World War II

Blitzkrieg

• Germans referred to a Schwerpunkt = focal point or point of maximum effort

• Ground, mechanized & tactical air forces concentrate on this point of maximum effort

• local success at the Schwerpunkt is followed by a small force that breaks through and gains advantage by fighting in the enemy's rear

• “Nicht kleckern, klotzen!” (Don't fiddle, smash!)

How to achieve a breakthrough:

• armoured forces attack the enemy's defensive line directly

• supported by motorized infantry, artillery fire and aerial bombardment

• tanks and motorized units could break through without being slow like infantry on foot (WWI)

• air forces also gain by attacking aircraft on the ground, bombing airfields, & air to air combat.

Schwerpunkt (focal point) principle:

• Gives attacker numerical superiority at the point of the main effort,

• Therefore gives attacker tactical and operational superiority even though the attacker may be numerically and strategically inferior along the entire front

Blitzkrieg Pursuit:

• Once through German forces attempt to paralyze the enemy's ability to react by moving faster than enemy forces

• They exploit weaknesses and act before opposing forces can form a response

• Faster mobility + quick decisions = sooner action than opposition

Directive Control:

= fast & flexible method of command

• No explicit orders• Commander told of superior's intent • Method of execution based on situation• Staffing reduced at the top and spread among commands

more knowledgeable about their own situation• Initiative encouraged at all levels• Significant decisions could be made quickly (verbally or

short written orders)

Destruction of pocket resistance:

• Final phase• Kesselschlacht ("cauldron battle") = concentric

attack on encircled forces • Here most losses were inflicted upon the

enemy mostly through capture of prisoners and weapons

• Ex. During Barbarossa - massive encirclements resulted in nearly 3,500,000 Soviet prisoners + equipment

Air Power:

• provided in the form of the dive-bombers and medium bombers

• Supported focal point of attack from the air• German successes = success in the air war• Allied Air Forces success = Army

Invasion of Poland: Sept.1939Black arrows = primary assaults

Red arrows =secondary assault

Right hand side arrows from the East into Poland, =Soviet advance into Poland that followed the German invasion

Blitzkrieg Limitations:The Environment: dependent upon terrain and weather

conditions• When ability for rapid movement across “tank country”

not possible, armoured penetrations were avoided or resulted in failure

• Ideal terrain = flat, firm, unobstructed by natural barriers or fortifications, & interspersed with roads and railways.

• If hilly, wooded, marshy, or urban, muddy or snow =units could be halted by mud or extreme snow

• Disadvantages nullified if surprise by an attack through such terrain Ex. Ardennes.

Panzer tank:

Counter-Tactics:

• Blitzkrieg is very vulnerable to enemy emphasis on anti-tank warfare & anti-aircraft weaponry

• Holding the flanks or “shoulders” of penetration was essential to channelling the enemy attack

• Tank and vehicle production was a problem for Germany, ex. late in the war many panzer divisions had no more than a few dozen tanks

• Near the end of WWII Germany experienced critical shortages in fuel and ammo stocks from strategic Allied bombing & blockades

• Some Luftwaffe fighter aircraft were unable to fly for lack of fuel & remaining fuel went to panzer divisions

Invasion of Western Europe:

1. May 10, 1940 – Hitler invades Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, & France

2. Retreating forces trapped at port of Dunkirk• 340,000 troops evacuated by British navyWhy significant?1. A defeat, but moral victory for Allies2. Highly trained troops who would go on to

fight in the war

Operation Dynamo:

The Evacuation of Dunkirk:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKB-ZkWelb0

Fall of France:June 14, 1940 Germans enter ParisJune 22, 1940 France surrenders

Why Does France Fall So Quickly?

1. Maginot Line Proves Useless

Maginot Line:

• Named after French Minister of Defense Andre Maginot

• Was a line of concrete fortifications, tank obstacles, artillery casemates, machine gun posts, and other defenses

• Constructed along French border with Germany and Italy,

• In the light of experience from WWI, lead up to WWII

Maginot Line:

Maginot Line:

Why Does France Fall So Quickly?

