WWII 1939-1945

Axis Powers: Germany, Italy & Japan

Allies: Britain, France, Soviet Union, United States

paprika
Hitler, was a soldier in WWI and was angry at Germany’s loss in WWI. He became a politician
and his ideas won the hearts of the Germans. He founded the Nazi party and the president of
Germany (Hindenburg) decided to make him Chancellor, or in other words, head of the
government. However, his position gave him no power. It was basically the relationship of the
Prime Minister of Canada to the Queen of England. Just a figurehead. However, after the
president died (in 1934), Hitler decided to make himself President. He later banned all political
parties. He gained a lot of support after making Germany strong after their depression due the
crash of the U.S. stock market. Furthermore he was outraged about the Treaty of Versailles,
that reduced Germany’s army to just 100 000 men. They also were banned from having a Navy,
and were ordered to have no military activity in the “Rhine Lands” which was the border
between France and Germany. He expanded the army vastly ending up with Nazi soldiers
numbering in the 4M+, and with conscription, more to come. He created the Luftwaffe which
was his Air Force that had 2500 planes. This is what led to the War: After WWI Austria-Hungary
was divided into many countries, one of which was Czechoslovakia. Are sort of u shape ring
around the land was an area the Hitler specifically wanted because it had many ethinic
Germans. This was called the Sudetenland. Hitler wanted that land, and had a meeting with
Neville Chamberlain (British PM) and the French PM. They said he could have the Sudetenland,
but not the rest of Czechoslovakia. They agreed on this and signed a treaty stating that if Hitler
invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia, France and Britain would declare war on Germany. He then
invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia. He also invaded Danzig, which connected Germany to their
other province East Prussia. Germany and the Soviet Union than announced a non-aggression
pact. Germans had invented a new form of warfare called Blitz creek. The army of 1.5M was
sided with quick moving, agile, strong tanks called the Panzers totalling 2400 of them. Many of
the British ships were being sunk my mines in the sea. Germans planes were dropping mines by
the British ships. Another German ship near the British Ship would detonate the mine when
near the British ship. The mine would be set off by a magnetic signature of the ship. Britain
discovered this and lowered the magnetic signature of the ships by passing an electric copper
wire around the ship. By 1941 December, the War was relatively quiet. France’s soldiers were ill
trained, and often drunk. So France decided to have a defensive war. They basically didn’t know
how to beat Germany, so they dug ditches and built guns to settle in for a defensive war. Britain
did the same. Germany initially planned to do what they did in WWI, and follow what the
Schlieffen Plan said. A German aircraft accidently crashed in France. It had a copy of the
German War plans. France now new exactly what the Germans would do. The incident then
forced Germany to change their plans (the French unknowing). Below, in the area of the
Ardennes, is a very hilly, mountainous region that the Allies thought would be impenetrable by
tanks/infantry. That is the exact route Hitler planned to take. They would then sneak behind the
Allies. The German tanks and soldiers were redeployed without the Allies knowing. The French
used tanks as Infantry support and distributed them farther out while Germans concentrated
the tanks into small regions. Germany then completely destroyed Netherlands. Now German
tanks were through the Ardennes.
The General of the Allies found out about the Nazis coming from behind and ordered the Allies
to fall back. The troops hand no idea what was even happening. The Panzers however the going
to fast ahead (middle flag) and the rest of the Assault Infantry was falling behind as they were
slower. In other words, the gap between the armies was widening. The Allies decided to take
advantage of this and attack.
The Panzers however the going to fast ahead (middle flag) and the rest of the Assault Infantry
was falling behind as they were slower. In other words, the gap between the armies was
widening. The Allies decided to take advantage of this and attack.
However, the Germans easily repulsed the attack. The Germans had now surrounded the Allies.
However, the Allies made a lucky escape at Dunkirk by sea, as the Germans decided to halt and
repair their tanks for 2 days. This gave time to make an organized evacuation. British sailboats
were called in, and in the end over 300, 000 British and French troupes made it across to safety.
However, after 2 days, the Germans sent every bomber it had to bomb the ships. ¼ of the 665
small boats didn’t make it. However, the British and French lost most of their heavy weapons
(tanks etc).

The Panzers/armies than pushed south forcing the rest of the French soldiers to surrender. The
Swastika was raised on the Eiffel Tower as German Troops marched into Paris. The French the
signed an Armistice. Hitler now felt sure the Britain would make a peace treaty.

