World War 2- Course

The invasion of Poland

The invasion of Poland

Hitler wanted German territory given to Poland after WW1. He used Blitzkreig tactics, these depended on the element of surprise. The Luftwaffe destroyed Polish transportation lines, and Panzers cut the Polish army off from supplies. Within 5 weeks, Poland had been defeated.

Blitzkreig

A tactic of surprise attack beginning with heavy bombing of an area by the air force, followed by Panzer tanks, and finally the infantry.

Maginot line

A series of French fortifications built along the France-Germany border.

Siegfried line

A series of German fortifications built along the Germany-France border.

The Phoney war

A period of eight months where neither the Allies or Germans made advances in attacking, giving them a chance to arm and prepare.

The invasion of Belgium, the Netherlands, and France

10th of May 1940. The Germans used Blitzkreig tactics and then entered France, avoiding the Maginot line by crossing through the Ardennes, driving a wedge between the BEF and France.

The Ardennes

A wooded, hilly terrain in Belgium.

BEF

British Expeditionary Force.

Operation Dynamo

The BEF soldiers were pushed back to Dunkirk, a coastal town, due to German advances. They became trapped. For 9 days, 900 boats evacuated about 350,000 Ally soldiers from Dunkirk beaches.

Paris

German forces entered Paris unopposed on the 14th of June, 1940.

The Battle of Britain

Began 13 August 1940. 1,485 German bombers attacked RAF bases. Hurricanes and Spitfires were in constant close combat with the Luftwaffe’s ME 109s and 110s. By mid-September, the British had won the Battle of Britain.

Operation Sea Lion

Hitlers planned invasion of Britain. He used submarines (U-boats) to attack shipping routes to Britain and damage radar bases. He understood how powerful the RAF was.

Reasons for German defeat in the Battle of Britain

The Germans moved their focus to London, giving the RAF time to reorganise, new radar technology gave the British warning of air raids, Spitfires were far better than the Luftwaffes planes, German planes had to return to Germany to refuel.

The Blitz

The Luftwaffe’s strategy of bombing British cities at night. Germans dropped explosive and incendiary bombs on British cities. E.g. Coventry, November 14th 1940. 500 tonnes of high explosives and nearly 900 bombs in 10 hours.

Life in British wartime

Evacuation- Children from cities were sent to family in the countryside, where it was safer. Approximately 7 million British women entered the workforce.

Operation Barbarossa

Began on the 22 of June 1941. Germany began a three-pronged invasion of Moscow, Leningrad and Kiev. The Russians reacted with scorched earth tactics. By the end of September, Kiev had fallen, Leningrad was under siege and the German army were approaching Moscow.

The winter of 1941

Extreme temperatures (-40 degrees C) froze German fuel for Panzers, many German soldiers and supplies. The Red Army launched a counterattack, stopping the German army short of Moscow.

The Battle of Stalingrad

Late summer 1942. German forces that had taken over Kiev advanced towards Stalingrad. Winter of 1942-3, Russians encircled the Germans, cutting them off from supplies. German forces began to freeze and starve. In February 1943, 91,000 German soldiers surrendered. This is known as the main turning point of World War 2.

Operation Overlord

US, British and Canadian troops landed in Normandy, France. The Germans were fed false plans, that the Allied soldiers would land in Calais. The five beaches were code-named: Utah, Omaha, Juno, Gold and Sword.

D-Day Landings

On the 6th of June, 1944, General Eisenhower of the US led the largest seaborne invasion in history, with over 7,000 ships. Paris was liberated on the 25th of August, 1944.

Air raids on Germany

The Allies bombed German cities, e.g. Dresden. In four air raids 13-15 of Feb 1945, over 3,900 tonnes of high-explosives and incendiary devices were dropped by the RAF and the USAAF.

The Battle of the Bulge

Operation Bagration, June - August 1944, the Red Army drove the Germans from the USSR. In Dec 1944, Germany repeated their attack through the Ardennes. They were easily defeated by Jan 1945.

The end of WW2

In March 1945

Invasion of France