World War II in Europe

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World War II in Europe

• Chapter 32

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World War II September 1, 1939 World War II
begins in Europe with the German invasion of
Poland.
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BLITZKRIEG

• Lightning War coordinated and rapid attacks
  of planes, tanks, artillery
• Soviets simultaneously took eastern half of
  Poland
• Stalin then took the Baltic countries (Latvia,
  Lithuania, Estonia)

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The Winter War (Nov. 1939-March 1940)

• When Finland would not give the Soviets military
  bases on their territory, USSR invaded
• USSR failed to occupy Finland, but gained
  territory

Finnish ski troops in Northern Finland Jan. 12,
1940.
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Fighting in Early 1940

• After invasion of Poland, Germany was idle for 7
  months Phony War or Sitzkrieg
• April 9, 1940 Germany invades Denmark and
  Norway
• May 10 German Army invades France, Belgium,
  Luxembourg and the Netherlands Winston Churchill
  appointed British Prime Minister
• French troops mass along Maginot Line

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Nazi Invasion of France, Netherlands, Belgium
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Evacuation of Dunkirk (May-June 1940)

• Britain rushed every ship (military or
  otherwise) to Dunkirk
• Saved approx. 338,000 troops, including Free
  French

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June 22, 1940 France Surrenders

• Germany occupied Northern France
• Set up puppet government known as Vichy France
• Britain now left to fight in Europe alone

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Winston Churchill and the Battle of Britain
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Winston Churchill and the Battle of Britain

• Hitlers 1st Fatal Mistake
• British RAF (Royal Air Force) pilots defeated the
  Germans British had radar
• Battle fought over Great Britain from July 10,
  1940 to October 31, 1940
• The Blitz begins on Sept. 7, 1940
• Germany never able to invade Great Britain

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Battle of Britain Cartoon
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Axis Power Expansion through Sept. 1942

• Sept. 27 Tripartite alliance formed between
  Germany, Italy and Japan become Axis Powers
• By 1940, Axis powers control all of W. Europe
  except neutral Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland
• Spain technically neutral, but really pro-Axis

• Hungary and Romania join Axis
• 1941 Bulgaria joins Axis
• Resistance movements set up in all occupied
  countries

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German Attack on USSR

• Operation Barbarossa
• Wanted oil and farmland
• Hitlers 2nd fatal mistake
• Generals advised against it
• Opened up two-front war
• Soviet (Red) army not effective or prepared
• Stalin had purged (removed) many officers in 1937
• Soviets scorched earth policy
• Supply lines back to Germany too long
• Winter came and decimated both sides

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Siege of Leningrad

• The siege lasted for a total of 900 days, from
  September 8 1941 until January 27 1944.
• The city's almost 3 million civilians (including
  about 400,000 children) refused to surrender and
  endured rapidly increasing hardships in the
  encircled city. Food and fuel stocks were limited
  to a mere 1-2 month supply, and by the winter of
  1941-42 there was no heating, no water supply,
  almost no electricity and very little food.
• In January 1942 in the depths of an unusually
  cold winter, the city's food rations reached an
  all time low of only ¼ lb.of bread per person per
  day.
• In just two months, January and February of 1942,
  200,000 people died in Leningrad of cold and
  starvation. 2,000,000 people total died in the
  siege.

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Allies Turn the Tide

• U.S. joins the war after Pearl Harbor attacked
  (Dec. 7, 1941)
• 1st place they attack was in North Africa
• In Spring of 1942, Allies gained victory in North
  Africa over Erwin Rommel, the Desert Fox, at
  the Battle of El Alamein turning point
• Winston Churchill "Before Alamein we never had a
  victory, after Alamein we never had a defeat.

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Allies Turn the Tide (cont.)

• Fall of 1942, Germans defeated by Soviets at
  Stalingrad
• May of 1943, Germans in North Africa Surrender
• Key British figure was Bernard Montgomery
• First fighting by Americans on the European Front
  (Dwight D. Eisenhower)
• The Invasion of Italy
• U.S. General George S. Patton takes Sicily
• Mussolini overthrown
• Bloody Anzio
• Italy officailly joins the Allies
• Mussolini sets-up a quasi-government in Northern
  Italy
• German soldiers continue to fight in Italy (hold
  up in the Alps)

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Attack on Stalingrad (1942-3)
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More about Stalingrad

• Hitler ordered the taking of Stalingrad, and the
  Battle was waged from July 17, 1942 to Feb. 2,
  1943.
• Stalingrad was a major industrial city and was on
  the Volga River, a vital transportation route in
  Russia that could be cut off if captured.
• Also important for propaganda purposes
• One of the bloodiest battles/campaigns in history
  with about 2 million casualties
• Urban warfare fighting took place in streets,
  from buildings, etc. snipers used
• Battle ended with German 6th Army either killed
  or captured
• Turning point in the War in the East

Vassili Zaitsev
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Soviet Counter-Attack
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Operation Overlord D-Day, June 6 1944
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D-Day

• Preparation for Invasion
• Buildup troops in England
• Germany prepares the coast of France for invasion
• D-Day (June 6, 1944)
• Largest landing force in history invade Normandy
• 24,000 para-troopers sent the night of June 5th
• 175,000 troops land on the beaches
• 5,000 ships involved
• Invasion successful, though costly
• Within weeks all of France was under Allied
  control

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Normandy Beaches Assaulted
http//www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Studio/1327/ima
ges.html http//www.worldwar2database.com/html/nor
mandy.htm
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Cost of the Battle
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• Paris liberated on August 25, 1944
• Hitler made one, last desperate counterattack in
  what became the Battle of the Bulge from Dec. 16,
  1944 Jan. 28, 1945

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Battle of the Bulge
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End of the War in Europe

• April 28th, 1945 Mussolini and his mistress
  executed by members of the Italian resistance

Hitler was terrified by Mussolinis fate and
wanted to avoid a similar fate at all costs.
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End of the War in Europe

• By April of 1945, American units were approaching
  Berlin from the West, while Soviet troops were
  approaching from the East
• Hitler realized it was the end, and committed
  suicide on April 30th after marrying his
  long-time mistress, Eva Braun
• Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945 (V-E Day)

Hitlers Bunker
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