World War II

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World War II

• From Poland to the Fall of France

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Blitzkrieg

• England and France had promised to defend Poland
  from German aggression
• Sept. 1, 1939 Germany invades
• New method of warfare used called Blitzkrieg
  (Lightning war)

Sept. 3, Britain and France declare War on Germany
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• First
• Take out enemy headquarters and communications
  with long range artillery and dive bombers
• Parachutists dropped behind enemy lines to create
  chaos and confusion
• Second
• Tanks and armoured infantry punch hole in weakest
  part of enemy lines
• Encircle strong point and cut them off
• Following troops force their surrender
• Motorized columns continue to drive through the
  demoralized enemy

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Combined operations

• Blitzkrieg was characterized by the combined use
  of communications, coordination and mobility
• Airplanes attacked transportation, supplies and
  artillery behind enemy lines
• Tanks led attacks against the enemy
• Infantry was transported in vehicles and
  supported the tanks
• Pincer movements encircled smaller enemy units
  and cut them off from support

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Tanks would thrust against forward lines
supported by infantry and artillery
Fast moving armoured units would encircle and
prevent forces from retreating
Aircraft would attack behind enemy lines and
destroy supply lines
ENEMY COMMAND POST
ENEMY SUPPLY LINES
ENEMY FRONTLINE
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Blitzkrieg in action

• The effectiveness of lightning war was
  immediately obvious in the German campaign
  against Poland
• The German Luftwaffe (Air force) destroyed the
  Polish railways and air force
• German armoured panzer tank divisions punched
  through Polish defences and began to encircle
  them
• Poland was defeated in roughly 4 weeks

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Phoney War

• October 1939-April 1940
• No fighting except Naval Battles British papers
  dub it Sitskrieg
• British Navy (Churchill) wants to seize port of
  Narvik in Norway
• Cut off German supplies
• Norway neutral at this time
• April 1940 - Germany strikes first and takes
  Norway and Denmark
• French troops rush to help
• but are forced to withdraw
• Chamberlain forced to resign
• May 10 Germany invades
• France

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The Fall of France

• The French and British thought that the Maginot
  line protected the southern access to France from
  Germany
• Concentrated their troops in the North around
  Belgium
• The Ardennes Forrest was thought to be impassable
  to a large armoured force.
• German forces smashed through the forest and
  encircled the BEF and French elite divisions at
  Dunkirk

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Dunkirk

• Germans surround 340,000 British and French
  soldiers at Dunkirk
• 200,000 BEF
• 140,000 French
• British begin operation Dynamo the evacuation
  of surrounded forces (May 27-June 4)
• Use every boat at their disposal including
  private craft
• Germans bomb beaches but do not send in Armour
• British fighters supply air cover
• Almost all troops removed and British see it as a
  great success
• Core of British army saved as well as best of
  French troops
• All equipment lost

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Paris Falls

• The rest of France quickly fell to the Germans
• An Armistice was signed with Germany in the same
  railway carriage that Germany was forced to sign
  in at the end of WWI, 1918
• Germany takes control of the North and a new
  French government is formed that will work with
  the Germans under Marshall Petain Vichy
  Government

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After the fall of France Churchill ordered the
sinking of the French fleet British use torpedo
Bombers
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The End

• Next the Battle of Britain!