Download Military History: World War II

WORLD WAR II
CHAPTER 18
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I. Pre-World War II
A. by the summer of 1939 Europe realized that war was coming
1. Britain and France announced that if Poland was attacked they would
support Poland (attack could come from Germany or Russia)
2. Britain & France tried to get Russia to join them
a. Stalin was suspicious of Britain and France
b. plus he demanded certain concessions they were unwilling to give
3. Hitler was able to convince Stalin the future was with him
a. in 1939 (Aug.) they signed the Soviet-Nazi Non-Aggression Pact
b. neither side intended to honor it
i. Hitler needed time to conqueror France and not
fight a two front war
ii. Stalin needed time to prepare his military
c. part of the secret pact stated that:
i. Russia would get Baltic states, East Poland, and Bessarabia
ii. Germany would get Western Poland
• B. Hitler’s Next Plan-- Danzig and the Polish Corridor
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1. Danzig was a free city under the League of Nations' control
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a. located at the end of the Polish Corridor
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b. a free city, no tariffs
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c. had at one time belonged to Germany, most of
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population was German
2. Hitler demands the return of Danzig to Germany
a. claimed that the Poles were mistreating the Germans
b. propaganda machine begins to print stories about
the so called mistreatment
3. the Polish Corridor had been given to Poland after WW I
as an outlet to the sea for the Poles
• C. On September 1, 1939 Hitler annexed Danzig and invaded
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Poland without warning
1. France and Britain declare war on Germany
2. World War II has begun
Danzig– Polish Corridor
II. World War II -- The Early Years
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A. a new type of warfare called blitzkrieg
1. means lightening war--a war of speed, movement
2. trench fighting is a thing of the past
3. the Maginot Line is useless
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B. Western Front
1. France moved army to the Maginot Line after German invasion of Poland
2. British sent troops across the English Channel
3. the Germans massed behind the Siegfried Line which faced the Maginot Line
a. these were fortifications in the Rhineland
4. both sides faced each other but little happened
a. referred to as the Phony War or sitzkrieg
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C. Soviet Union
1. moved into eastern Poland per agreement with Hitler
2. took the Baltic countries
3. attacked Finland
a. Finn's fought bravely for 3 months
D. Germany moves
1. Phony War ends--Hitler had been moving troops from Poland to the west
2. in April, 1940 Germany invades Denmark first then Norway
a. in Norway had the help of collaborators, ones who assist their
countries enemies
b. Vidkun Quisling, a Norwegian army officer, helped Hitler take
his country
i. from now on collaborators were often called quislings
3. the result Germany gains an outlet to the North Sea
The Maginot Line
• E. Allies response
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1. Churchill replaces Chamberlain as the British Prime Minister
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2. May, 1940 German panzers invade the Low Countries
a. outflanked France's Maginot Line
i. 340,000 troops trapped at Dunkirk
ii. one of the greatest rescues missions in history
iii. turning point of the Western Front
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3. France surrenders (June 25th, 1940)
a. Italy officially enters WW II a few days before this
b. Petain– he sets up a government & calls it the Vichy, in south France
i. cooperated with the Germans--collaborated
c. an opposition government sets up in London called the Free French
i. eventually led by Charles de Gaulle
d. a third group, called the Maquis, remains in France as an
underground group to disrupt the German occupation-sabotage
• F. Battle of Britain
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1. Britain poorly prepared for war
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2. Hitler tried to negotiate a settlement
a. failed so he used the Luftwaffe to bomb England into submission
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3. Aug. to Nov. 1940 was the heaviest bombing
a. aim was to lower morale
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4. England is saved by the Royal Air Force (RAF)
a. used fighter planes which were faster than the German bombers
b. Churchill, in a famous speech, said of the RAF "never have so
many owed so much to so few“
• TECHNICALLY, THIS BATTLE WAS CONSIDERED A “STALEMATE”
• MORALLY, THIS WAS A VICTORY FOR BRITAIN!!!!!
• First to defend off the German forces.
