THE EARLY YEARS OF THE WAR IN EUROPE

1

• THE EARLY YEARS OF THE WAR IN EUROPE

2
(No Transcript)
3
THE WESTERN FRONT 1939 - 1940

• On September 1st 1939, the Nazis invaded Poland
• On September 3rd, Britain, France, Australia and
  New Zealand declare war on Germany
• Hitler attacked Poland using a new kind of
  warfare called Blitzkrieg (Lightening
• War). First dive bombers from the Luftwaffe
  (German air force) softened up
• the enemy. Then tank divisions followed.

4
THE WESTERN FRONT 1939 - 1940

• France and Britain had promised to support
  Poland, but there was little they could do. In
  fact, both countries began to prepare to defend
  themselves, thinking their countries would be
  invaded

5
THE WESTERN FRONT 1939 - 1940

• April 1940 - Hitlers next move was to invade
  Norway and Denmark. Again he used Blitzkrieg
  tactics, and again Britain and France were unable
  to provide sufficient help
• Capturing Norway meant
• The Nazis had access to Swedish iron ore which
  was crucial for the war effort
• The west coast of Norway provided useful air and
  naval bases for attacks on Britain

6
(No Transcript)
7
THE WESTERN FRONT 1940

• THE DEFEAT OF FRANCE
• May 10, 1940 Nazis invade France, Belguim,
  Luxembourg and the Netherlands
• French forces, despite being backed up by a large
  number of British soldiers, were forced into a
  desperate retreat
• By mid 1940, Germany
• occupied Paris, the capital
• of France

8
THE WESTERN FRONT 1940

• THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN - JULY 1940
• Hitler then orchestrated Operation Sealion the
  conquest of Britain using the north coast of
  France as a base. His plan was to defeat the
  British Royal Air Force so he could then take
  Britain. This time the Blitzkrieg failed.

9
THE WESTERN FRONT 1940

• THE BLITZ
• Despite their failure, the Germans continued to
  bomb British cities, towns and factories well
  into 1941.
• This became known as the Blitz
• Over 40000 civilians were killed and two million
  left homeless as the Germans attempted to break
  Britains morale

10
Can you imagine having to sleep in Parliament
station because Melbourne was constantly being
bombed?
11
THE EASTERN FRONT 1939 - 1941

• THE RUSSIAN FRONT
• Hitler eventually decided to invade the Soviet
  Union and abandon the Blitz
• He did this because
• He saw the Soviet Union as a powerful potential
  ally to the British
• He hated Communism and wanted to destroy it
• Russia provided valuable lebensraum (living
  space) for the German people
• Eastern Russia had valuable supplies of wheat and
  oil

12
EASTERN FRONT 1939 - 1941

• OPERATION BARBAROSSA
• A three pronged attack

13
EASTERN FRONT 1939 - 1941

• The Germans again applied their Blitzkrieg
  tactics with great effect
• As the Russians retreated east they enacted a
  scorched earth policy They destroyed anything
  they could not use
• This, combined with the onset of a terrible
  winter, left the German troops short of supplies
  and their advance ground to a halt.

14
EASTERN FRONT 1939 - 1941Scorched Earth Policy
The policy of devastating all land and buildings
in the course of advancing or retreating troops
so as to leave nothing salvageable to the enemy.
15
EASTERN FRONT 1939 - 1941THE EARLY YEARS OF
THE WAR IN EUROPE

• The Blitzkrieg tactics of the Nazis were very
  effective in the early years of the war. Turning
  their attention to Russia was a fatal mistake
  that many historians argue cost Hitler the war

16
(No Transcript)
17
THE EARLY YEARS OF THE WAR IN EUROPE

• In September 1941, Germany, Italy and Japan (lead
  by Hideki Tojo) signed the Tripartite (Axis) Pact
  and became allied. This is where we derive the
  expression Axis of Evil.
• While Germany was carrying out its attempted
  conquest of Europe and Russia, Italy attacked
  Greece, Egypt and captured British territory in
  Africa
• Japan was continuing its attempted conquest of
  the Pacific region
• AT THIS POINT IT HAD BECOME A WORLD WAR IN THE
  TRUE SENSE OF THE WORDS!

18
Europe on the Eve of WWII