World War II in Europe

1939-1945

The Outbreak in Europe

• Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact

• Blitzkrieg in Poland (September 1, 1939)

• Poland surrenders (Hans Frank is Nazi administrator in Poland)

• Blitzkrieg into Sitzkrieg

• Renewed offensives—Norway and Denmark (April 1940)

Poles fought tanks with horses

Stuka dive bomber over Warsaw

Ten Monumental Decisions, 1940-41 (Ian Kershaw)

• Great Britain decides to fight on (1940)

• Hitler decides to attach U. S. S. R. (fall 40)

• Japan decides to seize “golden opportunity” (1940)

• Mussolini’s invasion of Greece (1940)

• FDR’s aid (1940-41)

• Stalin decides he knows best (1940-41

• FDR’s decision for undeclared war

• Japan decides for war (fall 41)

• Hitler’s declaration ov war vs. U. S. (Dec. 41)

• Hitler opts for “final solution.” (Fall 41)

Nach Westen

• Invasion of France and surrender• “Miracle” at Dunkirk• Division of France• Battle of Britain• Radar and Enigma• Italy into the Balkans—leads to Operation

Marita (August 1941)• Romell in North Africa

Maginot Line

Maginot Line

Operation Barbarossa• Quest for Lebensraum and a war for

civilization.

• June 22, 1941 invasion begins

• Scorched earth policy

• Soviet Rally

• Stalingrad

• Soviet Counterattacks

War of the Century: When Hitler fought Stalin

• Battle of Stalingrad, 1942• Operation Uranus, Nov. 1942• Battle of Kursk, July 1943• Soviet Transformation + Lend-Lease• “Great Patriotic War”• Gen. Georgi Zhukov• Battles of Smolensk (Aug.-Oct. ’43) and Narva (Feb.-

Aug. ’44)• Operation Bagration (June-August ’44)• July 20, 1944 Plot—Operation Valkyrie• Battle of Berlin (April-May ’45)

Soviet Partisans hanged by Nazis in 1943

Zhukov, 1896-1974 Rommel, 1891-1944

Eisenhower, 1890-1969 Montgomery, 1887-1976

Western Front• Battle of El Alamein (23 Oct.- 5 Nov., 1942)• Operation Torch—(Nov. 8, 1942)• Casablanca Conference (January 1943)• Battle of the Kasserine Pass (Feb. 19-25, 1943)• Invasion of Sicily, July 1943• Teheran Conference (Nov. 28-Dec. 1, 1943)• Anzio landings (January 1944)• Fall of Rome, (June 4, 1944)• Operation Overlord (June 6, 1944)• Paris liberated (Aug. 25, 1944)• Operation Market Garden (“a bridge too far.”) (Sept. 17-25, 1944)• Battle of the Bulge (Dec. 16, 1944-January 25, 1945)• Bridge at Remagen (March 8, 1945)

McAuliffe, 1898-1975

The Battling Bastards of Bastoge

Dresden Firebombing Raid damage;Cremating corpses at Dresden

Torgau, April 25, 1945

Jodl signs at Rheims, May 7, 1945

World War II casualty statistics vary greatly. Estimates of total dead range from 62 to 78 million people, the deadliest war ever. Civilians killed totaled from 40 to 52 million, including 13 to 20 million from war-related disease and famine. Total military dead: from 22 to 25 million, including deaths in captivity of about 5 million prisoners of war. Over 14% of the Soviet Population perished; about 8% of the German population perished; only .032 of the U. S. population perished; Next to the Soviet Union, China suffered the most deaths at 20 million, about 4% of the total population.

Dollar costs for the war ($288,000,000,000 for U. S. alone in 1940 dollars; it would be $5,000,000,000,000 today); U. S. S. R. spent about 9,000,000,000,000 rubles in today’s purchasing power. The total cost of war in today’s dollars is $15,000,000,000,000-$20,000,000,000,000.