Lesson Two
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World War II Begins
Outcomes
 Students will identify the initial stages of WWII
 Students will identify the major battles that constituted the “European
Theatre” of WWII
 Students will identify new technologies developed and used in WWII.
Activities
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Appeasement review…. go over DBQ from last class.
Lecture Notes – European Theater of war
DVD segment on Dieppe
WWII ledger template. Fill in European Theatre today.
Quiz next day on chapter questions!
Materials
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Lecture Notes – European Theatre
Power Point on European Theater
ledger size templates for WWII
DBQ questions
Poland, Dunkirk and The Battle of Britain – Lecture Notes
The Invasion of Poland - 1939
The NAZIS used blitzkrieg tactics
Britain immediately declared war on Germany
Canada’s declaration of war followed a week later
Prime Minister King promised that conscription would not be required
The Phony War : 1939-1940
Everyone expected Germany to attack Western Europe
Bad weather and indecision prevented any attacks
Historians refer to this period as “The Phony War” even though war was
a reality in Czechoslovakia, Poland & Finland
Evacuation at Dunkirk
As Germany advanced into Belgium in 1940, French and British troops had to
retreat to the beaches of Dunkirk
They found themselves trapped on the shore
900 ships sailed from England, rescuing 34 000 soldiers
A few weeks after the evacuation, France surrendered to Germany
The Battle of Britain
 Hitler wanted to control the air so he could prepare for an attack by
water, destroying the British Navy
British were outnumbered 3 to 1
 But they had the advantage of radar and the Enigma, a cipher machine
that helped them receive and decode German messages
 A German bomber squadron got lost and accidentally bombed civilians in
London
 British PM Churchill retaliated by bombing Berlin
 Hitler stopped bombing RAF airfields and ordered daylight bombing raids
on London (blitz)
 This shifted focus allowed the RAF to train and rebuild its strength, and
Hitler would lose this important battle.
Operation Barbarossa
 Hitler is threatened as USSR occupies Baltic States
 Germany intelligence miscalculates Soviet strength although…
By 1938
 3 out of 5 Red Army marshals have been executed
 13 out of 15 Red Army commanders ………
 110 out of 195 divisional commanders …………
 186 out of 406 brigadiers ………..
 all 11 deputy commisars for defense …………
 75 out of 80 Military Soviets ……………
 all military district commanders ………

Many of the replacements were inferior or incapable to those executed

However, Stalin’s industrialization program brings their military up to the
largest in the world by 1941

Ribbentrop and Molotov meet, but disagree on attacking Britain

4 million German troops position themselves to attack USSR

Barbarossa’s objective is to encircle Kiev, Moscow and Leningrad

Soviet POW’s were treated with incredible brutality, but feared Stalin’s
reaction if they retreated

Hitler and Guderian argue as Hitler commands him to divert from Moscow
and help in the South at Kiev.

This “19 day Interregnum” slows Germany’s progress and winter sets in.

Kiev is encircled, 665 000 Soviet soldiers trapped….

Defensive fortifications built at Moscow 
 620 miles of earthworks
 400 miles of anti-tank ditches
 370 miles of barb wire fencing

1 million starve in Leningrad, but Zhukov is reinstated and reinforcements
from allies along with the winter allows the Soviet forces to drive the
German panzer attacks back.
Moscow is connected by road and rail to bring supplies

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More Soviet troops are diverted from Siberian front as Richard Sorge (a
Comintern spy) gains information that Japan is planning to attack USA,
not USSR

As Germans retreat, Hitler is enraged and fires many Panzer commanders,
announcing himself leader of the army

He lectures his generals to stand, but to no avail as the “Napoleonic
Retreat” ensued.
The European Theatre of WWII
The Invasion of Poland - 1939
The Phony War : 1939-1940
Evacuation at Dunkirk
The Battle of Britain
Operation Barbarossa
Dieppe
Italy