World War II: Blitzkrieg, North Africa, and the Eastern Front Theme: Hitler’s Initial Success

1. World War II:Blitzkrieg, North Africa, and the Eastern FrontTheme: Hitler’s Initial Success Lesson 19

2. Allied Political Leaders Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin

3. Axis Political Leaders Mussolini and Hitler Hirohito

4. Rise of Hitler (Where we left off in Lesson 11) • Treaty of Versailles was very punitive to Germany • Unemployment and other issues created conditions conducive for Hitler to rise to power Dec 21, 1931

5. Rebirth of Germany • Hitler reinstituted conscription (after France doubled the length of its conscripts’ service) and in March 1936 was strong enough to reoccupy the Rhineland • In June 1934, Hitler purged many of his paramilitary and the SS rose up to replace them

6. Germany’s Increasingly Militaristic Approach • In Nov 1937, Italy joined Germany in an alliance against the Soviet Union • In Mar 1938, Hitler forced Anschluss (union) with Austria • On Sept 29-30, the British and French foreign ministers attempted to appease Hitler by acquiescing to his demand for the Sudentenland under the understanding Hitler would make no more territorial demands • In March 1939 Hitler seized the western part of Czechoslovakia Neville Chamberlain

8. Continued Aggression • Britain and France now knew appeasement wouldn’t stop Hitler and they pledged to defend Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, and Poland against German aggression • On Aug 22, 1939, Russia and Germany signed a non-aggression pact • In the event of a German-Polish war, Russia could annex eastern Poland, Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania • On Sept 1, Hitler invaded Poland

9. Russia and Finland • On Nov 30, Russia attacked Finland and on Mar 12, 1940, the Finns finally surrendered • Russia’s army did not perform particularly well which made Hitler think the Russians would not be much of a challenge if Germany invaded Finnish infantry passing a destroyed Russian tank

10. French and German Plans forthe Battle of France 1940 • French anticipated the Germans attacking through the north as they did in World War I so they developed the Dye Plan to counter such an attack • Built the Maginot Line in the south to protect the border

11. Maginot Line • A line of concrete fortifications, tank obstacles, machine gun posts and other defenses which France constructed along her borders with Germany and Italy • The fortifications did not extend through the Ardennes Forest which was considered “impassable”

12. Surprise in the Ardennes • On May 12, 1940 Germany attacked through the weakly held Ardennes region • Penetrated Allied defenses at Sedan and Dinant and then began to envelop them

13. The Panzer's Race To The ChannelBattle of France: May 14-24, 1940

15. Dunkirk was the last evacuation port available to the Allies.

16. Dunkirk

17. Moving in for the Kill • German forces pressed the Allied armies trapped in the north, from south and east, into the English Channel. • Meanwhile, German infantry divisions reinforced the southern flank of the German penetration. • But…. Dunkirk Harbor ablaze from German bombing

18. Halt Order • Hitler halted the German armor • German armor had suffered heavy losses and would be needed to conquer the rest of France • Luftwaffe called upon to finish the job • Luftwaffe proved unable to destroy the British and French • Bases in western Germany were further away from Dunkirk than British planes were from their bases on the British Isles • 340,000 Allied troops were evacuated

19. The Weygand Line CollapsesBattle of France: June 4-14, 1940

20. Consolidation • On June 16 the French asked for an armistice. • Battle of Britain began. • “Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, ‘This was their finest hour.’” (Winston Churchill)

21. Italy Joins the Axis • On June 10, 1940, Mussolini declared war on Britain and France and four months later invaded Greece • In many ways Mussolini will hinder rather than help Hitler

22. Greatest Extent of Axis Control

23. Auftragstaktik • German interwar doctrine emphasized: • decentralized, mission-oriented orders (Auftragstaktik) • speed and exploitation of enemy weaknesses maximized by troop commanders taking the initiative (understand commander’s intent) • close integration and cooperation between combat branches (mobile warfare required armor, infantry, and artillery) • leadership from the front

24. North Africa

25. Italian Presence in North Africa • Since before World War II, Italy had been occupying Libya and had over a million soldiers based there • In neighboring Egypt, the British Army had only 36,000 men guarding the Suez Canal and the Arabian oilfields • On Sept 13, 1940, the Italians advanced into Egypt but halted in front of the main British defenses at Mersa Matruh • On Dec 9, the British counterattacked and pushed the Italians back more than 500 miles, inflicting heavy casualties • British troops then moved along the coast and on Jan 22, 1941, they captured the port of Tobruk in Libya

26. Germany to the Rescue • In the meantime, Germany sent forces across the Mediterranean to Tripoli • The Afrika Corps commanded by Erwin Rommel • Italy’s disasters in North Africa and elsewhere (i.e., Greece) threatened to undermine the Axis position in the Balkans and the Mediterranean