On July 10th 1940, the Battle of Britain begins. This is the day on which German bombers bombs
British ships. Britain began using their own Air Force that was better than the Germans,
however fewer quantity. They had only 700, against the 1300 German fighters/bombers. This
means that the British general only fought back with his planes when the Germans made big
attacks. However, the British had one crucial innovation. They had invented Radar, so they
could know when a German fleet of planes was near. This helped the British immensely. They
had radar masts dotted all over the borders of Britain. Since the start of the battle, German
planes had been battering British ships. However, the Germans were losing. On the first main
attack, the Germans Luftwaffe lost 46 planes, while the RAF (Royal Air Force) lost just 13. On
August the 15th the Luftwaffe did it’s largest attack. Yet, 90 German Luftwaffe had been shot
down, comparing to the 40 something RAF planes. However, 12 days later (of fighting) British
losses crept up to the German losses. Germans then decided to attack with their planes at
night. Unfortunately a fleet of them lost their way and ended up bombing London. It was the
first attack on a non-military zone. Then, 81 British Bomber bombed Berlin (capitol of
thisGermany). This infuriated Hitler, and he demanded massive retaliation. Now German
bombers bombed London docks resulting in the death of nearly 450 people and 1000s of
homes in tatters. Germany then commissioned a massive assault of 100 bombers and 400
fighters. The fleet was intercepted. In the afternoon, another 150 bombers came. Sept 17, the
attack stopped.

Now in November, Hitler focussed on bombing British cities in night raids. It continued into
1941. In the end more than 50 000 civilians were killed in this ‘blitz’. Churchill needed help.
America sent resources and soldiers.

-Britain worked out how to read Germany’s most secret codes called ‘enigma’. The Polish
helped immensely with this.

Winston Churchill sent 10 Commando Units (each of 500 men) to attack Germany (as he was
probably tired of playing the defensive game). He sent them to Norway and destroyed many of
the factories and captured/subdued many German men. Now Hitler sent 250 000 men to
Norway as he thought that France/Britain may attempt to take it back. This was fateful as these
troops may have been useful on other fronts.

Episode 4: Hitler Strikes East

Hitler had
preplanned that
before he signed the
Soviet Union-
Germany peace
treaty, he would
attack the Soviet
Union anyways.
Before this however
he needed to secure
his sovereign flank.
Romania, Bulgaria,
and Hungary
(orange) were
Germany’s loyal
allies. Greece and
Yugoslavia (blue)
however were both
pro British, and therefore against Hitler. So on April 6th, 1941, 33 German divisions attacked
Yugoslavia and Greece. They were both overtaken swiftly. Now operation Barbarossa was to
take place. 4 million men supported by 3000 aircrafts were deployed to the border. However
the Soivet’s Army was powerful. It had 2 million men withing striking distance of the border,
and millions more in reserve. They were backed up with 20 000 tanks outnumbering the
German’s 6000. Operation Barbarossa began on 3:15 a.m. on June 22nd 1941.
Operation Barbarossa:

The ground attack and Luftwaffe joined in at dawn. Stalin was shocked about the fact the Hitler
had betrayed him and stayed silent for a week. Winston Churchill was happy about the
operation as he was no longer alone. He sent a treaty of mutual assistance to the Soviets. 100
miles away from Moscow, Germans had rounded up nearly 600 000 Soviet Troops. However
things were getting worse. Army group middle was instructed to move down south to army
group south. By this time, the Soviets had nearly 16 million troops mobilized. Shortly after
Germans had captured/killed 1.5M troops. Army group north had captured Leningrad. Hitler
decided to starve the city. He cut off all 11 000 dead. 3700 people died of starvation in
December in one day alone. Army group center prepared for the final battle at Moscow. It
started on September 20th, 1941. However the entire army was being slowed down by mud,
and they were moving slowly. They were confident that they would get Moscow by summer but
that wasn’t the case. Then winter hit. The soldiers had no winter protective gear. Stalin now
moved 30 000 Siberian Troops to Moscow. These troops were well equipped for the winter and
well trained to fight in it. Germans were hit by a savage attack. Tanks, infantry, bombs, artillery
etc. It was middle of winter, and Hitler ordered no retreat no matter what.

Japan suddenly bombed the U.S. so Hitler also declared war on the U.S.
Hitler moved in to take Russia’s Oil. These were oil fields in the south that Germany desperately
needed. These were called the battle of Caucasus.
Hitler now plans to capture Stalingrad
They would send dive-bombers to bomb the city and then follow that up with infantry. In
October 4th 1942, the final attack was meant to take place on Stalingrad. It was going to be an
easy victory. However, in November, the Soviet Army was bringing in reinforcements: 1M
Troops. 13 500 guns. 900 Tanks. 1000 Aircrafts. These were all secretly moved to the battle
zone. On Nov 19th they attacked the German’s Northern Flank. Germans surrendered in the
1000s.

The next day Soviets Attacked the South with equal success.
The Germans were loosing troops, and now the Soviets launched their all-out attack:

Luckily, the Germans lead an excellent retreat as they backed up. Hitler had made many new
powerful tanks. Now the Germans were going to lead an attack. In July 1943. The Germans only
gained 6miles for the loss of 25000 men and 200 tanks. Things were going horribly. Now it was
the Soviet’s turn. 2000 tanks drove into the German Lines. It became the largest armed battle
of WWII. The Germans now retreated.
In total, Operation Barbarossa, the Germans lost 1M plus men. The Germans lost tanks,
bombers etc.
Ep. 5: Red Sun Rampant:
December 1941, Japanese attacked Hawaii by their planes. They also bombed airstrips and
barracks’. The US declared war on Japan.
The Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor
The Japanese took over Singapore, the British’s main control centre in the East.
The Japanese now controlled the Philippines after an invasion,
The Japanese also took over Burma, a British colony.
The Japanese won so much because of their amazing bombers.
Japan now controlled (almost) all the Eastern Coast

U.S. bombers retaliated by bombing Japanese cities.

