by
August, but the Soviets still
clung to a section of it.
• In November, a major Soviet
offensive encircled the
German 6th Army.
• General von Paulus
requested authorization to
retreat, but was refused.
He surrendered on February
2, 1943.
• The myth of German
invincibility was shattered.
Turning the Tide - Russia
• Stalingrad was precisely the
kind of battle the Germans
should have avoided. It was
a meat grinder.
• German advantage lay in
manouvering ability and
better local tactical
leadership in fluid
situations. City fighting
negated this. Superior
numbers and the
willingness to pay any price
for victory played into
Soviet hands.
The Tide Turns - Russia
• The following summer, the
Wehrmacht tried to renew
successes in the field with an
offensive in July and August.
• The Battle of Kursk proved to be
the backbreaker on the Eastern
Front.
• This was the largest tank battle in
history to that time.
• New German tanks were rushed
into service against the heavy
Soviet T-34 and KV models. Equal
to their Soviet counterparts in
firepower and armour – they
were still inferior in number. The
German offensive failed and for
the rest of the war Germany
would be on the defensive on the
Eastern Front.
Turning the Tide – North Africa
•
•
•
•
•
•
Rommel’s Afrika Korps was always starved for
supplies as the British ravaged German and
Italian convoys in the Mediterranean.
Even the brilliance of the German
commander could not prevent defeat.
When Montgomery’s British 8th Army began
its offensive at El Alamein, the Germans and
Italians had only 80,000 men and 540 tanks,
against 230,000 men and 1,440 tanks. The
British also had almost total air superiority.
More significant still, the British had broken
the German military code, so were aware of
many German plans in advance.
Soon the Germans would be pushed out of
Libya and, when the Americans landed in the
West of North Africa in November 1942 – the
Germans who held out in Tunisia were
pressed between the Americans and British.
In May 1943 275,000 German and Italian
troops surrendered and the way was open
for an invasion of Italy.
Turning the Tide – The War at Sea
• As noted earlier, the
Italian fleet was crippled
by the torpedo attack
from HMS Illustrious in
1940.
• The last German surface
raider, the Bismarck, was
sunk in May, 1941.
• From then on, it German
naval fortunes centered
on the success of its UBoat fleet.
Turning the Tide – The War at Sea
• Even before entering the
war, the US Congress
authorized granting war
material in the form of
old destroyers to Britain
in return for the use of
Caribbean bases – this
was the Lend-Lease
Programme, which was
later extended to other
goods and to other Allied
countries.
Turning the Tide – The War at Sea
• At the start of 1942,
Germany had 90 U-Boats
operating and 250 under
construction.
• In the first 6 months of the
year 4 million tons of
shipping was sunk and only
21 U-Boats destroyed.
• In March, 1943 alone, 108
ships were sunk – but after
this Allied losses dropped,
even as more U-Boats
entered service.
Turning the Tide – The War at Sea
• By July 1943 the Allies
produced ships faster
than they could be sunk.
• Improved Allied
equipment – the addition
of long range patrol
aircraft and better
underwater detection
equipment – won the
Battle of the Atlantic.
The War in the Air
• Military aviation was crucial
in the war.
• The Battle of Britain
revealed basic German
weaknesses – they had no
heavy bomber in their
arsenal and they could not
provide sufficient fighter
support to bomb effectively
enough.
• Allied production was also
significantly higher for all
categories of aircraft once
the Grand Alliance had
formed up against the Axis
powers.
The War in the Air
• In the Pacific Theatre, bombers
paved the way for landing marines
in the “island hopping campaign”
of the South-West Pacific.
• American transport planes kept
the vital flow of supplies going to
China and to allied troops in the
campaign to recapture Burma.
• On April 18, 1942 in the Doolittle
Raid, US bombers from aircraft
carriers hit the Japanese home
islands.
• When British and American troops
landed in Sicily (July 1943), and in
Normandy (June 1944) strategic
and tactical bombings and
parachute landings were all vital
actions
The War in the Air
• Most controversial was
the Allied bombing of Axis
cities.
• With the invasion of the
USSR, the Luftwaffe could
no longer continue large
scale bombing of British
cities, the Allies
committed themselves to
a strategic air offensive to
destroy industrial and
military targets – as well
as destroy civilian morale.
The War in the Air
• The cities of the Ruhr,
Cologne, Hamburg and
Berlin were all severely
damaged.
• Fin February 1945 40,000
people were killed in a
single night’s raid on
Dresden.
• Another single raid on
Tokyo in 1945 killed twice
that number and
destroyed a quarter of
the city.
The War in the Air
• Despite the destruction,
the air campaign against
Germany seems not to
have paid off until the
autumn of 1944.
• In October, the Krupp
works were permanently
shut down.
• By June 1945 Japanese
productive capacity was
largely eliminated.
• Breaking civilian morale
was less successful.
