1 / 53

World Wars

World Wars. Dissolution of Empires ― Austria-Hungary. Balkan Chaos. Alliances and Strategies. The goals of each of the alliance members Britain – maintain continental balance and UK sea superiority France – confine Germany, get Alsace-Lorraine Russia – expand into southern Europe

vahe
Download Presentation

World Wars

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. World Wars

  2. Dissolution of Empires ― Austria-Hungary

  3. Balkan Chaos

  4. Alliances and Strategies The goals of each of the alliance members • Britain – maintain continental balance and UK sea superiority • France – confine Germany, get Alsace-Lorraine • Russia – expand into southern Europe • Germany – solidify German-speaking peoples and never fight on two fronts • Austria – hold everything together • Italy – try to solidify your own territory • Ottoman Turks – survive

  5. War Plans • Germany (Schlieffen Plan) • Attack and destroy France in 6 weeks • Maximum troops dedicated to French attack • Surprise attack through neutral Belgium • Encircle Paris • Confront Russia after France is subdued • French (Plan 17) • Attack Germany with maximum troops through Alsace-Lorraine

  6. Outbreak of War • Balkan trigger • War (domino effect) • Austria blames Serbia and issues an ultimatum • Serbia accepts most points but not all • Germany issues “blank check” • Russia backs Serbia (unified slav people) • France and England confirm Belgium neutrality • Germany attacks France through Belgium Archduke Ferdinand on day of assassination

  7. Failure of the Plans • German attack in the West • French attack in Alsace-Lorraine • Russian speed of mobilization • German gap and closure without encircling Paris • The “Miracle of the Marne”

  8. Miracle of the Marne • France leaders recognize that their troops will be encircled if they persist in Plan 17 • France uses trains to get troops to Paris • Paris taxis shuttle troops and equipment to the front • France stalls the German advance

  9. Conduct of War • Each side attempts to outflank the other and this extends the line to the English Channel • Stagnation and trench warfare in the West

  10. Trench Warfare • From Erich Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front "We see men living with their skulls blown open; we see soldiers run with their two feet cut off… Still the little piece of convulsed earth in which we lie is held. We have yielded no more than a few hundred yards of it as a prize to the enemy. But on every yard there lies a dead man."

  11. Discussion • Enthusiasm of August 1914 for war versus the despair of the trenches in Winter 1914 • Glorious offense-dominated war • Dismal defense-dominated war • Technology out-paced strategy • Compare the offense-dominated attack on Iraq and the defense-dominated terrorist war now going on

  12. Technology Warfare • Technology superior to tactics • Machine gun versus a human charge through "No man's land“ • Creative attempts to break the stalemate • Total attrition (Verdun) • Poison gas • Airplanes • Tanks • Submarines • Ersatz (300 products)

  13. Battle of Verdun • Verdun was a fortress town with great emotional significance • The Germans launched a massive attack and were on the verge of capturing the most important fort defending the city • The new French general was asked what he would do • His response: “I can only say one thing to the Germans ― ”

  14. Battle of Verdun

  15. Battle of Verdun • Tolkien ― 1916 • Was Lord of the Rings based on WWI? • WWI made strong impressions on our civilization • You shall not pass • Over the top • No man’s land • Softening up • Storm Troopers

  16. Battle of Verdun

  17. WWI • Battle of the Somme = 600,000 allied and 500,000 German dead for 125 miles of land • Half of all soldiers killed in the war were not identified • Half of all soldiers in WWI were either killed or wounded • Over 40 million total dead and wounded (20% of total population of Europe)

  18. Wider Involvement • Ottomans entered war in 1915 on side of the Central Powers • Wanted to acquire Russian territory • Turkey slaughtered millions of Armenians to get their land (prior to WWI) • Britain wanted to protect trade routes to India • Arabs promised their own country if they would join with Britain against the Ottomans

  19. Russian Revolution • Unhappiness with the war among the Russian people • Creative idea: Lenin transported to Russia • Russia withdraws from war • Germany moves troops to the western front (tipping the balance)

