WWII Overview: Part IV - From Barbarossa to the End of the War in Europe
Review and Predictions
Initial Questions:
What was the fighting like in the first year of the war, including the two tactics discussed?
Why did Hitler want to conquer Norway?
Why was Finland problematic for Stalin?
What happened to France after losing to the Axis Powers? (Be specific)
What were the reasons for early Nazi successes?
How was Britain able to stop Operation Sealion?
Based on the Keylor reading, what specifics will be discussed in Part 3?
Why a World War?
Asia: Japan's desire for land in the East (to be covered in more detail later).
The Americas:
United States:
During the Battle of Britain, the UK needed supplies from the US.
Cash & Carry Program (September 1939): The UK had to pay in cash and transport the supplies themselves.
Lend-Lease (March 1941): As the UK ran out of cash, the program evolved into Lend-Lease.
Latin America: More details to follow.
Battle for the Atlantic
The effort to get weapons led to the Battle of the Atlantic.
Characteristics:
A massive naval battle that raged throughout the war.
Initially dominated by German U-boats.
The largest naval battle in history.
Allied Victory:
Invention of sonar.
British codebreakers at Bletchley Park, led by Alan Turing, cracked the Enigma Code in the summer of 1941, allowing the Allies to read all German communications from the summer of 1941.
Imitation Game
The Imitation Game clip illustrates the challenges of cracking the Enigma machine.
Codes changed daily based on weather reports.
Turing's work was pivotal in cracking Enigma.
The dilemma involves the decision of what military actions to take based on cracked codes.
Quick Review - World War
What was considered the "soft underbelly of the Axis" powers?
Who are:
Rommel
Eisenhower
Montgomery
What was the controversy within the Allied Powers over the North African campaign?
What was the intelligence victory prior to the Invasion of Italy?
What was the result of the Invasion of Italy?
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the German invasion of the Soviet Union.
The Turning Point
The Battle of Stalingrad.
Why was it a turning point?
Battle of Stalingrad
Casualties:
Significant losses on both sides (Soviet and Axis).
Soviet: ~480,000 troop casualties including killed or missing in action, nearly 435,000 wounded, and over 43,000 captured.
Axis: > 800,000 casualties.
Civilian Casualties: ~40,000 civilians dead.
Enemy At The Gates
The film "Enemy at the Gates" depicts the circumstances faced by Russian soldiers at Stalingrad.
Tehran Conference (November 28 to December 1, 1943)
The "Big Three" Allied leaders (Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin) met to discuss a plan for ending WWII.
They agreed to end the war on the European fronts before addressing the war in Asia and the Pacific.
Tehran Conference Issues
Disagreements:
Britain wanted an American-British attack on Germany through the Balkans.
Russia and the USA wanted an American-British invasion of France (either through northern France – Operation Overlord/D-Day – or southern France – Operation Anvil).
Final Choice: D-Day (Stalin wanted this quickly).
Other Agreements:
Stalin promised to attack Japan once Germany was defeated.
Discussions about the future of Poland and the division of post-war Germany (details to be determined later).
Tehran Conference Results
The conference decided the course of action that affected the outcome of WWII.
It strengthened the alliance between the USA, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain.
It helped decide the possible postwar division in Europe.
Preparation for an Invasion
The Allies needed to open another front in Europe to defeat the Germans.
In early 1944, the Allies began heavily bombing Germany (factories, military bases, railroads, etc.) to prepare for a massive invasion in France.
The bombing of German supplies was intended to help the Allied invasion succeed.
Significance & Baltic Offensive
Start of the Baltic Offensive (June 1944): The Soviets retook territory initially gained by the Nazis.
Germans retreated west after Stalingrad.
The Soviets launched Operation Bagration. Zhukov pushed to the Baltic Coast behind the Panther Line.
The Germans were cut off and suffered a significant defeat.
Huge success for the USSR, destroying the German central army.
The USSR reoccupied Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
This set up Soviet dominance in the area.
Ultimately, this led to the Soviets taking Berlin in 1945.
Operation Overlord
D-Day: Landings included Omaha, Utah, Sword, Juno, and Gold beaches.
Involved the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, the 4th, 1st, 50th, 3rd, and 6th Airborne Divisions.
Operation Overlord Questions
Describe the attack plan for Operation Overlord.
What were the results of Operation Overlord?
How does this fit into the larger context of the war?
Ardennes Offensive (December 16, 1944 – January 25, 1945)
The Ardennes Offensive was a major German offensive campaign.
What happened in this battle? what did you learn in the museum gallery walk?
Why Dresden – highly debated
RAF Jan. 1945-"The intentions of the attack are to hit the enemy where he will feel it most, behind an already partially collapsed front, to prevent the use of the city in the way of further advance, and incidentally to show the Russians when they arrive what Bomber Command can do."
To display the power of the Allies to warn the Russians
Churchill wanted to demoralize the Germans by “area bombing” & payback for the Blitz
Arthur Harris: "I mention this because, for a long time, the Government, for excellent reasons, has preferred the world to think that we still held some scruples and attacked only what the humanitarians are pleased to call Military Targets. I can assure you, gentlemen, that we tolerate no scruples."
Refugees were moving from the East to the West to escape the Red Army as propaganda created made rumours about the Red Army
Allies began to plan on using bombing as strategy during the Yalta Conference.
Destroy German communications, transportation, troop movements, and attacks on factories, refineries, and shipyards
Air Marshal Arthur "Bomber" Harris, the head of Bomber Command ordered the attack on Dresden in Eastern Germany
February 13, 1945 hundreds of Royal Air Force bombers descended on Dresden in two waves
Significance of the Dresden Bombing
The single most destructive bombing of the war – as it was not just bombing, but Firebombing.
Destruction of German city with firebombing.
Firebombing of Dresden
Destructive Effects:
Why is firebombing so destructive?
Flyover drops allowed the Allies to escape with fewer casualties (Dresden had weak air defenses).
Fires caused start gaining more and more oxygen which leads to a vicious cycle (known as a firestorm).
Destruction of buildings and exorbitant civilian casualties ravaged morale.
Battle for Berlin
Soviets sweeping through Eastern Europe toward Germany/Berlin.
Agreed Berlin was useless strategically, but both "sides" raced to get there.
The German people knew who they wanted to get there first.
Stalin wanted to expand Soviet influence by entering Berlin first.
April 16: Soviets attacked Berlin from the East and the South.
Stalin made it a competition (Zhukov wins!).
April 20: The Red Army encircled the city.
April 25: Russian and American soldiers shook hands on the Elbe River (outside the city).
April 29: The last effort was taking the Reichstag.
Outcome of Battle for Berlin
Hitler and Eva Braun committed suicide on April 30.
Allied Victory: German forces in Berlin surrendered on May 2.
Berlin was in Soviet hands, which became significant in the Cold War.
Let's Review(Final Questions)
Who is Montgomery?
What is the connection between the Battle of the Baltics & Operation Barbarossa?
Who is Zhukov?
What was the significance of the Ardennes Offensive?
Why did the Allies firebomb Dresden? Significance?