The War in the Air
• Two key
accomplishments were
the destruction of
railway communications
in Central Europe and
the diversion of crucial
German fighter aircraft
from the Eastern Front
to defend German Cities
– helping the Russian
advance in the East.
The Axis Collapse - Italy
• Churchill believed that the
shortest route to Axis defeat lay
through weak Italy.
• Sicily was invaded in July 1943.
Soon Allied troops crossed to the
Boot of Italy.
• By October, the Allies took Naples
and Mussolini was dismissed by
the Italian King.
• Marshal Badoglio signed an
armistice. Italy switched sides in
the war.
• Germany responded by sending
troops South, occupying Rome
and most of the country.
• German paratroops freed
Mussolini, taking him back to
serve as figurehead leader of Axis
Italy.
The Axis Collapse - Italy
• Fighting in Italy was tough in the rugged Italian mountains.
• Monte Cassino fell in May and Rome in June.
• The North did not fall until April 1945.
The Axis Collapse - France
• Stalin, facing the bulk of
the war’s fighting,
clamoured for the
opening of another front
in France.
• After the Dieppe fiasco,
the Western Allies were
reluctant to do so.
• It took until mid 1944 for
preparation to be
completed.
• On June 6, 1944 the long
awaited invasion of
France began
The Axis Collapse - France
• Two years of planning led to
the largest amphibious
assault ever conducted
including such engineering
marvels as “Mulberry
(floating) harbours, PLUTO
(Pipeline Under the Ocean),
and an array of novel
weapons – like the “funnies”
tanks – with flails, flame
throwers, bridge layers and
amphibious dual drive
tanks.
• 326,000 men were landed
and supplied. 3 million men
passed through the
bridgehead.
The Axis Collapse - France
• While it took some time for a
breakout from Normandy to
happen, the advance picked
up speed after this.
• Paris fell on August 25.
• Brussels and Antwerp fell in
September.
• Setbacks occurred at Arnhem
(Holland) in September and in
the Ardennes, where the
Germans launched a massive
counter-attack with the Battle
of the Bulge – but this cost
him 600 tanks and 250,000
men, with little to no chance
of success.
The Axis Collapse - France
• Throughout February the
Allied air forces softened up
German defences.
• Patton’s 3rd Army reached
Coblenz in early March.
• Further south other forces
crossed the Rhine.
• Montgomery’s men crossed it
in the North on the night of
March 23-24 and the Western
Front began to disintegrate
and German Generals decided
it would be better to
surrender to western forces
than to the Soviets.
The Axis Collapse – Eastern Front
• War in the East was much
bloodier than in the West.
• After the Battle of Kursk,
the Soviet advance was
relentless.
• When D-Day forced
reinforcement of German
forces in the West, the Axis
could not hold back the
weight of Soviet force.
• Brilliant local actions might
slow the advance, but
nothing could prevent it.
The Axis Collapse – Eastern Front
• In August 1944 Romania
changed sides, joining
the Allies and opening up
the South.
• Finland capitulated to
the Soviets in September.
• Partisans tied down
German troops in Greece
and Jugoslavia.
• Belgrade fell to Tito’s
partisans on October 20.
• Russian troops were in
the suburbs of Budapest
by November 4
The Axis Collapse – Eastern Front
• Russian forces halted
outside Warsaw – just
long enough for the
Germans to crush a Polish
uprising - but the city did
fall on January 17, 1945.
• By April 25 Berlin was
encircled. On the same
day, Soviet and American
troops shook hands at the
Elbe River.
The Axis Collapse – Eastern Front
• On April 30 Hitler took his
own life as street fighting in
Berlin approached his
bunker.
• His successor, Admiral
Doenitz did not care to fight
on, but delayed
surrendering until he saved
as many of his people as
possible.
• 55% of the Army of the East
transferred into British and
American controlled
territory to surrender.
• On midnight, May 8, 1945
the war in Europe came to a
close.
The Axis Collapse – The Pacific
• The Allies faced two
choices in attacking
Japan; they could
advance through the
Aleutians in the North
Pacific or through
Micronesia in the
South.
• Given the remoteness
of the northern route,
the latter was chosen.
The Axis Collapse – The Pacific
• First the Solomon Islands
and the Bismarck
Archipelago were retaken.
• Next the Americans
advanced toward Guam
and Saipan in mid 1944 –
and also through the
Philippine Islands.
• Japanese resistance was
fierce but futile because
Allied forces were
superior in numbers and
equipment.
The Axis Collapse – The Pacific
• At Leyte Gulf, the war’s largest
naval battle was fought,
virtually eliminating the
Japanese Navy.
• Kamikaze attacks caused a
great deal of damage to
American naval units and were
a clear example of the kind of
resistance that would be met
in event of an invasion of
Japan.
• Iwo Jima also showed that the
Japanese fighting spirit was far
from broken – but its capture
allowed more than 2000 B-29
bombers to use it in the next 5
months.