1. Maginot Line Proves Useless2. French deploy tanks (same # as Germans) at

speed to match their infantry3. Luftwaffe had quality aircraft compared to

French4. Internal division within France:• Fascists and Communists existed within and

both opposed the war

Terms of Surrender:

1. Northern France + Atlantic ports occupied by Germans

2. French Army demobilized3. Southern France (Vichy) = semi-independent

government to begin• Later collaborated with Nazis

Battle of Britain:Goering’s Luftwaffe vs. RAF

= battle for skies above Britain and English Channel

• Germans = VIP – Operation Sealion = invasion of British Isles

• British = survival

Spitfire:

Battle of Britain:

• RAF planes outnumbered 3:1• But had kill ratio of 1882 : 1017• Due to manoeuvrability of the Spitfire• And radar = could detect German bomber and

fighter squadrons

The “other” advantage:

German cipher machine-Enabled British to receive and decode German messages

The “Blitz”:

Battle of Britain Significances:

1. First time Hitler had been denied conquest2. Setback meant war would be a long one –

advantage Britain with USA’s industry support3. Future Allies had a geographic “springboard”

close to Europe to launch reinvasion of Europe

U.S.A Enters the War:

• Pearl Harbour – Dec. 7th 1940• surprise military strike by Imperial Japanese Navy

on USA Navy base at in Hawaii • Next day USA declared war on Japan resulting in

their entry into WWII• Attack was intended as a preventative action in

order to keep the U.S. Pacific Fleet from influencing the war that the Japanese were planning in SE Asia, against Britain and the Netherlands, as well as the U.S. in Phillipines

The Eastern Front:

= more intense and larger battles took place1. Winter War = Nov. 30, 1939 Red Army attacks

Finland – ends March 19402. June 1940 Red Army takes Baltic States (Latvia,

Lithuania, Estonia)3. Oct. 1940 Germany occupies Romania (who later

join the Axis)4. Late Oct. 1940 Mussolini attacks Greece, British

assist the Greeks, but both Greece and Yugoslavia fall in April 1941

Winter War:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvEUKcEoN_g&feature=related

Operation Barbarosa:Hitler’s Attack on the Soviet Union

3 goals:1. Major object of Nazi policy of Lebensraum

(inferior peoples had to make way for “master race”)

2. Hitler wanted the “breadbasket” of Europe –the resources of the Ukraine and Soviet Union

3. Destroy his archrival = Communism

Operation Barbarosa:

• Hitler goes against the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact

• Attacks on a front stretching from the Baltic to the Black Sea – 2,000 miles long

• Initially Germany sends 153 divisions (10-15,000 soldiers = division)

• Soviets caught by complete surprise• By end of Day 1 = Germans 50 miles into Soviet

Union

Barbarossa:

Germans utilized Blitzkrieg perfectly:• Soviet air force destroyed on the ground• Red Army prisoners = eventually reached 2 million• Stalin asked citizens to “fight for mother Russia”• Adopted the “scorched earth” policy – Germans

could not live off the land• Nazis take Leningrad, Kiev...halted 50km from

Moscow• Harsh Russian winter halts Germans

Barbarosa video link: 1.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8L-GBHNNqrQ&feature=related

2.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F00TssZASkY&feature=related

North Africa:Important for several reasons:

1. Suez Canal – vital British shipping connection to Far and Middle East

Suez:Important for:

2. Oil – If you control North Africa then it is more possible to control the Middle East oil resources

-important for keeping vehicles mobilized during war

Introducing:General Erwin Rommel

• (the Desert Fox)• Commanded the German Afrika Korps

Introducing: General Bernard Montgomery

• Known as “Monty”• Aug. 1942 took command of British troops in

North Africa

El Alamein

• Oct. 1942• Located 60 miles from Suez Canal

El Alamein:

• Winner would control Suez Canal• 1st battle of El Alamein in July of 1942 – Allied

troops halted Axis advance• Oct. 23 to Nov. 3 “Monty’s Desert Rats”

defeated Rommel• German/Italian retreat across Africa began

http://lh5.ggpht.com/sierraekofoxtrot/SM7fXQQlbJI/AAAAAAAAAK0/TiLTBIAjPFU/s1600-h/2_Battle_of_El_Alamein_0013.png

El Alamein Significances:

1. Suez Canal stayed under Allied control2. Hitler could not access oil resources of

Middle East3. Allies gained confidence knowing that the

best of Hitler’s commanders could be defeated

Following El Alamein:

• Rommel’s forces retreat towards Tunisia• Allies led by General Dwight D. Eisenhower

(“Ike”) arrive in Morocco, attack from the west• Montgomery attacks from the east, trap the

Germans• Rommel & 1,000 men return to Europe

El Alamein:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUFn8WBMgNQ&feature=related

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fznpf64Xc6Q (START 2:00)

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kts6pj36zqQ

Allied Victory:

1. Prepares way for liberation of Italy2. Re-opens routes to Middle East3. 1st USA action in alliance with European

forces in WWII...American involvement key in defeat of Axis