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World War Two 1939-45
The Beginning of the War
God at times has had a specific hand in
warfare, giving directions, ensuring
victory, causing others to recognize him
- Joshua 10:8
The Greater Reich – Lil Hitler
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Anschluss
Czechoslovakia
The war began with the Nazi invasion of Poland on 1
September 1939.
German forces unleashed a blitzkrieg across Poland.
The German air force, Luftwaffe, was heavily relied
upon.
By late September, Poland had become a Nazi
protectorate.
In mid-September, the U.S.S.R. invaded the rest of
Poland. The Soviets did not stop there and invaded the
Baltic countries, as well as Finland.
Both Britain and France declared war on Germany on 3
September 1939. After being betrayed over
Czechoslovakia, France and Britain were ready to go to
war.
Phony War
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Starting on 3 September 1939, France and Britain
began to bolster their armies and air forces. A lot of
these troops were massed on the German border.
Hitler considered all of this as diplomatic show over
the winter.
In this period, known as the Phoney War,
agreements between nations could not be reached.
The new year, 1940, found Britain and France
formally at war with Germany, although no actual
battles had been fought.
In April 1940, Nazi forces overran Denmark and
invaded Norway
Blitzkrieg
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Add map
The Course of the War
France
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Fighting began in earnest on 10 May 1940
with the German invasion of France.
British troops had been sent to the
continent prior to this time.
French troops were sent to the French
frontier with Germany to strengthen the
Maginot Line.
German forces smashed through Belgium
and Holland in a matter of days.
The major German thrust came through
the Ardennes at Sedan. The French had
neglected this area in planning a defence
strategy.
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In three days, the German Panzer
divisions pushed 500 km into France.
Northern attacks were at Dunkirk.
Many French and British troops escaped
to Britain.
German troops entered Paris on the 14
June 1940.
The Nazis permitted French officials to
govern the interior. This Nazi-friendly
government, known as Vichy France,
controlled the southern end of France.
Battle of Britain
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The actions of Germany in France left Britain and
Germany as the only contenders for control of Europe.
Nazi Germany would thus hasten plans to weaken the
United Kingdom and take control of the British Isles.
This plan was known as Operation Sea Lion.
In this plan, the Luftwaffe would attack Britain. After the
Luftwaffe weakened British defences, Germany would
invade by land.
These attacks were known as the Battle of Britain. The
big attacks on London were known as the “Blitz”
While Britain protected its southern cities, it also
attached Germany by air.
Destruction was extensive.
By the summer of 1941, the “Blitz” had stopped as Hitler
needed German bombers for an attack on the Soviet
Union.
"Arm yourselves, and be ye men
of valour, and be in readiness for
the conflict; for it is better for us
to perish in battle than to look
upon the outrage of our nation
and our altar."
Winston Churchill
This was quoted by Churchill in his
first broadcast as Prime Minister to
the British people on the BBC, May
19, 1940, London.
WWII DVDs
“Battle of Britain”
(scene 5 – to 45 min)
Barborossa
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Operation Barbarossa, the German plan for Soviet
invasion began 22 June 1941. This ended the NaziSoviet Non-Aggression Pact (Hitler had never intended
to honour this agreement on a permanent basis).
The attack was a surprise to the Russians. Millions of
Russians were killed or captured.
By the end of 1941, the Germans were within 30 km
from Moscow.
The Russian winter would be the only thing that would
halt the Nazis.
In the spring of 1942, the German pressed their way to
Stalingrad. The Soviets were able to stall the Nazis at
Stalingrad. This was a brutal urban fight. Soviets were
able to surround the German army. Casualties were
extensive.
This ended any Nazi hopes of advances in the east.
Tiger Tank (German)
Ferdinand Tank
(German)
T-34 Tank (Russian)
WWII – “Battle for Russia” (20 to 34 min)
and “Enemy at the Gates” (scene 2 to
Africa
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Africa was another theatre of war during the
war.
Allied troops fought Hitler’s troops in northern
Africa that were under Rommel’s control.
Eventually the allies were able to gain control
of this theatre.
