German Aggression in WWII

1
German Aggression in WWII
2
1934 Hitler re-arms Germany

• Treaty of Versailles limited Germanys army
• Hitler openly began building up the military
• US, Britain and France did nothing! (appeasement)

3
(No Transcript)
4
(No Transcript)
5
March of 1938 - Anschluss

• Unification of Germany and Austria

6
(No Transcript)
7
German Reichstag Salutes Hitler after Anschluss
8
The Munich Conference

9
(No Transcript)
10
(No Transcript)
11
The Appeaser
12
(No Transcript)
13
The Start of WWII

• Sept. 1st, 1939, Hitler declares war on Poland
• The first Blitzkrieg (Lightning War)
• Armored Spearheads (large groups of tanks)
  punch holes in Polish defenses, drive deep into
  enemy territory
• Infantry (foot soldiers) follows through gaps
• Dive bombers strike deep inside Poland, attack
  communication and transportation

14
German Stuka Dive Bomber
15
German Panzer Tank
16
The fall of Poland

• The Polish military is large but outdated
• Poland was allies with Britain and France. Sept.
  3, Britain and France declared war on Germany,
  but they did not attack or send any help to
  Poland!
• Sept. 17th, USSR invades Poland from the east!
• Hitler and Stalin had signed a non-aggression
  pact in 1939 and had secretly agreed to divide
  Poland between them.
• Poland surrendered in Oct. 2nd

17
(No Transcript)
18
Denmark and Norway

• Hitler wants control of the Baltic Sea
• Attacks Denmark with bombers and paratroopers
• Denmark surrenders in 4 hours!
• Norway is protected by water, harder to attack
• Germany invades by air and sea
• Norway surrenders in 2 months

19
(No Transcript)
20
Netherlands and Belgium

• Both have small armies and want to stay neutral
• Hitler wants to control the Atlantic Wall (the
  entire Atlantic coast of Europe)
• Hitler attacks. Minor resistance, but both fall
  within 2 weeks

21
(No Transcript)
22
France

• The French army was as large and as strong as
  Germanys
• France had built a huge system of defenses along
  the border called the Maginot Line
• British troops protected the Belgian border

23
(No Transcript)
24
(No Transcript)
25
France

• Only one gap existed in the defenses the
  Ardennes Forest
• Germany attacked through the Ardennes!
• Attacked the Maginot Line from behind, cutting
  off most of the French army
• Overwhelmed the British and remaining French
  troops in the north

26
German tanks move through the Ardennes Forest
27
France

• France surrendered in 5 weeks
• General Charles de Gaulle escaped and organized
  the French Resistance

28
Hitler in Paris De Gaulle
29
Battle of Britain

• Hitler wanted to invade Britain, but Britain was
  an island protected by the British Navy
• Hitlers Plan
• Step 1 destroy Britains air force (RAF)
• Step 2 use the German air force (Luftwaffe) to
  chase away the British navy
• Step 3 invade Britain across the English
  Channel.

30
(No Transcript)
31
Battle of Britain

• Luftwaffe outnumbered the RAF 21
• Britain built planes and trained pilots as fast
  as possible
• Churchill rallied the British people
• We shall defend our island, whatever the cost
  may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall
  fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in
  the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in
  the hills we shall never surrender.

32
(No Transcript)
33
Spitfire ME-109
34
Battle of Britain

• The Luftwaffe suffers heavy losses Hitler calls
  off the invasion
• Churchill Never in the field of human conflict
  was so much owed by so many to so few.
• But, Germany continued bombing British cities for
  two more years! (The Blitz)

35
V-1 Flying Bomb and V-2 Rocket
36
London Bomb Damage
37
USSR

• June 1941, Hitler broke his non-aggression pact
  with Stalin and launched the largest invasion in
  history (3 million men!)
• Operation Barbarossa
• Germany quickly captured hundreds of miles of
  Soviet territory, killed and captured millions of
  Russians

38
(No Transcript)
39
(No Transcript)
40
USSR, cont.

• Stalin makes an alliance with Britain, but there
  is little Britain can do to help
• Stalin ordered his army to stop the Germans at
  all cost, but the Germans still advanced
• By Dec. 1941, the German army was just a few
  miles from capturing Moscow

41
German Controlled Territory, Dec. 1941
42
December 1941

• The Allies are in bad shape Hitler appears
  unstoppable
• The only country strong enough to stop Hitler is
  the US, but most Americans are isolationist
• Churchill goes to America and begs Roosevelt for
  help, but FDR says the US will stay neutral
  unless directly attacked
• Then, on December 7th 1941, Churchills prayers
  are answered in an unexpected way

43
To Be Continued