Conflict in Europe 1935-1945

Conflict in Europe 1935-1945 : 

Conflict in Europe 1935-1945 An Overview of World War Two...

The Cast : 

The Cast How many do you recognise?

Slide 3: 

KEY ISSUES Causes of the conflict Reasons for Allied victory Impact on civilians The Holocaust Turning points Aims & Strategies of the 2 sides

1: Growth of Tensions1935-39 : 

1: Growth of Tensions1935-39 The Causes of World War Two

Dictatorships : 

Dictatorships In the 1920s and 30s, many European nations moved from democratic governments to dictatorships. Italy (1922) and Germany (1933) were the most famous and extreme examples. These fascist governments were both: Anti-communist Nationalist Anti-democratic Expansionist Based on the concept of force

League of Nations : 

League of Nations It was established in 1919 to secure world peace. It was weakened from the start when the USA refused to join. Germany and Japan left in 1933, and Russia joined in 1934. Two incidents in the mid-30s destroyed the League’s credibility.

Invasion of Abyssinia : 

Invasion of Abyssinia Abyssinia (modern Ethiopia) was one of only four independent nations in Africa. Mussolini wanted to expand Italy’s empire, so he chose to invade in 1935. He sent 400,000 troops, who used brutal forms of warfare, including mustard gas. Sanctions were placed on Italy but were largely symbolic. By 1936, the Italians had gained control, and Emperor Haile Selassie had fled. The sanctions were lifted: and the dictators’ view that the democracies would not use force to stop them, was confirmed

Spanish Civil War : 

Spanish Civil War From 1936 to 1939, there was a violent civil war between the socialist Republicans and fascist Nationalists. The League refused to intervene, and allowed other nations to support the two sides. Hitler and Mussolini sent financial and military aid to General Franco, the Nationalist leader. It allowed them to test their newly-built hardware, and again revealed the lack of will in Britain and France.

Appeasement : 

Appeasement Britain and France were following a policy of appeasement. Appeasement is the policy of settling disputes through negotiation, without resorting to armed force. The democracies wished to avoid another European war, so they attempted to deal with Italian and German expansion through this policy. It had the effect of emboldening the fascists, and making them even greedier for territory.

Nazi-Soviet Pact : 

Nazi-Soviet Pact By 1939, Hitler was ready for war. He had plans to invade France after Poland, but needed to keep Russia neutral. Stalin was also unready for war, after recently purging the Red Army. Despite their differences, the two nations signed a non-aggression pact in August 1939. This gave both countries some breathing space, and shocked Britain and France.

2: Course of the War1939-43 : 

2: Course of the War1939-43 From the Invasion of Poland to the Battle of Stalingrad

German Advances : 

German Advances In September, Hitler invaded Poland. It fell in five weeks, thanks to German blitzkrieg tactics. There followed a period of inactivity as both sides prepared to face off. This was called the Phoney War, or sitzkrieg. April 1940 – Hitler invaded Denmark and Norway May 1940 – Hitler invaded Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and France. The mistakes of WW1 were not copied; the BEF was defeated and forced to evacuate to Britain; the French were outflanked; Paris fell in mid-June. Western Europe had fallen to Hitler in a little under six weeks.

Air War : 

Air War WW2 was the first major conflict where air warfare became an important feature Hitler preceded his planned invasion of Britain with an air campaign to ‘soften up’ British defences. This was the Battle of Britain, July-Oct 1940. Goering’s mighty Luftwaffe lost the campaign. As revenge, Germany bombed the civilians of Britain – especially in London. ‘The Blitz’ lasted into 1941 and saw 1 million wounded. Britain retaliated with its own bombing campaign from 1942-45. The aim was to terrorise civilians and destroy German production. Hundreds of thousands died.

Barbarossa : 

Barbarossa In 1940-41, Hitler turned his attentions to the East. He invaded and occupied Romania, Greece and Yugoslavia. By June he was ready to face his greatest enemy: communist Russia. On 22 June 1941, 4.5 million Axis soldiers invaded the USSR. It was the greatest invasion in history. By December, when the invasion ground to a halt, the Germans were only 25km from Moscow. Over 1 million men were dead, 4 million wounded, and 3 million captured.