USA
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Deeply isolationist population
FDR wanted to help Britain
Lend-Lease Act – USA gives warships to
Britain for bases around the world
Tried to get the Nazis to torpedo him on
convoys
Isolated Japanese from oil and steel
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they gave the USA friendship medals and
pretended to negotiate
SS 26-1
Pearl Harbour
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On the 7 December 1941 Japanese warplanes
roared in over Pearl Harbor, the American navy’s
main base in the Pacific Ocean. Both ship and
soldier losses were great.
On the 8 December 1941 the United States
declared war on Japan.
Since Germany was Japan’s ally, Hitler declared
war on the USA.
This brought the United States into the European
and Asian theatres. Remember that the United
States had been involved in the war through
mechanisms such as the Lend-Lease Agreement.
“Pearl Harbour”
Battle of the Atlantic
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The success of the allies (Britain) depended on
being able to get supplies and troops from other
parts of the world. These resources needed to be
delivered to Europe via the Atlantic Ocean.
The Germans used U-boats to try to stop these
convoys of ships making it to Europe.
The allies needed to protect their ships, thus created
maritime battles.
The allies developed defences and convoy escorts
to protect against German submarines
This was effective. Of the 1162 German subs built,
1069 were sunk or surrendered.
Italy
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In July 1943, Italians overthrew Mussolini, as
a British-American advance seemed
imminent.
In September, a new Italian government
made peace with the allies.
By the spring of 1944, Hitler has rushed
German troops into Italy to stop the allies in
Italy. The allies would eventually push the
Nazis out of Italy.
Allied Advances
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There was common resistance to the Nazis throughout
Europe by ordinary people.
The year 1942 saw the turning of the tide, with the
battles of Midway in the Pacific, El Alamein in Egypt, and
Stalingrad in southern U.S.S.R.
On 6 June 1944, D-Day, the long-awaited second front in
Europe came with the allied invasion of Europe. Eight
American, British and Canadian divisions landed by sea
or parachuted down along a 100 km stretch of French
coastline.
Operation Overlord had been a success with 640, 000
allied troops landed in France within the first month.
By December, the allies had pushed the Nazis back to
their own border.
“Saving Private Ryan”
War’s End
Surrender of Germany
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By late 1944, Hitler’s army was falling back
everywhere.
Russian soldiers had fought their way across
Eastern Europe and into Germany. The British and
Americans had pushed their way through France,
the Low Countries and into Germany.
In his bunker under Berlin, Hitler shot himself on 30
April 1945.
German troops surrendered between the 7th and
9th of May.
Pacific Theatre
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Japanese expansion.
Pearl Harbour
American success at the Battle of Midway.
The Bomb - “Crusade in the Pacific”
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On 6 August 1945 an American bomber
dropped an atomic bomb over the Japanese
city of Hiroshima. It wiped out most of
Hiroshima and killed almost 10,000 of its
people.
A few days later a second atomic bomb was
dropped on the city of Nagasaki.
Japan subsequently surrendered.
Attrocities
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50 to 60 million dead
bombing of civilians
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Dresden
Atomic bomb
Rotterdam
Holocaust
Huge loss of infrastructure
Suspension of human rights, world wide
The War at Home
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Many Canadians had their lives touched by
the war.
Mobilized the population to contribute to “the
war effort”.
Women started to take jobs that men had.
Exposure to propaganda.
Dehumanization of enemies.
Conferences
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Teheran a meeting between Stalin, Churchill and
Roosevelt between 28 November and 5 December 1943.
An agreement was reached on the creation of a second
front in France to be launched in Jun 1944. Postwar
Polish borders were also discussed.
Yalta February 1945. The “Big Three” met and
discussed the partition of Germany. The capital, Berlin,
was to be divided into three zones and put under military
occupation. German industries were to be dismantled
and reparations levied. This was proposed by the
Soviets and France and Britain supported the
reconstruction of Europe.
Potsdam End of July 1945. Disagreements broke out
between Truman and Stalin on many issues. In a sense,
the Cold War had begun.
The map afterwards