CONFLICT IN EUROPE By Ken Webb

CONFLICT IN EUROPEByKen Webb

HSC: 2013?? • Question 20 – Option B: Conflict in Europe 1935-45 (25 marks) • Evaluate the view that the growth of European tensions before 1939 was the result of the collapse of collective security. • To what extent was the defeat of Germany the result of the intervention of the United States in the war?

The allied victory/ Nazi defeat

Why did the war end the way it did? • Here is my ‘twenty reasons why’ approach • Here is my ‘turning point’ approach • Here is my ‘specialist reason’ approach • Here is my ‘it all depends on your perspective’ approach • Here is my ‘the allies were simply too strong’ approach • Here is my ‘it was the Nazis’ own fault’ approach • Here is my ‘it was all Hitler’s fault’ approach

Here is my ‘twenty reasons why’ approach Anglo-American bombing campaign The impact of the Battle of Stalingrad Eventual allied mastery of the Atlantic WHY? Strength of anti- Nazi resistance groups Churchill’s refusal to surrender

Here is my ‘turning point’ approach The Battle of Britain The Battle of Stalingrad The turning point of the war The Battle of Kursk The Battle of El Alamein Victory in the Battle of The Atlantic, mid-1943

Here is my ‘specialist reason’ approach The Ultra operation Hitler’s failing health and his loss of a grip on reality The Nazi defeat was all due to this……. The role of resistance and partisan groups The impact of allied bombing of Germany

Here is my ‘it all depends on your perspective’ approach • The nationalist perspective: • Thank god for America • Britain never gave in • The Nazis were bled dry in the east • An analytical perspective: • War is all about economics • War is all about strategic thinking • War is all about the moral high ground • It’s all a matter of luck………….

Here is my ‘the allies were simply too strong’ approach The combined economic strength of the US, Britain, Russia, the British Empire The vastly larger combined population of the allied powers The longer the war dragged on, the greater the likelihood of an inevitable allied victory over the Axis powers By mid-1944 the Nazis were having to fight on three fronts The allied control of the sea and the air by 1943

Here is my ‘it was the Nazis’ own fault’ approach The chaos of the Nazi regime The deadweight of Nazi ideology Germany’s late switch to total war The Nazis’ own fault Infighting, jealousy and petty rivalries Military interference The ineptitude of Goering

Here is my ‘it was all Hitler’s fault’ approach Lack of a long-term strategy Self-belief in his military skills Over confidence It was Hitler’s fault The Wolf’s Lair phenomenon Mistaken loyalties Hitler’s management style

Historians to consider: (1) • Norman Davies: “Europe at War” • In essence: World War II involved two monsters – the allied victory was due to the ability of the Red monster to destroy the Nazi monster

Historians to consider (2) • Richard Overy: “Why the allies won” • In essence: allied victory was not inevitable – was the result of the allies’ ability to maximise war-making potential and the Nazis’ failure to do this

Historians to consider: (3) • James Duffy: “Hitler slept late: And other blunders that cost him the war” • In essence: allied victory was due to Hitler’s failure to have a long-term strategy and his belief in the strength of his own will

Historians to consider (4) • Andrew Roberts: “The Storm of War” • Germany lost the war because of its single-minded preoccupation with the racial aspect and its ideological war aims

Andrew Roberts’ views • If Hitler had not been a Nazi: • he probably would have not started the war • but he might have well have won it • Ideology always prevailed: • When the war going badly, the “final solution” was pursued forcefully: • Scarce transportation resources wasted • Millions of potential workers gassed • Jewish scientists were in New Mexico instead of Germany • Women were not used • Social Darwinist thinking forbade retreat, compromise

Andrew Roberts’ conclusion “The real reason that Hitler lost the Second World War was exactly the same reason that caused him to unleash it in the first place: he was a Nazi.”

The REAL answer to the story?? IT WAS JUST LUCK!

The REAL answer to the story?? IT WAS JUST LUCK! May 1940: we got Churchill instead of Lord Halifax - lucky

The REAL answer to the story?? IT WAS JUST LUCK! May 1940: we got Churchill instead of Lord Halifax - lucky In the Battle of Britain, Hitler switched from airfields to London - lucky

The REAL answer to the story?? IT WAS JUST LUCK! May 1940: we got Churchill instead of Lord Halifax - lucky In the Battle of Britain, Hitler switched from airfields to London - lucky In Operation Barborossa, Hitler went for Kiev instead of Moscow - lucky

The REAL answer to the story?? IT WAS JUST LUCK! May 1940: we got Churchill instead of Lord Halifax - lucky In the Battle of Britain, Hitler switched from airfields to London - lucky In Operation Barborossa, Hitler went for Kiev instead of Moscow - lucky December 1941, Hitler declared war on the United States - lucky

CONFLICT IN EUROPE By Ken Webb