World War II Hitlers Lightning War Loss of

World War II Hitler’s Lightning War

Loss of Life n n n 5, 328 soldiers lost their life in the Battle of the Bulge. This memorial is located in Belgium. What are your feelings on this picture?

Hitler’s Lightning War n n n Section 1 Objectives Summarize the events leading to an all-out war in Europe. Describe the fall of France and the Battle of Britain. Explain the conflict in the Mediterranean and the Eastern Front. Explain the importance of the United States to the Allies.

Alliances n n Germany, Italy and Japan united and became the Axis powers. Russia and Germany sign a 10 -year nonaggression pact. This keeps Germany from having to fight a two-front war. Secretly, Germany and the Soviet Union agreed to divide Poland.

September 1, 1939 n n Hitler’s army invades Poland. German planes dropped bombs. Tanks and troop carriers roared into Poland destroyed the capitol of Warsaw. Germany’s new war tactic was titled: blitzkrieg or “lightning war. ”

The Allies n n n Britain and France entered the war two days after the German invasion of Poland. The Soviet Union began to mobilize troops to occupy the Eastern half of Poland. Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania fell quickly. Finland put up a fight, but eventually fell to the Soviet Union.

Battle for France and Britain n n In 1940, Hitler’s army conquered Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg. Hitler then sent troops through the Ardennes. The Germans were able to pierce the Maginot Line. In 10 days the Germans reached the Northern Coast and trapped Allied soldiers.

Battle of Dunkirk n n n The Allied soldiers escaped to the beach of Dunkirk surrounded with their backs to the sea. The British sent a fleet of ships back and forth across the English channel to rescue troops. For nearly ten days, the boats carried 338, 000 soldiers to safety.

Captured troops at Dunkirk

Italy Enters the War n n n Sensing France’s demise, Benito Mussolini and Italy joined the war and attacked France from the South. France fell to the Germans in late June. Charles De Gaulle set up a government in England intent on reconquering France.

Britain is all alone n n Britain was the only country left to fight against the Germans. Hitler’s plan was to invade Great Britain. AKA Operation Sea Lion Germany planned to knock out the Air Force then invade with 250, 000 troops. Germany began to bomb cities instead of air fields, allowing the Air Force to strike back. Neville Chamberlain

Two Weapons save Britain n n Secret Weapon #1: radar. Radar could track the number, speed and direction of incoming aircraft. Secret Weapon #2: Enigma was a German code-breaking machine that the British gained possession of. In a paragraph (3 -4 sentences), explain what advantage these weapons gave the British.

Battle of Britain Ends n n n Hitler calls off the attacks of Britain nearly a year later in order to focus on the Eastern Front and the Mediterranean. Mussolini’s troops invaded North Africa and moved towards Egypt. The goal was to take control of the Suez canal and oil in the Middle East.

Hitler’s Mistake n n Hitler had control of Poland, the Balkans, France, parts of North Africa, and had Britain isolated. Hitler rescinds the nonaggression pact and invades Russia. Operation Barbarossa began in June of 1941. The Russians retreated and implemented the scorched-earth policy.

Leningrad n n n Germany surrounded Leningrad and bombed food storage facilities and warehouses. Trapping 2. 5 million people with no food through the winter. One million Russians perished through the winter, but Hitler never gained control.

Germany moves to Moscow n n The Germans left Leningrad and attacked Moscow in December. As temperatures dropped, the Germans retreated. Hitler ordered “No retreat” and the Germans held the Eastern front through the Winter. Germany lost 500, 000 troops.

United States n n n After WWI, most people in the United States felt the US should stay out of the war. President Roosevelt and Winston Churchill meet to sign the Atlantic Charter which upheld free trade among nations. The United States did not expect Japan to draw them into war.