27. Rommel • Characteristically Rommel attacked and drove the British Commonwealth forces out of Libya except for Tobruk • With the situation in North Africa stabilized, Hitler turned his attention to shoring up Italy, leaving Rommel to deal with North Africa • One of Rommel’s biggest challenges would be his long, tenuous supply line • Between Oct and Nov the Allies sank nearly 80% of Axis supply ships crossing the Mediterranean

28. Rommel • Rommel pushed the British deep into Egypt but Montgomery stopped Rommel at El Alamein in July 1942

29. Operation Torch • While this was going on in Egypt and Libya, Americans acquiesced to British pressure and began planning Operation Torch– landings to occupy Algeria and Morocco and co-opt the Vichy French • The “Vichy French” had reached an agreement with the Germans allowing a French government headed by Marshall Henri Pétain to govern the French colonies and those parts of France not occupied by the Germans • The “Free French” established their own government in exile led by Charles de Gaulle

30. Operation Torch • The Anglo-American forces landed at Casablanca, Oran, and Algiers and then advanced by land and sea to Tunisia

31. Operation Torch • At first the Vichy French resisted, but eventually surrendered • Hitler began rushing troops to Tunis before the Allies could get there • Hitler was successful in winning “the race to Tunis” and therefore denying the Mediterranean to Allied shipping but he did so at a great price, committing Italian and German troops to an ultimately hopeless fight when they could have been better used elsewhere

33. Kasserine Pass • By January, Rommel had escaped from Libya and arrived in Tunisia • He developed a plan to sweep up from southern Tunisia and destroy the Allied supply dumps in eastern Algiers • Rommel attacked on February 14 and punched his way through the Kasserine Pass • It was a tactical victory, but Rommel was unable to continue with his larger plan and began withdrawing on Feb 22

34. Germans Defeated • Rommel then turned south against the British who were arriving from Egypt • British General Bernard Montgomery dealt Rommel a stunning defeat and Rommel personally left Africa • The Axis position in North Africa steadily deteriorated and in early May the Allies controlled Tunisia American soldiers enter Kasserine Pass

35. First Battle • The Americans did not perform very well in their first combat experience and senior leadership was horrible • General Eisenhower was forced to relieve Lloyd Fredendall of command and replace him with George Patton Lloyd Fredendall, commander of the American II Corps

36. Results of North Africa • The Germans had wasted valuable resources in an indecisive theater • Mussolini was severely weakened domestically • The Americans learned from their poor performance and made the necessary changes • The British and American coalition weathered a potentially threatening storm

37. The Eastern Front • On June 22, 1941, Hitler invaded Russia in Operation Barbarossa • The operation encompassed a total troop strength of about 4 million men, making it the biggest single land operation ever • Benefiting from initial surprise, by the end of July Hitler had occupied a portion of Russia twice the size of France • However, by the time the Germans reached the outskirts of Moscow in December, the Russian winter had set in • Remember what we talked about in Lesson 10 about Napoleon’s invasion of Russia

38. Operation Barbarossa

39. The Eastern Front • In the total four years of fighting on the Eastern Front, an estimated 4 million Axis and 9 million Russians were killed in battle • 20 million Soviet civilians were killed as a result of extermination campaigns against Jews, communists and partisans, casual massacres, reprisal killings, diseases, and (sometimes planned) starvation.

40. Stalingrad (Aug 1942-Feb 1943)

41. Stalingrad

42. Stalingrad

43. Stalingrad

44. Casablanca Conference • After the Axis surrender in Tunisia, the Allies began planning the next phase of the war • Roosevelt and Churchill met in Casablanca, Morocco in January 1943 • Stalin had been invited, but declined to attend because of Stalingrad

45. Strategic Differences • US argued for a cross channel invasion to directly attack Germany • Churchill preferred an indirect approach, attacking through the “soft underbelly of Europe” • Reflected the preference for peripheral operations he had shown in World War I

46. British Approach

47. American Approach

48. Casablanca ConferenceJan 1943 • Britain • “the control of the Mediterranean meant… control of the Western world.” • Had imperial fortunes in Egypt, the Middle East, and India • Felt it was the Axis’ vulnerable point • Americans • “periphery pecking” would delay the cross-channel invasion that would strike the German jugular

49. What They Agreed On • Forces from Operation Torch could continue on to Sicily once the North African Campaign was terminated • Churchill knew this would preclude a cross-channel invasion in 1943 • At the end of the conference, Roosevelt announced that “peace can come to the world only by the total elimination of German and Japanese military power . . . (which) means unconditional surrender.”

50. Next • World War II (continued) • Italy • Normandy