We Shall Fight on the Beaches

1. We Shall Fight on the Beaches

2. What are we looking at today? • Battle for Britain • Operation Sealion • Battle of Britain • Operation Barbarossa

3. Fortress Europe …britain stands alone

4. Battle For Britain: Britain Prepares • Winston Churchill delivers his famous “Finest Hour” speech • France falls four days later • Hitler assumed that England would not continue fighting • The British focus on preparing the Royal Air Force (RAF) • Britain remains firm in her commitment to stopping Hitler

5. Operation Sealion:German Invasion • Codename given to the German military plan to invade Britain • Surprise initiative • Land 160,000 men on a forty-five mile costal stretch of south-east England • Crossing of the English Channel launched from French ports • 3 full armies including Panzer divisions • The only thing stopping the Germans is...? Royal Air Force

6. Operation Sealion:Directive 16 • 16 July 1940 • “Since England, in spite of her hopeless military situation, shows no signs of being ready to come to an understanding, I have decided to prepare a landing operation against England and, if necessary, to carry it out. The aim of this operation will be to eliminate the English homeland as a base for the prosecution of the war against Germany and, if necessary, to occupy it completely.” -Adolf Hitler • With this the Battle of Britain begins.

7. Hermann Goering

8. Battle of Britain:And the winner should be... RAF- British Luftwaffe- German Strengths: Between 1600-2000 planes Messerschmitt Stukka Skilled pilots Confidence Weaknesses Fighting in enemy territory Short range planes • Strengths: • Between 600-1000 planes • Spitfire • Hurricanes • Familiar Territory • Radar stations • Weaknesses • Lacked skilled pilots Victory Odds favour Luftwaffe

9. Battle Of Britain:phase one- channel battles Bombed Radar Station • 10 July 1940 • Lasts one month • German Luftwaffe focuses efforts on: • Interrupting shipping • Hit Ports • Limited RAF bombings (Radar stations) • 1 August 1940 • Directive 17 • “The attacks are to be directed primarily against flying units, their ground installations, and their supply organizations, but also against the aircraft industry, including that manufacturing antiaircraft equipment.”- Adolf Hitler

10. Battle of Britain:phase two- eagle Attack • Objective: Destroy RAF • Attacks on radar positions • Precision attacks on the enemy airfield • 13 August 1940 • Adlertag or Eagle Day • Massive German offensive • 1500 Luftwaffe vs. 700 RAF • Target was radar stations in southern Britain • 20 August 1940 • The Alderangriff (bombers) keep up attacks • Churchill addresses the public

11. Battle of Britain:An accident changes a war • Early Morning 25 August 1940 • A pilot gets lost on a mission and accidentally bombed central London • Directive 17- Luftwaffe ordered not to hit cities • Night 25 August 1940 • Churchill orders attack on Berlin • 80 RAF bomb Berlin • Hit Hitler’s ego “If the British bomb our cities, we will bury theirs”- Adolf Hitler

12. Battle of Britain:Phase three- the blitz • Standing order against civilian targets is eliminated • 7 September 1940 • High point of battle- fierce fight • Luftwaffe suffers huge losses • Big push • London is attacked day and night • Lasts 57 nights London after bombing

13. Canadian Women • Jill Canucks • Served as firefighters • Nurses, drivers • Pregnancy considered grounds for dismissal

14. Battle of Britain: German retreat • 17 September 1940 • The Blitz has produced little results • Hitler postpones Operation Sealion until further notice • Raids become smaller after this date • 12 October 1940 • Hitler formally postpones the invasion until 1941 • Britain begins to rebuild and consolidate Sign reads: “Dig for Victory”

15. Battle of Britain:What went wrong? • Tactics and fire power favoured Germany • Germans overestimation the damage caused • Changed their plans half way through • Luftwaffe did not replace fallen planes • Deplorable military intelligence • German attention turns to Soviet Union • Luftwaffe bombed Britain until end of war • RAF lost 1,000 planes • Luftwaffe lost 1,900 Theatre shifts eastward

16. Operation Barbarossa:Russian Invasion • Mein Kampf- made reference to conquering USSR • Hitler called it Operation Barbarossa in reference to Frederick Barbarossa • Hitler used Lebensraum to justify attack • German army at beginning: • 3 million soldiers • 3500 tanks • 2000 planes • 750,000 horses • 22 June 1941- Operation Barbarossa begins “We have only to kick in the front door and the whole rotten Russian edifice will come tumbling down.” - Adolf Hitler

17. Operation Barbarossa:Tactics German Tactics: German Army wanted to push only for MOSCOW Hitler changed their plan to a three prong attack MOSCOW KIEV LENINGRAD Soviet Tactics Scorched Earth “Not a step back!” Winter

18. Operation Barbarossa:phase one- German advance, 1941/42 The Northern Army: Begin attack: Leningrad (1 Sept) Encircles: Leningrad (15 Sept 42) Ends: (27 Jan 44) The Centre Army: Take: Minsk (29 June) Take: Smolensk (15 July) Begin attack: Moscow (26 Sept) Lift siege: Moscow (5 Dec) The South Army: Begin attack: Kiev (11 July) Ends: Kiev (27 Sept) Advance: Stalingrad The three armies remain at these positions until 1943/44

19. Operation Barbarossa: Soviet Counter-Offensive 1942/43 The North Army: Operation Spark (1943) Siege at Leningrad cost approximately 1,500,000 lives The Centre Army: Reinforcements arrive German army arrives at the town in winter War of attrition The South Army Stalingrad: bloodiest battle

20. Operation Barbarossa:Stalingrad Ideologically important Battle begins: 23 Aug Fire bombing Fight outside city: 5 Sept Luftwaffe harass Soviet Army Soviets forced to withdraw to city “Not a step back” Three months of fighting before encirclement occurs Soviet Operation Uranus 19-30 Nov 1942 Trapped German army Pincer attack German Army Encircled 230,000 troops in city 2 Feb 1943 German army surrenders 91,000 POW captured

21. Operation Barbarossa:Germany at home Total War

22. Reasons why the Germans lost