Japan then faced many losses at sea.

Ep. 6 (~1941)
Mussolini wanted to take over North Africa (Libya and Egypt which were British-owned). He
already owned Abyssinia.

British invaded Abyssinia, and after 12 months, British took control. In 1941 Mussolini also
tried to get the Bulcans, but failed to. Then, Hitler sent 500 000 troops to help Mussolini.
Italy was about to loose control of the Mediterranean, so Hitler stepped in to take control and
bombed the Allies. Hitler had a campaign in North Africa where he wanted to takeover, but was
thwarted by the US and Britain. They surrendered 250 000 German and Italian troops at
Tunisia. The Allies now controlled North Africa. Mussolini was also kicked out of Africa. Italy was
now weak after it’s failure in Africa. Now the US and Britain wanted to open a new front. They
wanted to attack one of the Axis Powers. They targeted Italy because of how weak it was. From
North Africa, they had two choices: They decided to go via Sicily, but they organized a
deception plan. They put a corpse with false papers that showed plans that the Allies would
pretend to attack from Sicily, but actually attack from Sardinia. This was a knock-off to put the
Germans on a false trail. The Allies would actually attack from Sicily.
US troops now overpowered all Italian troops at Sicily. Mussolini was overthrown by a popular
uprising.

Episode 7 “Turning the Tide”

Britain and the U.S. start an intense bombing campaign on Germany sending 1000s of bombers
that destroyed all land (to stop arms production). They killed civilians. It was total war.
Then in late 1944 Harris (the British Air in Command) attacks a city deep in Germany that had
virtually no military relationship. There were many refuges there. He has “no regard for civilian
life.” 50 000 people died.

Now Germany started a Navy campaign building enormous battle ships (such as the Bismarck).
It was a machine of destruction. Germany eventually lost their battleships, but then started
sending in German U-Boats that reeked havoc
In May 1941 British Destroyer Bulldog forced U-Boat U110 to surface, and they captured it.
U110 had all the Enigma Codes and Battle communications. This harmed Germany for the
entered war. The book was used to encode German signals. At the end of 1943 however, the
Allies dominated the Atlantic. Germans lost nearly 800 U-Boats in total.

Episode 8: The Soviet Steamroller

Hitler was now fighting a war on two fronts. In the east, the German troops were dangerously
overstretched. They retreated and then began a battle with the Russians on a 1500m front.
Fighting raged on till October 1943. Germans were being pushed back to Ukraine. USSR had 2x
as many tanks as Hitler and Siberia was pushing out 2000 tanks a month (T34s). It was now 6M
Soviet Troops facing less than 3M Germans Troops. Now Soviets focussed on the South
(Leningrad). 500 000 people died of starvation and city life was horrible.

The Soviets also captures 120 000 German Troops in the Crimea, with 40 000 trying to escape. It
didn’t happen and 3 days later they surrendered.
The map above shows the current state of the Soviet Union. The Soviets had a bug bulge, and
therefore the Germans had a big front to defend (1400miles). They were “dangerously
overstretched”. Military Logic would have it that they give up the land so they could more
densely defend the front. But Hitler, who was obsessed with land gains, rejected the idea. Stalin
then attacked Finland, who sued for peace after three days. Then finally the Soviets launched a
major offensive against the Axis powers. It began 3 years after Hitler launched the invasion of
the Soviet Union. They attacked square onto Belarus.
They then advanced onto the Baltic States:

The Soviets were now approaching Warsaw. By now, over 300 000 German Soldiers had died,
and 150 000 taken prisoner. But now, Stalin looked to conquer for the cause of spreading
communism. They drove Germany out of Poland in January 1945. They were now driving the
Germans out of the Baltic States. In Latvia (Riga), 200 Germans were captured. The Germans
were now marooned and pushed back North West of Riga, and were forced to stay there for
the rest of the war.

Stalin now focussed on Germany:

1500 tanks and 1M men moved into Romania late August 1944. The remaining Axis Power had
just 800 000 men and 400 tanks. 180 000 German men in Romania were killed/captured, and
soon Romania surrendered. Now Germany had lost it’s supply of Oil.
The Soviet Union had now most of Eastern Europe. The Black line represents what Stalin had
conquered (outside of Russia). He would now move onto Germany. In the west, Allied Forces
were reaching the border.

Episode 9: “Overlord”

The stage was set for the greatest battle of WWII: D-Day. Allied forces now were landing in
France. In 1941, Britain invaded Norway. Canadian and British Forces now landed in Dieppe. It
was a disaster. 3000 troops were killed or captured. Churchill met with Roosevelt and decided
that Operation D-Day would take place on the summer of 1944.
However, the Germans had prepared for this by building an Atlantic “wall”.
Mussolini created a dictatorship in Italy. He then took over Abyssinia (todays Ethiopia) in Africa
(he wanted to essentially recreate the Roman Empire). He had the greatest Navy power in
Europe, along with a vast fleet of bombers.