The Axis Collapse – The Pacific
• To resist the assault on
Okinawa, the Japanese
launched 355 kamikaze
raids and sent the world’s
biggest battleship on a
suicide mission with only
enough fuel for a one way
trip.
• It was sunk on April 7 –
unable to inflict harm on
the Allies first.
The Axis Collapse – The Pacific
• In Burma an Allied
advance in early 1945
made use of irregular
troops, Chindits,
dropped behind enemy
lines.
• Rangoon was liberated
on May 1, 1945.
The Axis Collapse – The Pacific
• Throughout July 1945 the
Japanese mainland was
continually bombed, as if
in preparation for an
invasion.
• It never happened.
• On August 6 1945 a
solitary American bomber
dropped the first atomic
bomb on Hiroshima.
• A second device
destroyed Nagasaki.
The Axis Collapse – The Pacific
• Truman insisted that the use of
these devices was to save Allied
lives by avoiding an invasion of
Japan.
• Others feel that the bombing was
not necessary, since the Japanese
put out peace feelers in July.
• Basil Liddell-Hart suggests that
the real reason fore dropping the
devices was to end the war
quickly to prevent the Soviets
(who pledged to enter the war
against Japan shortly after victory
in Europe) from gaining too much
territory in the East – and a share
in the occupation of Japan itself.
• The Russian declaration of war
took place between the dropping
of the two bombs.
The Axis Collapse – The Pacific
• On August 10 Japan agreed to
Allied demands. The emperor
himself announced the
decision to surrender, to
overcome risistance to it.
• On September 2 the war
officially came to an end.
• Japanese forces still held
Korea, Manchuria and vast
tracts of China, South-East
Asia and Pacific islands, but all
were isolated and could not be
resupplied.
• Japan had no choice but to
surrender or face complete
and utter destruction.
Reasons for the Axis Defeat
• Why did the Axis lose?
– Shortages of key strategic
materials put them at a
distinct disadvantage.
– The Allies learned from early
failures and went on to build
the necessary planes and
aircraft carriers to win the
war.
– The Axis took on too much.
All the Axis powers were too
stretched and were incapable
of holding their gains.
– Italian incompetence wrecked
German planning.
Reasons for the Axis Defeat
• The combined resources of the
USA, USSR and the British Empire
were so much greater than the
Axis that the longer the war
lasted, the less chance the Axis
could survive.
• Stalin’s building of a vast
industrial capacity East of the
Urals put it beyond the reach of
even the most optimistic German
advances.
• By 1944 the Russians alone had 4
times as many tanks as the
Germans and could field twice as
many troops.
• When American production
peaked, it could turn out over
70,000 tanks and 120,000 aircraft
a year.
Reasons for the Axis Defeat
• Both sides made tactical
mistakes during the war, but
the Axis could not afford to
do so.
• Japan continued to waste
resources building
battleships when carriers
were needed.
• Hitler failed to equip his
forces for a winter
campaign when he attacked
Russia, then needlessly
sacrificed the 6th army at
Stalingrad.
• That the Axis lasted as long
as it did is amazing.
Effects of the War
• The destruction of this
war was horrendous –
particularly for the USSR.
– Well over 30 million were
killed – at least ½ from the
USSR. This does not
include the Holocaust
victims.
– Another 21 million were
uprooted from their homes
– leaving a massive
repatriation problem.
Effects of the War
• Among the
survivors were the
Holocaust victims
reprieved by war’s
end.
• What would
become of them?
Effects of the War
• No all-inclusive treaty of the
kind that ended the First
World War ensued.
• This was partly the result of
mistrust between the Allies,
but it was also due to the
nature of the victory.
• This one was total. The
victors imposed their will on
the vanquished, stationing
troops to police the results.
• There could be no new stabin-the-back theory.
Effects of the War
• The war stimulated
social and scientific
developments on
both sides.
• Rockets and jet
engines powered
new weapons and
their peace-time
derivatives.
Effects of the War
• In Britain the welfare
state was a direct
response to needs that
became apparent in war
time.
Effects of the War
• Nuclear
weapons
changed the
nature of
warfare.
Effects of the War
• European domination
of the world, already
called into question
before the war, was
now clearly over.
• Drained by the war, the
colonial powers would
never regain their
strength.
Effects of the War
• The old multi-polar
system in international
power politics was
temporarily destroyed.
• In its place was a world
dominated by two
super-powers – the USA
and the USSR.
Effects of the War
• For the next half century,
the world would now be
dominated by ideological
competition between
American Liberalism (and
neo-conservatism) and
Soviet Communism.
• Newly independent
countries would be
compelled to choose.
Effects of the War
• Alongside this, a new
solution to international
conflict would be posited:
the United Nations.
• It would be built upon the
solid foundation of the
League of Nations – and
improved – not the least
by near universal
membership.
• Hopefully it will have
results.
finis