WW2 in Europe
Cards (26)
- Invasion of Poland (Germany)-Gleiwitz radio station was attacked giving them the excuse to invade. This incident was staged-1 Sep 1939, Germany invade Poland consisting of 1.5 million troops-Luftwaffe targetted towns and cities-Allies declare war
- Invasion of Poland (USSR)-Sep 17, Stalin invades Poland from the East-German and Soviet forces meet and have a military parade
- Consequences of Polish invasion-10k dead at Warsaw bombing-140k Poles surrendered-Oct 6, Poland surrenders
- Nazi occupation of Polad-Around 6 million Poles dies over the war-German officials staffed a General Government-Many ghettos were built-Forced labour from a young age
- Polish resistance-Polish underground state assassinated Nazis-Nazis and Soviets responded with executions-In 1943, Germans entered Warsaw ghetto and Jewish fought back and killed Nazis
- Invasion of France-13th May, Germans unleashed a massive Blitzkrieg offensive in the Ardennes region-1 week later, they had reached the English channel-6 weeks later, the French surrendered as Germany had captured Paris due to their Blitzkrieg tactics of using fast tanks to invade with speed-Hitler bypassed the strong defences of the Maginot Line-German army was superior. They had built up the Luftwaffe
- Spirit of Dunkirk-British government hoped that 50k troops would be rescued-Over 200k British troops managed to escape-This happened mostly at night when the Luftwaffe couldn't operate-Many German bombs failed to explode when they hit the sand-RAF fighters fought off many of the German aircraft-Hundreds of ships helped transport soldiers back to Britain
- Why Dunkirk was a defeat-Huge amounts of vital equipment left behind: 475 tanks and 1000 artillery guns-France felt betrayed and British soldiers were initially given priority of rescue over the French-The evacuation only occurred because 40k French troops defended Dunkirk and most got captured-France surrendered on the 22nd of June and an armistice was signed
- German occupation of France-Hitler allowed a pro-German French government to rule Vichy France-The government was authoritarian, lead by Marshall Petain-They introduced tight controls over the media, and followed Nazi beliefs-They resisted joining the war on Germany's side
- Operation Sealion background-Planned invasion of Britain in September 1940-Aimed for the German Luftwaffe to win control of the skies over the English channel-Then an army invasion can be launched from the French coast-Required the RAF to be defeated
- Op Sealion-Plan was delayed by a few months allowing Britain to prepare-German navy was weak-British Spitfire fighter planes were effective against the Luftwaffe
- Background to battle of Britain-Op Sealion-Battle for control of the skies-Lasted from July to October-Blitz-First ever aerial battle-Initial target were the radar stations in the south east
- Why Britain won Battle of Britain-Britain's defences had been given time to recover and plane production continued-The RAF were successful in defeating them, they possessed superior aircraft and British pilots were better trained
- Was battle of britain a turning point for-psychologically importance-Postponement allowed Britain to strengthen
- Was battle of britain a turning point against-caused German troops to die but weakened British forces as over 500 men died-Hitler's failure encouraged him to invade the Soviet Union which was initially successful
- Blitz-Lasted until May 1941-As the Luftwaffe seemed to be winning, the RAF bombed Berlin-Hitler ordered Goering to bomb London and other cities-About 500 people were killed-The raids allowed the RAF time to strengthen
- Blitz spirit for-British cities were bombed but the British remained unconquered and Hitler was forced to admit defeat-Churchill's propaganda was effective to keep spirits high-War production kept high-People were united in order to survive
- Blitz spirit against-Crime rates doubled as people looted-The golden age of crime due to blackout bombings and lack of police-Many strikes suggesting people weren't as happy as thought-There was no bread, no milk, no electricity, no gas
- Operation Barbarossa details-June 22 1941, greatest invasion in history-3 million German troops-Thousands of tanks and planes-German forces moved quickly using Blitzkrieg tactics-Soviet troops were disorganised and did not expect the betrayal
- Why Barbarossa was initially successful-Blitzkrieg-Massive commitment-Disorganisation-Parts of Soviet Union welcomed Germans as they hated Communism
- Failure of Barbarossa-The war was not won by the Summer-German soldiers were at the suburbs of Moscow by October 1941-Winter had arrived and due to Hitler's overconfidence, his soldiers had not been equipped with winter equipment. Supplies were running out-In December 1941, in freezing temperatures, fresh Soviet troops launched a counter invasion and the Germans were pushed back
- Battle of Stalingrad-In June 1942, the German army attacked the South of Russia-Only sent the 6th Panzer army led by General Paulus-Hitler wanted Stalingrad out of pride due to the city's name and the strategic location (Volta river, natural resources)-Over 40k were killed on the first day-Catastrophic defeat for Germany-Soviets defended it heavily
- Turning point in Stalingrad-By late 1942, the German 6th Army was exhausted and winter was approaching and Zhukov had built up fresh forces either side of the city and launched an encirclement attack trapping Paulus' army-Germans lost half a million men during the battle of Stalingrad
- Impact of Stalingrad-Pushed Germany back to its mainland-psychological-500k German's died
- Why Germany lost-Stretched out too thinly-They were fighting on several fronts and their military and resources were spread thin making them vulnerable to the counterattack.-Hitler's tactics-6th army was not enough and they eventually became exhausted, meanwhile the Soviets were building up their men
- Not a turning point, stalingrad-Battle of Britain-Failure of Barbarossa