1. European Theater of WWII Total War Engulfs Europe 1939 -1942
World History
Mr. Meester

2. Vocabulary Maginot Line Blitzkrieg Luftwaffe Battle of Britain
Winston Churchill
Operation Barbarossa

3. Hitler sets his eyes on France
Hitler quickly Blitzed through Poland.
Hitler next invaded and conquered Denmark, Norway, and Belgium.
The Maginot Line was a system of defensive structures along the border of Germany & France.
Hitler will bypass French Maginot by going through Belgium.

4. The Blitzkrieg Hitler launched a surprise attack on northern France
Attacked from the Ardennes Forest in Belgium
Hitler used new tactic, the Blitzkrieg “Lightning War”
A concentrated offensive by tanks and air forces in close cooperation

5. The Nazis Crush France
The Nazis raced across France and cut their defensive lines to pieces
Hitler will take Paris and the French will officially surrender on June 22nd, 1940.
He will set up a puppet government at the city of Vichy to govern France.

6. Dunkirk
When Hitler punched through France’s defenses he cut off hundreds of thousands of Allied troops
Trapped in Northern France at Dunkirk.
In a rescue effort the British formed a flotilla of naval vessels
Commandeered fishing boats, yachts, barges, anything that would float

8. The Escape
Under fire from the Luftwaffe (German Air Force), over 338,000 Allied troops were evacuated & able to fight another day
While not a victory on the battlefield it was a huge victory for morale

9. The Battle of Britain: Operation Sea Lion
Hitler knew in order to take Great Britain he must control the skies.
Mass air raids on Britain began in August of 1940 and lasted for over 10 months.
London suffered nightly attacks which injured or killed thousands of people
These attacks were known as “The Blitz”

10. Bombing Raid on London:

11. Coventry Cathedral:

12. The British Victory The British had 2 advantages
New radar towers that alerted them of incoming attacks
A new more maneuverable fighter plane: the Spitfire
By May 1941, the British turned away Nazi Germany giving Hitler his first defeat of WWII.
“Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”
Winston Churchill
August 1940
On the contributions of the RAF Pilots
during the Battle of Britain

13. Hitler invades the Soviet Union: Operation Barbarossa
By the spring of 1941 Hitler had taken Greece, Yugoslavia, and the Balkans
Southeast Europe
Hitler decided to try to quickly take the Soviet Union before winter set in
Then he would refocus on taking Britain
On June 22nd, 1941 German forces swept into the Soviet Union.
Breaks the Nazi-Soviet Non-aggression Pact

14. Nazis Blitz USSR
By winter of 1941 Germany had conquered over 100,000 miles of Soviet territory.
More than 3.5 million Soviet soldiers were killed or captured

15. The Soviets fight back
The Soviet Union still had huge reserves of manpower.
They had used the “scorched earth” policy as they retreated
Now they launched a counter-attack
Hitler also made the same mistake as Napoleon
Wasn’t prepare to fight in the cold Russian winter

16. Soviets Survive The Soviets stopped the Germans
1st defeat for the German Army
The fight for the Soviet Union was just beginning

17. Recap Fall of France Battle of Britain Invasion of USSR
Maginot Line, Blitzkrieg, Dunkirk
Battle of Britain
The Blitz, British Advantages, etc
Invasion of USSR
German Success, Soviet Success
Hitler’s mistake