Stalingrad : 

Stalingrad This battle was the major turning point in the war. It lasted from July 1942 until February 1943 It is one of the bloodiest battles in history: over 2 million dead and wounded. After Barbarossa stalled in 1941, the Nazis stabilised their front, and launched a new offensive in 1942, aimed at capturing Stalingrad. Stalingrad was an appealing target for two reasons: It was a major supply centre, and key to the Caucasus oil fields. It would be a propaganda triumph to capture a city named after the Soviet leader.

Stalingrad : 

Stalingrad Paulus was ordered to take the city at any cost. Zhukov was ordered to defend it in the same way. Bombing and a tank offensive gave way to bitter street fighting. In November, Zhukov brought up 1 million reinforcements, who surrounded the city. Paulus could have broken out, but Hitler ordered him to hold, to the last bullet. He was forced to surrender in February. 91,000 POWs were taken; Germany had lost an entire army in the city. Hitler never again regained the initiative against the USSR. Hitler: "The God of War has gone over to the other side."

North Africa : 

North Africa After the fall of western Europe, North Africa was seen as a key front to both sides. Britain was not strong enough to liberate Europe, but could fight the Axis on equal terms in Egypt. Hitler wanted to capture the Suez Canal in Egypt, to prevent Allied supplies from reaching the desperate British. The Allies easily defeated the Italians in North Africa, so Hitler sent his elite ‘Afrika Korps’, led by General Rommel, to prop them up.

North Africa : 

North Africa By mid-1942, the Germans had driven the Allies back close to Cairo. Suez was close. The Battle of El Alamein was pivotal. Britain, under General Montgomery, needed a win to save morale and her supply routes. In October 1942, almost 2000 tanks and 1500 big guns faced off in the desert. Montgomery’s clever leadership over the weeks of battle led to a German defeat. Rommel retreated and in May 1943 he surrendered.

3: Civilians at War1939-45 : 

3: Civilians at War1939-45 Impact on civilians in Britain and Russia, and the Holocaust

Civilians at war : 

Civilians at war WW2 affected civilians like no other conflict in history. It has been estimated that up to 40 million civilians died in the war; about 25 million of those were in Europe. Military deaths were about 25 million total. Civilians became legitimate targets for both sides: for bombing campaigns, extermination, slave labour, rape, murder, terror. We will study this in more depth in class.

The Holocaust : 

The Holocaust The Holocaust refers to the systematic killing of over 6 million Jews (and other minorities) by the Nazis. The strict Nazi racial laws of the 1930s led, in turn, to mob violence (Kristallnacht), then deportation, then imprisonment, then slave labour, and finally, extermination. The intensity of WW2 gave the Nazis the cover they needed to implement the ‘Final Solution’.

4: End of the Conflict1944-46 : 

4: End of the Conflict1944-46 The defeat of the Axis and the War Crimes trials

D-Day : 

D-Day After expelling the Germans from North Africa, the Allies (now joined by the USA) were able to launch an invasion of Italy in 1943. This took the pressure off the USSR, whilst the Allies prepared for the liberation of Western Europe. On June 6th 1944, the USA and Britain launched a massive invasion of Normandy, in France. Hitler’s forces fought hard, but were gradually beaten. Within months they had liberated Paris, and in 1945, they took the fight onto German soil.

Russian Counter Offensives : 

Russian Counter Offensives After Stalingrad, the tide turned to Stalin’s favour in the East. In 1944, he launched massive counter-attacks against Germany, rapidly liberating Russia, Romania, Poland, Hungary and Bulgaria. By 1945, the Red Army had crossed into Germany. The Third Reich began to shrink in size as both sides raced towards Berlin...

Final Defeat : 

Final Defeat By April, German resistance had collapsed. The Russians and Americans met on the Elbe River. The Red Army surrounded, and then entered, Berlin. Soldiers, civilians, and leading Nazis began to flee in panic. Hitler remained in his bunker, finally taking his life on April 30th. Just over a week later, Germany surrendered. The Thousand Year Reich had lasted just 12 years. Over 25 million Europeans had died, thanks to Hitler’s lust for power.

Nuremberg : 

Nuremberg The leading Nazis were arrested and tried in the first War Crimes trials in history. They were held in the symbolic city of Nuremberg. Hitler, Himmler and Goebbels had taken their own lives; only Goering, Hess, Ribbentrop, Speer, and 17 lesser Nazis were to face trial for their crimes. 11 were sentenced to death; Goering poisoned himself the night before his hanging. The rest were acquitted or faced lengthy jail sentences; Hess finally killed himself in Spandau prison in 1987 – the only inmate left.