Summary of hitler's lightning war
Hitler’s success in overtaking Europe and lots of North Africa was indebted to his calculated and ambitious strategies. The German army used new technology and techniques to battle nations that were unprepared for Germany’s swift and brutal attacks. One new approach to warfare was the “Blitzkrieg” or lightning war. It was called lightning war because it entailed the use of attacks from the air, by planes using bombs, and from the land, with tanks and fast troops. The combination of force and speed would result in success for the Germans, in a very short amount of time. They took their opposition by surprise and pulverized their enemy until they had taken control of the land. The first time Hitler used this military tactic during the War was when the Nazis invaded Poland. After signing a non-aggression pact with Stalin and halting the possibility of a two-fronted war, Hitler had also agreed to divide Poland with Stalin. Hitler moved more than 1.5 million soldiers into Poland to conquer the land, bringing with them tanks, planes, and lots of weaponry. This attack occurred on September 1st, 1939, and Britain and France declared war on September 3rd. However, they couldn’t militarily enter Poland in time, and Poland ended up being annexed by Germany and the Soviet Union. After seven months of eerie calmness after the invasion of Poland, Hitler suddenly attacked Denmark and Norway on April 9th, 1940- planning to use them as a path to conquer Great Britain. After four hours, Denmark was lost to Hitler, the same fate happened to Norway 2 months later.
After this, Germany decided to invade France. The Nazi forces approaching France joined with their troops stationed in Belgium, The Germans basically chased Allied soldiers of the coast of Dunkirk, right on the English channel. There, allied soldiers took army boats, fishing boats and paddle boats across the Channel right in the nick of time. France was taken by Germany, which is when Germany decided to turn their attention to Great Britain. Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister at the time inspired the British people not to give up, and to continue to fight even though they were completely alone against lots of European Nazi countries. When Germany attacked, they were surprised by Great Britain’s strength although outnumbered by a combination of Nazis coming from France and Belgium. This lead Germany to give up on Great Britain for the time being, and instead to conquer the Balkans, the Mediterranean and North Africa. With the Balkans in control, Hitler moved on to invade the Soviet Union during Operation Barbarossa (which directly went against his non-aggression pact with Stalin). Hitler attacked Leningrad, where due to a horribly cold winter, the Germans were pushed back, losing 500,000 lives and decreasing the seemingly indestructible Nazi morale.
After this, Germany decided to invade France. The Nazi forces approaching France joined with their troops stationed in Belgium, The Germans basically chased Allied soldiers of the coast of Dunkirk, right on the English channel. There, allied soldiers took army boats, fishing boats and paddle boats across the Channel right in the nick of time. France was taken by Germany, which is when Germany decided to turn their attention to Great Britain. Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister at the time inspired the British people not to give up, and to continue to fight even though they were completely alone against lots of European Nazi countries. When Germany attacked, they were surprised by Great Britain’s strength although outnumbered by a combination of Nazis coming from France and Belgium. This lead Germany to give up on Great Britain for the time being, and instead to conquer the Balkans, the Mediterranean and North Africa. With the Balkans in control, Hitler moved on to invade the Soviet Union during Operation Barbarossa (which directly went against his non-aggression pact with Stalin). Hitler attacked Leningrad, where due to a horribly cold winter, the Germans were pushed back, losing 500,000 lives and decreasing the seemingly indestructible Nazi morale.
Ten best articles
- http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/21/mysteries-of-a-nazi-photo-album/?_php=true&_&_r=0 Written by David W. Dunlap, this article is an incredible look into the life of a Nazi soldier during Hitler's Operation Barbarossa. The article shows 20 pictures captured by a rather high up Nazi, depicting hollowed looking soldiers, Belarusian locals, and Hitler himself. The article describes how rare it is to see such personal photos in the circumstance.
- http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/22/world-war-ii-mystery-solved-in-a-few-hours/ This article is a followup to the last one, showing even more pictures taken by the not so mysterious Nazi photographer, Franz Kreiger.
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/invasion_poland_01.shtml The invasion of Poland is known as the catalyst of World War II declaration, this article goes into depth about the roots of the attack and the response to it.
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/fall_france_01.shtml The Fall of France was one of Germany's greatest victories. Such a western power did not fall without a fight, and this article details the circumstances of France's fall from grace.
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/dunkirk_spinning_01.shtml Dunkirk was a last minute save that involved lots of help from fishing boats and steam boats alike. This article looks into the experience of the invasion of Dunkirk, and the Allied Powers escaping as fast as they could.
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/ff2_norwaycampaign.shtml "Norway was a neutral country so any military presence there would have been a violation of that status. Nonetheless, Hitler's Grand Admiral Erich Raeder was keen to take over Norwegian naval bases to provide the Germans with strategic positions from which to operate."
- http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/19/books/review/book-review-the-storm-of-war-a-new-history-of-the-second-world-war-by-andrew-roberts.html?pagewanted=all "The title of the book, “The Storm of War,” conceals an answer to Roberts’s central question about the reasons for the German defeat. The notion of war as a storm summons up the Nazi idea of a blitzkrieg, a lightning victory that would somehow resolve all of the political and economic problems of the German state. "
- http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005070 "One of Adolf Hitler's first major foreign policy initiatives after coming to power was to sign a nonaggression pact with Poland in January 1934. This move was not popular with many Germans who supported Hitler but resented the fact that Poland had received the former German provinces of West Prussia, Poznan, and Upper Silesia under the Treaty of Versailles after World War I."
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/blitzkrieg_01.shtml Hitler found his success in quick, harsh weaponry and attacks. German military forces also took full control of all new and emerging technologies, which furthered their victories.
- http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005437 "A second German offensive against the Soviet Union in 1942 brought German forces in the east to the shores of the Volga River and the city of Stalingrad. However, the Soviet Union launched a counteroffensive in November 1942, trapping and destroying an entire German army at Stalingrad."
audio and video
Germany's Invasion of Poland on September 1st, 1939, actual video from the invasion!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpYpbiIZDGw
"We Shall Fight on the Beaches", a speech given by Winston Churchill to encourage the brtits to continue fighting. June, 1940
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkTw3_PmKtc
Neville Chamberlain Announces the Declaration of War against Germany to Great britain
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtJ_zbz1NyY
Some Great Audio of a Dunkirk Soldier recalling Dunkirk evacuation
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/dunkirk_audio_01.shtml
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpYpbiIZDGw
"We Shall Fight on the Beaches", a speech given by Winston Churchill to encourage the brtits to continue fighting. June, 1940
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkTw3_PmKtc
Neville Chamberlain Announces the Declaration of War against Germany to Great britain
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtJ_zbz1NyY
Some Great Audio of a Dunkirk Soldier recalling Dunkirk evacuation
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/dunkirk_audio_01.shtml
Primary source documents
Hitler's Proclamation of the Invasion of Poland
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/wwii/gp1.asp
France's Reaction to Germany's Invasion of Poland
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/wwii/fr3.asp
Terms Germany wished the Soviet Union Would Comply To
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/ns059.asp
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/wwii/gp1.asp
France's Reaction to Germany's Invasion of Poland
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/wwii/fr3.asp
Terms Germany wished the Soviet Union Would Comply To
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/ns059.asp
maps
A map of Poland from 1920-1939.
A map of the Soviet Union in 1942.
A map of the invasion of Dunkirk in France.
A map of the Invasion of the Balkans in 1941.
A map of the invasion of Poland in 1939.