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Download The Eastern Front- Operation Barbarossa
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Invasion of The USSR—The Eastern Campaign • The Blitz on Britain was called off in May 1941. Hitler had a far more prized target • Hitler needed to conquer the USSR in order to fulfill his longterm plan for a German Empire • Hitler was suspicious of Stalin’s motives and decided to invade • This decision turned out to be a miscalculation on his part… Invasion of The USSR—The Eastern Campaign • 22 June 1941 Operation Barbarossa was launched – the attack on Russia. • The German invasion caught the Soviet military and civilian leadership largely by surprise. Invasion of The USSR—The Eastern Campaign • The huge military force needed for this attack included many bombers and two-thirds of the German military was to be tied up on the Eastern Front for the duration of the war. Invasion of The USSR—The Eastern Campaign • The battles on the Eastern Front constituted the largest military confrontation in history. They were characterized by: • Unprecedented ferocity • Massive destruction • Mass deportations • Immense loss of life variously due to combat, starvation, exposure, disease, and massacres. Invasion of The USSR—The Eastern Campaign • Of the estimated 70 million deaths attributed to WWII, over 30 million, many of them civilians, died on the Eastern Front. • The Eastern Front was decisive in determining the outcome of World War II, eventually serving as the main reason for Germany's defeat Invasion of The USSR—The Eastern Campaign • German troops were able to push the Soviet army deep into the Soviet Union • By autumn, they reached the outskirts of Moscow and Leningrad. • But German troops were ill equipped for the long and cold Soviet winters and soon lost their advantage • In 1942, German troops got as far as Stalingrad…but again, were stopped by the bitterly cold winter Invasion of The USSR—The Eastern Campaign • The situation grew worse for the German army and after suffering more than 300,000 losses, they surrendered in 1943. • The Soviets took advantage of this, and went on the offense—retaking much of their territory and by 1944 they were advancing toward Germany THE WAR SPREADS: WAR IN THE PACIFIC • With the Battle of Britain, Canada was forced into a more prominent role in the war than it ever had intended • When war spread to the Pacific, Canada became even more involved • After the bombing of Pearl Harbour in December 1941, Canada and its allies were now at war with Japan THE WAR SPREADS: WAR IN THE PACIFIC • The war had now become truly global—Canadian troops saw their first action at Hong Kong shortly afterwards. • The battle was a disaster for Canadian troops. THE WAR SPREADS: WAR IN THE PACIFIC • Hours after Japanese planes bombed Pearl Harbour—the troops began their surprise invasion of Hong Kong. • By Christmas day, 1941 Hong Kong had fallen • Months earlier, Canada had sent troops to Hong Kong • During the battle, the losses were heavy: 290 killed in action and hundreds wounded. • The survivors were all taken prisoner. Suffering from malnutrition, disease, overwork, and brutality, nearly 300 more Canadians died in captivity. THE WAR SPREADS: WAR IN THE PACIFIC December 8, 1941 the U.S. joined the Allies and declared war on Japan. Japans Allies- Germany and Italy- then declared war on the United States. The whole world was now at war