BLITZKRIEG AND THE NAZI WAR MACHINE

1. BLITZKRIEG AND THE NAZI WAR MACHINE

2. BLITZKRIEG • Blitzkrieg = “ lightning war” • New war fighting tactic developed by Nazis • Combined use of armored infantry/tanks/Panzers + air power • Focus on speed and smashing force

3. THE EARLY WAR 1939-1940 • THE PHONY WAR = period of no fighting in fall/winter of 1939-1940 • THE MAGINOT LINE = concrete and steel fortifications the French built along border with Germany • APRIL 1940 - Hitler attacks and conquers Denmark and Norway • June 1940 – Hitler attacks France

4. MAGINOT LINE = FAILURE

5. THE NAZI CONQUEST OF FRANCE • June 1940 – Hitler attacks France • German forces outflank Maginot Line • DUNKIRK = 330,000 British soldiers are evacuated across the Channel on all boats • France surrenders • Nazis occupy northern 3/5’s of country • VICHY FRANCE = southern France est. a collaborationist puppet state led by MARSHAL HENRI PETAIN • THE FREE FRENCH = French government in exile is led by Charles de Gaulle

6. DUNKIRK -> the British evacuation of the continent

7. THE FUHRER VISITS CONQUERED PARIS

8. WINSTON CHURCHILL • May 1940 replaces Chamberlain as PM • Against appeasement in the 1930’s • Advocated standing up to Hitler in 1930’s • Inspiring leader/great speaker • Refused to make any kind of deal with Hitler ever

9. CHURCHILL INSPIRES THE ENGLISH PEOPLE “... we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.” Winston Churchill 1940

10. THE BATTLE OF BRITAINAutumn 1940 • Hitler’s air war against Britain • LUFTWAFFE = German air force • RAF = British air force • Ultra and radar • “the blitz” – terror bombing of English cities • Battle of Britain fails for the Nazis

11. NORTH AFRICA • German forces invade N. Africa • Erwin Rommel = leader of the German “AfrikaKorps” • Bernard Montgomery = leader of the British forces – “the desert rats”

12. OPERATION BARBAROSSA • June 1941 Hitler invades the Soviet Union • By Nov. 1941 the Germans are right outside Moscow and Leningrad • Then comes the Russian winter!

13. THE WAR IN ASIA • Imperial Japan • Japanese invasion of Manchuria • December 7, 1941 – attack on Pearl Harbor • Great East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere = the Japanese empire in the Pacific • Naval war

14. THE TURNING POINT OF THE WAR 1942 1943 • German forces advancing in N. Africa • Battle of the Atlantic = nazi subs attacking allied ships • Nazi advance into southern Russia • Germans stopped in N. Africa at Battle of El Alamein • American invade N. Africa • Stalingrad – nazi forces stopped in Russia • Battle of Coral Sea – Japanese forces stopped • Battle of Midway – Americans destroy Japanese fleet

15. THE GRAND ALLIANCE The Allies Unconditional Surrender Britain – Winston Churchill Soviet Union – Joseph Stalin United States – Franklin D. Roosevelt The leaders of the Allied powers agree to demand the unconditional surrender of Germany and Japan  no special deals or agreements

16. THE NORMANDY INVASION = D-DAY • The Allied invasion of France • Organized by Eisenhower • Attack across the English Channel land forces on the Normandy coast of France

17. OPERATION OVERLORD -> D-DAY

18. THE ALLIED INVASION OF FRANCE

19. THE LAST YEARS OF THE WAR June 1944 – Normandy invasion Aug. 1944 – Paris is liberated Winter 1944/45 – the Battle of the Bulge Jan. 1945 – Soviets occupy Warsaw Mar. 1945 – Anglo-American armies cross Rhine April 1945 – Soviets enter Berlin April 30, 1945 – Hitler commits suicide May 7, 1945 – Germany surrender/V-E Day

20. THE END OF THE PACIFIC WAR • The Pacific theater 1943-1945  island hopping • Aug. 1945 – America drops the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki