Depth Study - World War 2
1:1 To what extent had Nazi
Germany gained control of
Europe in 1940?
Learning Objectives
Over the course of 3 lessons, you should
be able to:
- Identify the countries that succumbed to
Nazi rule in Western Europe
- Explain how Blitzkrieg tactics helped
Germany’s early military successes
- Evaluate the successes and failures of the
Battle for France and Operation Dynamo
- Describe life in Vichy France
How will you be assessed on this topic?
Paper 1
Paper 4
The ‘Phoney’ War September 1939 – May 1940
The outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, saw an underprepared Britain and France scrambling to mobile
their soldiers and prepare their civilians for ‘Total War’. With winter approaching, most expected the German to strike in
Spring, when conditions would be better suited for their new approach to battle; ‘BLITZKREIG’, (lightning warfare).
The Phoney War allowed Britain, France to better prepare for the expected attack, which subsequently came in April 1940…
Air-Raid precautions, such as
bomb-shelters and barrage balloons,
were provided to the public and air raid
drills became common in schools, with
students rushing to fit their gas masks
when the siren sounded.
Total War: ‘Unrestricted’ warfare that
involves not only military battles, but
efforts to disrupt civilian-morale and
industry. (Bring the war to people’s homes).
Use the following links to research and and explain, in the table below, how each of
these ‘precautions’ introduced in Britain could help in case of a German invasion:
Precaution
Bomb Shelters
Gas Masks
Anti-Aircraft
Measures (AA-Guns
and Barrage Balloons)
The Home Guard
Conscription
Link 1 Link 2
Why did the British government think they would be useful?
How had warfare changed by 1939?
The First World War was described
as a “war of attrition” – a defensive
war in which high casualties are
sacrificed for very little territorial
gain, in hope of ‘wearing down’ the
enemy.
Hitler did all he could to ensure this
form of warfare did not re-emerge.
Write here…
Using your own knowledge and the
information on the next slide, write a
paragraph to explain why Hitler tried to avoid
this form of warfare.
You could mention: the outcome of the war in
1918; the size of the German Army; the
successes in the Spanish Civil war; new
technology and tactics.
The Rules of Blitzkrieg Warfare
i) Reconnaissance: armoured cars and motorcycle troops probe identified weak spots in the enemy front, find the best and fastest
routes into rear areas and around enemy formations.
ii) Soldiers parachute in ahead of the attack disguised as civilians/enemy troops to find routes and seize important points (e.g. bridges,
crossroads).
iii) Military police units follow, seizing and controlling routes and clearing refugees.
iv) Tanks and motorised infantry drive along routes to their objectives (moving around large centres of resistance, rathe than engaging).
v) No artillery (big guns firing shells) is used initially, but heavy firepower is provided by aircraft.
vi) Traditional marching infantry and heavy artillery follow – attacking and reducing resistance from the enemy.
vii) Deliberate terror bombing of the enemy population and a propaganda offensive until they surrender.
LINK TO VIDEO. You only need to watch from: 1:31 - 5:59 minutes
Blitzkrieg and the Invasion of Western Europe
In April 1940, the Phoney War ended as Hitler began his
campaign to occupy the remaining countries of
Western Europe.
Links for research:
LINK 1 LINK 2
On the map provided, you should use the following
links and;
i)
label each country that was invaded with a name,
and date of invasion
ii) Research and draw in the route in which the German
forces took into the country
iii) Add a few sentences of any other relevant
information about HOW/WHY the occupation of this
country was important.
Eg: ‘The German invaded Norway, as they thought that
the British and France may occupy the country, cutting
off Germany’s sea routes to trade and importing
precious materials for the war effort’.
*You do not need to add France to the map yet, as we will cover this in detail soon.*
Make sure you include the
following countries:
•
•
•
•
•
Norway
Denmark
The Netherlands
Belgium
Luxembourg
The Battle of France - 1940
FAL GELB (Case Yellow)
After a rapid advance through the Netherlands and Belgium, the
German army pushed through with their attack on France.
The Maginot Line
The French had set up a huge defensive position made up of
fortresses, barricades and bunkers, ‘The Maginot Line’, which
spanned the entire German/French border. However, fortifications
were weaker on their border with Belgium, as the French believed
that the German wouldn’t try to attack through the dense
Ardennes Forest in this area.
The Maginot Line
Think, pair, share – 2 minutes
BBC History states that, in 1940, “Britain
and France were preparing to fight an
‘updated’ version of the First World War”.
What evidence do you see here to
support this statement?
Strategy
France had mobilised over 2 million soldiers to
defend her borders, with the British Expeditionary
Force (BEF), a professional and well-trained section
of the British Army, adding another 390,000 troops.
The Ardennes Forest was dense and hard too cross. The
French left this area with weak defences, as they didn’t
believe the Germany army could or would attack through
this route.
However, the Ardennes forest was no match for Hitler’s
Panzer Tank formations, who cut through the forest at great
speed, taking the French and British forces by surprise and
effectively surround them in Northern France.
The speed and surprise of this attack forced all of the
defenders into retreat, with the BEF forced towards the sea
port of Dunkirk.
Extent of German Advance by 4th June 1940
Operation Dynamo
There was a real danger that the entire BEF, Britain's only full-time professional
soldiers, would be wiped out before the war had really got under way
On the 27th May 1940, the British government, led by Winston Churchill, put a
plan called ‘Operation Dynamo’ into action. The aim was to evacuate the troops
to Britain by ship.
Churchill appealed to the people of Britain to help with the evacuation in any way
they could. Thousands of people who owned small boats and other sea craft
responded and over the course of a week, the British Royal Navy, supported by
an armada of privately-owned boats, evacuated over 300,000 British, French and
Belgian soldiers across the English Channel to safety.
FACT: Winston Churchill had
recently replaced Neville
Chamberlain as the head of
a war-time coalition
government after a vote of
no-confidence exposed his
weaknesses and inability to
lead during wartime.
Link to video
Watch a dramatized version of
Churchill’s speech to the nation here
Task
Access the document attached to Google
Classroom ‘Wk8 – Dunkirk Source Work’.
Spend ten minutes reading through the
sources before answering the questions in
detail.
The Fall of France
1) By the 26th of May, all the French
and Belgian ports north of the river
Somme, apart from Dunkirk, had
been captured. Belgium surrendered
on the 28th of May, and Fal Gelb had
succeeded by the 4th June.
2) Encouraged by these early
successes, and not wanting to miss
out on the spoils of war if they
were to surrender, Mussolini
declared war on Britain and France
on the 10th of June 1940.
3) German troops entered Paris on the
14th June. French forces withdrew from
the city the day before and it was
declared an ‘open city’ - meaning it
would not be defended in order to
prevent its destruction.
4) France requested an
armistice on the 17th of
June. The document was
signed three days later in
the same railcar where
German delegates had
signed the armistice at the
end of the First World War.
The car was even relocated
to the same location in
the Compiegne forest.
France’s Future - Vichy France