• III. U.S. Involvement
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A. Neutrality Act of 1937
1. as a result of WW I Congress didn't want to get involved without the support of
the country
2. forbade American companies to sell war equipment to belligerents
3. as war progressed US mellowed
a. Cash and Carry
i. could sell but only if cash was paid and supplies loaded on
customer's ship
4. sympathy grew for Britain
a. Lend-Lease Act
i. in return for surplus military equipment Britain leased us
land and air bases in several British colonies for 99 years
(at start 50 destroyers)
5. by mid-1941 we were doing everything we could to help Britain, short of war
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SO, AMERICA BEGINS TO GO FROM “ISOLATIONISM” TO “INVOLVEMENT”
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• IV. 1940 & 1941 (Soviet Union and the United States)
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A. Germany
1. Sept. 1940 Japan joins the Axis Powers
a. becomes Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis
b. "yellow Aryans"
2. by end of 1940 Western Europe under German control
B. Italy
1. Mussolini hoped to build a new Roman Empire
2. attacks Greece in one of his "nice, safe, little wars"
a. Greeks fight back and Italians are routed
b. Hitler sends in troops to help Mussolini even though he
doesn't want to
i. can't let an Axis (or Fascist) power be defeated
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C. Africa
1. Mussolini's troops not doing well in North Africa therefore Hitler sends in troops
again to help
2. Erwin Rommel is put in charge of the Afrika Korps
a. known as the "Desert Fox"
3. man in charge of British troops is Montgomery
4. turning point in North Africa is at El Alamein in the summer of 1942
a. had been doing well moving eastward towards the Suez Canal
b. stopped partly because of a lack of men and supplies
5. summer to late fall of 1942 the US is becoming involved here
D. Soviet Union
1. June 22, 1941 Hitler breaks the Non-Aggression Pact and invades the Soviet Union
2. moves easily against the Soviet army
a. Soviet tactics are strategic retreat and scorched earth
b. leave nothing the enemy can use behind and draw them in stretching
their supply lines
3. by fall of 1941 both Moscow and Leningrad are under siege
a. at Leningrad the Germans surround the city for 900 days but never
capture the city
b. Hitler also sending troops towards Stalingrad
4. Hitler expected a short war since no one had stopped him yet
5. winter hits and he has a choice
a. stand and fight with long supply lines and a terrible winter
(worst since the invasion of Napoleon)
i. both early and severe
b. withdraw to the Polish border and wait until spring
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E. New Order and the Final Solution
1. final solution signed in 1941
2. ordered the annihilation of the Jewish population
a. referred to as the "Jewish problem"
3. final count was 6 million Jews killed in the camps
a. in Germany the most famous were Dachau and Buchenwald
i. there were others
b. the most famous was in Poland--Auschwitz
i. approximately 2.5 million
4. another 6 million "inferiors" were also killed in the camps
F. US vs. Japan
1. after Manchuria Japan prepared for war with the US because they felt we were
interfering with "sphere of influence"
2. their association was known as "The Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere"
a. Asia for Asiatics
3. the two men that will lead Japan into WW II are:
a. Emperor Hirohito
b. Premier Hidiki Tojo
i. a former army general
4. while negotiating a friendship in Washington the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor on
December 7, 1941
a. "Day that will live in Infamy" (Roosevelt)
5. on Dec. 8 Congress declares war on Japan
a. 3 days later Germany and Italy declare war on us
b. we return the favor and declare war on them
• V. 1942
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A. Soviet Union
1. in the south east the Germans surround and capture Stalingrad (Volgograd)
a. 6 months before Germans take the city
b. very heavy casualties
c. fighting from street to street
d. city destroyed
2. as soon as the Germans take the city the Soviets begin a counterattack,
encircling the city
3. Hitler orders the troops to fight to the death
4. surrendered in January, 1943
a. 350,000 troops surrendered
b. approximately 250,000 killed
5. turning point in Soviet Union of the war (Eastern Front)