  20. United States • War at sea initiated US involvement • Zimmerman letter (Mexico) • US entry tipped the balance back to the allies in trench warfare • German morale broken • Kaiser abdicates

  21. End of the War • Versailles Peace Treaty • 70 nationalities • Woodrow Wilson (League of Nations) • British and French demands • Division of German colonies • Seeds of WWII planted

  22. The End of Traditional Europe • Monarchies ended in Germany, Austria, Russia, Turkey • No more wars of glory

  23. Aftermath of WWI

  24. Adolph Hitler ― Creativity for Power • Name change of Nazi party • National Socialist German Workers Party • Appeal to all citizens • Beer Hall Putsch • Guilty plea to gain national prominance and voice • Minimum prison sentence • Wrote Mein Kampf while in prison

  25. Adolph Hitler ― Creativity for Power • Surveys of dissatisfaction • Anger over WWI • Criticize others rather than submit a plan for progress • Continuous campaigning • Image shaping (propaganda) Death of the Lie (Marxism and High Finance)

  26. Adolph Hitler ― Creativity for Power • Coalition with conservatives • Forced his way into the chancellorship • Respected traditions • Depression • Reichstag fire • Totalitarian state • Kristal Nacht • Racial focus

  27. Europe in the 1930’s • Italy pact • Czechoslovakia • Meeting in Munich • Sudentenland area turned over to Germany • Peace declared • Austria • Hitler threatened invasion • Merged with Germany • Non-aggression pact with Stalin

  28. Germany’s Attack in Europe • Polish invasion • Sept. 1, 1939 • Blitzkrieg • Warsaw Ghetto

  29. "The Nazi occupation of Poland was horrific. Twenty percent of the Polish people died in forced labor, of hunger, or from fighting. Resistance was impossible. Even the feeblest opposition brought devastating, over-whelming reprisals. Drs. Lazowski and Matulewicz decided to resist anyway, and their solution was brilliant. They knew that the Germans were terrified of a typhus outbreak. So they injected dead typhus bacteria into various patients, then sent blood samples to the German authorities. The blood tested positive for typhus. The Germans conducted more tests, and most were also positive. The occupation authorities quarantined the area. The people were not deported for slave labor and German troops stayed away. Drs. Lazowski and Matulewicz spared their neighbors the worst of World War II, because even impossible problems have solutions." – Thorpe, Scott, How to Think Like Einstein, Barnes & Noble Books, Inc., 2000, p. 127.

  30. Germany’s Attack in Europe • Phoney war (Sitzkrieg) • Up to April 1940 • Norway • Quisling • Denmark • Prophet Mikkelsen • Holland • Belgium and France • Dunkirk

  31. Dunkirk

  32. “We have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.” — Winston Churchill Churchill as Prime Minister

  33. “...We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end...We shall fight in the seas and oceans...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 Threat of German Invasion

  34. The “Blitz” on London “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 say, ‘This was their finest hour.’” — Winston Churchill

  35. “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” — Winston Churchill Battle of Britain

  36. Expansion of the war (1940-1941) • Balkans • Africa • Russia • US isolation

  37. Maximum Axis Control (Sept 1942)

  38. Allied Counterattacks in Europe • Soviet Union • North Africa • Italy

  39. Normandy • “Bodyguard” • 5 fake invasion locations (Balkans, Spain, Norway, Bay of Biscay, Calais) • Heavy bombing of Calais • Patton made commander of 1st Army division in Kent • Fake buildings and equipment • Fake orders, telecoms • Captured German officer • Chaf leading to Calais on D-Day

  40. Normanday

  41. The End of the War • Surrender • Stalin, Churchill, Roosevelt • The Marshall Plan

  42. Asia • China • Ineffective Manchu dynasty • Sun Yat-sen Nationalists united the country • Japan • Shoguns • Trade and colonies (raw materials)

  43. Japan’s Invasion • China invasion • Blockade threat • Pearl Harbor • Southeast Asia

  44. Allied Counterattacks in the Pacific • Midway • Southeast Asia • Island hopping • Japanese main islands

  45. Pacific War

  46. WWII Was the dropping of the atom bomb justified?

More Related