Unit 5 Notes 6: The War

Begins

The Nonaggression Pact

A treaty signed by Hitler and Stalin in 1939
promising not to attack each other for 10 years
Also promised to equally divide the country of
Poland and the USSR could capture Finland,
Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania

World War II Begins

On September 1st, 1939, nine days after signing the treaty

with the Soviet Union, Hitler launched a surprise attack on
Poland
This surprise attack consisted of war planes raining bombs
on multiple Polish cities including their capital of Warsaw. In
addition, 1.5 million German soldiers smashed through the
border. This great show of surprise attack force became
known as the blitzkrieg, or lighting war.

World War II Begins

On September 3rd, 1939 Britain and France
declare war on Germany (finally!)
However, Poland surrendered three weeks before
either of those nations made any kind of military
response.

The Phony War

For nearly SEVEN MONTHS after the invasion of
Poland there was no fighting in Europe
French and German soldiers sat without incident
along the Maginot Line (French/German border)
Many Germans called this period of time the
sitzkrieg, or sitting war

Germany Advances
On April 9, 1940 Germany launches a surprise
attack on Norway and Denmark
Norway surrenders 2 months later
Denmark surrendered in 4 hours
In May of 1940 Germany captures the countries of
Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands

The Invasion of France

With the German and Belgian

borders heavily defended,
Hitler had his army smash
through an unprotected seem
on the Luxembourg border
This heavily wooded area, the
Ardennes, was thought to be
impossible for an army to
break through

The Invasion of France

Sensing a quick victory for Germany, Mussolini
finally declares war on Britain and France and
invades France from the south
"I only need a few thousand dead so that I can sit
at the peace conference as a man who has
fought".
On June 22, 1940 France surrendered
The Nazis occupied the northern part of France
and set up a puppet government in the south
The southern part of France was known as Vichy,
France

Charles de Gaulle
French general who
escaped to London after
France surrendered
Set up a French
government in exile and
commanded the free
French military that battled
the Nazis until France was
liberated four years later

The Battle of Britain

Winston Churchill
With Frances surrender, Great Britain
stood alone against the Nazis
Britains Prime Minister Winston
Churchill vowed that he would never
give into the Nazis
We shall fight on the beaches, we
shall fight on the landing grounds, we
shall fight in the fields and in the
streetswe shall never surrender.

The Battle of Britain

German Attack
September 7th, 1940 Hitler
began a merciless nine
month air attack on Great
Britain.
The Luftwaffe did not just
attack military sites, but
also focused much of their
bombings on the
residential areas of the
country

The Battle of Britain

Conclusion

1.

Britain had two secret weapons in this fight

Radar
- a machine that could track the number,
speed, and direction of incoming warplanes
2. Enigma Machine
- A machine that could decode German
secret messages.
.
Frustrated by British resistance, Hitler called
off his attacks and focused his attention on
Eastern Europe
.
While not an outright victory, the Battle of
Britain proved to the world that German
advances could be stopped

Attacking Northern Africa

North Africa was key to the Nazis for two
important reasons
Capturing Egypt would give Hitler control
of the Suez Canal
Capturing Egypt would also allow Germany
access to the rich oil fields of the Middle
East

Attacking Northern Africa

Initially, Hitler had
Mussolini and Italy lead the
attack in Africa
When the Italians were
terribly unsuccessful, Hitler
sent his top general, Erwin
Rommel to help
Rommel, whose nickname
was the Desert Fox, led the
Axis to many victories in
Africa and had pushed deep
into British controlled Egypt

The Balkans
While Rommel was scoring victories in Africa,
Hitler began taking pieces of the Balkans
In the face of overwhelming strength, Romania,
Hungary, and Bulgaria all joined the Axis Powers
Greece and Yugoslavia resisted
Greece fell in 17 days, Yugoslavia in 11

Operation Barbarossa
With the Balkans in
control, Hitler
turned next to the
Soviet Union
The invasion of the
Soviet Union was
known as Operation
Barbarossa and it
began without
warning on June
22nd 1941

Battle of Leningrad
Within a few months, the Nazis had
pushed the Soviets back 500 miles
and had surrounded the city of
Leningrad
Hitlers plan to capture the city was
to isolate it, bomb their food
warehouses, and starve the 2.5
million residents to death

Battle of Leningrad
In order to survive, the residents ate
Cats
Dogs
Horses
Crows
Rats

Battle of Moscow
Though 1 million residents died in
Leningrad, it did not surrender
Frustrated, Hitler moved his
attention to the Soviet capital of
Moscow
Moscow was an absolute disaster
for the Nazis

Battle of Moscow
Dressed in summer uniforms, the Germans were
ill-prepared for a winter fight in Russia
In the winter cold, German fuel and oil froze.
Tanks, trucks, and weapons became useless
Soldiers froze to death
Hitler would not allow a retreat
By the end of the winter, Moscow was saved and
500,000 German soldiers had died