B. North Africa
1. Rommel losing
a. lack of men and supplies
2. in summer of 1942 US forces landing under the control of Eisenhower with
Patton as one of his generals
3. US forces coming from the west (going eastward) and British forces from the
east (going westward)
4. May, 1943 the Afrika Korps surrenders
5. Rommel has been ordered back to Germany before this happens
a. is put in charge of Fortress Europa or the Atlantic Wall
1942
• VI. 1943
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A. Italy
1. Churchill referred to Italy as "the soft underbelly of Europe"
a. weakest part of the Axis empire
2. crossed Med. Sea and took Sicily first
3. from Sicily caught Italy by surprise by attacking at Anzio
a. Italy had not expected the attack at this point
4. Mussolini forced to resign and latter arrested
5. Badoglio becomes the new premier
a. contacts Allies to discuss surrender
6. in September, 1943 Italy surrenders "unconditionally"
a. they are out of WW II but fighting continues in Italy
7. Mussolini is rescued by German troops
a. continues to fight in northern Italy with the help of German
troops & troops still loyal to Fascists
8. Mark Clark is the US commander in Italy and going is slow because of
the mountains and valleys
a. German troops dig into the sides of mountains and control the valleys
b. Monte Casino
i. one of the mts. that Germans dug in and held for three months
ii. at top was a monastery and monks refused to move
iii. eventually it was bombed and part of the monastery
was damaged
Monte Casino
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VII. Atlantic
A. convoys better protected by the navy
B. Germans counter with "wolf packs"
1. groups of subs attacking the convoys
2. fairly effective at first
C. two new inventions effectively stop the "wolf packs"
1. aircraft carriers
2. Sonar
VIII. Pacific Front
A. Midway -- June, 1942
1. first battle fought entirely with carrier based planes
a. one of the aircraft carriers was the Yorktown
2. Japanese defeated
3. turning point of the Pacific
B. Allies now go on the offensive
1. Pacific divided into two parts
a. southern route to Japan led by Macarthur through the
Philippines
b. northern route led by the navy and marines
2. island hopping
a. take only specific islands and by pass others
3. Macarthur eventually "returns" to the Philippines
USS Yorktown
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IX. Victory in Europe
A. June 6, 1944
1. D-Day (attack day) Operation Overlord
2. hit the beaches of Normandy
3. Allies had tricked the Germans into thinking the attack was
coming somewhere else (Calais)
a. Rommel back in Germany recuperating from an
attack on his car by an allied airplane
4. by the time they realized it was the real attack it was too late
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B. at the same time as the invasion of France Soviet make a major attack
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C. July 20, 1944
1. a group of German army officers, led by Stauffenberg,
unsuccessfully try to assassinate Hitler in his eastern bunker
2. as a result Hitler is seldom seen in public again
a. he remains in hiding in his Berlin bunker underground)
b. the conspirators and several thousand other people are
arrested and sent to concentration camps
i. the main conspirators are taken to a Berlin meat
locker where they are strangled by piano wire
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June
th
6 ,
1944
• D. Battle of the Bulge (Ardennes Forest, near city of Bastogne)
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Bulge, Battle of the (December 1944-January 1945), last German offensive in the west
during World War II. Following the Normandy invasion (June 1944), Allied forces
swept rapidly through France but became stalled along the German border in
September.
On December 16, taking advantage of weather that kept Allied aircraft on the ground,
the Germans launched a counteroffensive through the hilly and wooded Ardennes
country and advanced 50 km (31 mi) into Belgium and Luxembourg. Their aim was to
divide the Americans and the British and retake the vital seaport of Antwerp. They
created a “bulge” in the Allied lines, but their advance was halted near the Meuse in
late December.
Managing to avoid being cut off by an Allied pincer movement, the Germans withdrew
to their own lines in January, but heavy losses, including some 220,000 casualties,
contributed to their final collapse in the following spring.
Therefore:
1. Last desperate counterattack by the Germans in the west
2. December, 1944 Germans have a new tank, better than any tank ever built, & try to push the
Allies out of Europe
3. Allies driven back but hold
a. Germans try to disrupt the Allies by sending in English speaking Germans as US M.P.'s
i. eventually caught because they didn't know American sporting heroes
Some excellent resources to view about this epic event are:
Band of Brothers, Video Series- Episodes “Bastogne” and “The Breaking Point”
“Battle of the Bulge” the full feature movie
Battle of the Bulge
Remagen Bridge
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1. The bridge at Remagen
a. Hitler ordered all bridges across
the Rhine River destroyed
b. at Remagen they were a little slow
and Patton's forces captured it
before it was destroyed
c. it was blown up but did not fall
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E. Yalta Conference
1. the Big Three meet and decide that the Axis countries will by occupied by the Allies
2. later there would be democratic elections
3. elections in some areas never happened
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F. April, 1945
1. Roosevelt dies--gives the Germans some hope
a. think that the US may quit and go home
2. April 29 Hitler marries his long time mistress Eva Braun
3. later that night, after midnight, they retire to their private rooms where they commit
suicide
a. their bodies are burned
4. Hitler names Adm. Doenitz as successor
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G. End
1. announced on May 1, 1945 that Hitler died while fighting the Soviets in Berlin
2. the Germans surrender unconditionally on May 8, 1945
3. V-E Day--Victory in Europe
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X. Victory in the Pacific
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A. Okinawa
1. kamikaze or "Great Wind"
2. suicide pilots trying to save Japan
a. volunteers who had attended their own funerals & tried to crash their plane into US ships
3. with the capture of Okinawa US had an air base that could be used to bomb Japan
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B. Atomic Age
1. Operation Olympic
a. the planned invasion of Japan
b. phase one was called Operation Coronet
2. Manhattan Project
a. the project to build the Atomic bomb
3. Pres. Truman told in April, 1945 about the Project
a. by July three bombs had been built
b. one was tested and it worked
c. now he had to make a decision to use it or not
d. informed that by using it the bomb would save 500,000 lives and shorten the war by 1 year
4. Japan warned of a new and terrible weapon that would be used unless they surrendered
a. they didn't
b. August 6, 1945 the Enola Gay took flight with "Little Boy" on board towards Hiroshima
i. Japan didn't surrender
c. August 9, 1945 a second plane headed for Nagasaki with "Fat Man" on board
5. Emperor Hirohito order that Japan stop fighting
a. on September 2, 1945 aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay the treaty was signed to end
the war with Japan
b. V-J Day (Victory in Japan)
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Part II: Intro To The Movie
“Seven Years In Tibet”
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Background:
The year is 1939. A gold medal in mountain climbing for your native
Austria... a wife expecting your first child... What more could you want?
Well, for Heinrich Harrer (Brad Pitt), these milestones in life left him
discontent. Instead of staying with his pregnant wife, he leaves the country
headed for an expedition to the Himalayan Mountains while his wife is left in
the care of a friend. Harrer and Peter Aufschnaiter (David Thewlis) are off to
tackle the renowned Nanga Parbat mountain peak.
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What started out as a climbing expedition turns into quite an adventure
laced with political fervor. Due to the Austrian pairs association with Nazi
Germany (Harrer was a member of the party), they become captives of the
British prior to the completion of their expedition. Escape eventually ensues,
but only after living the life of a prisoner of war based in India. Finally,
following a lengthy stay in the wilderness, they make their way to Lhasa in
Tibet. This mysterious Tibetan city is foreign to nearly all outsiders, but a
gracious citizen eventually takes them in.
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Here begins Herrer's seven year visit in Tibet. After some time, the young
Dalai Lama (Jamyang Wangchuk) seeks tutoring from Herrer to answer all
sorts of questions, primarily associated with Western life. They become
friends and Herrer oversees the building of a movie theatre for the young
Dalai Lama. This friendship allows Herrer to think about his son in Austria
(he receives news of the birth and a request for divorce from his wife while in
POW camp). Without ruining the enjoyment of those who have yet to see
Seven Years..., I'll just say that Tibet does suffer some serious political
upheaval and the suffering continues to this day.
• Seven Years in Tibet allows viewers to observe the
Buddhist faith, but it is not "preached" or glorified as the
"true" religion. Harrer doesn't portray a religious man, and
he is often found relying on his own skill and knowledge
in life. While the language was not really offensive, you
will be shocked to see what two hungry men will eat!
• Historically, the writers took a bit of poetic license in
portraying the Chinese invasion as happening while
Heinrich Harrer was in Tibet. (In actuality, it took place a
few years after he left.) The Dalai Lama was also shown to
be an outsider of Tibet, observing the Tibetan's culture and
lifestyle as a visitor would see them. Obviously, he was a
Tibetan and was not an outsider as was shown.