Hitler’s Lightning War
Chapter 16
Section 1
Main Idea
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Using the sudden mass attack called the
blitzkrieg, Germany overran much of
Europe and North Africa.
Hitler’s actions set off World War II.
The results of the war still affect politics
and economics of today’s world.
Introduction
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During the 1930s, Hitler played
on the hopes and fears of the
Western democracies.
Each time Hitler gained new
territory, he promised that was
the last demand.
However, Hitler’s demands kept
coming.
Now Hitler wanted Poland.
He demanded that the Polish
Corridor (taken during WWI)
be returned to Germany.
Germany Sparks a
New War in Europe
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Stalin had already signed a 10 year
nonaggression pact with Hitler.
Hitler had promised Stalin territory.
They secretly agreed to divide Poland
between them.
USSR would also take Finland, Lithuania,
Latvia and Estonia.
Germany’s Lightning Attack
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Hitler quickly made plans to conquer
Poland.
Attacked Poland by surprise on
September 1, 1939.
German tanks and troops entered
Poland.
Also, began bombing Poland’s capital
Warsaw.
France and Britain’s Response
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France and Britain declared war on Germany
on September 3rd.
Germany took the western half of Poland before
France and Britain could send its troops.
This was the first test of Germany’s newest
military strategy.
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Blitzkrieg (lightning war).
Worked in the case of Poland.
The Soviets Make Their Move
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September 17th – Stalin
sent troops to occupy the
eastern half of Poland.
Next, Stalin easily took
Lithuania, Latvia and
Estonia.
Finland, however, resisted.
One million Soviets were
sent to Finland.
Soviets expected a quick
win and were not prepared
for winter fighting.
After heavy losses, the
Soviets finally won.
The Phony War
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France and Britain stationed
their armies along the
Maginot Line, waiting for
Germany to attack.
Nothing happened.
Soldiers were bored.
Germans soldiers were
stationed on the Siegfried
Line, a few miles away.
Germans jokingly called it a
“sitzkrieg”.
The Fall of France
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Germany began to
sweep through the
Netherlands, Belgium
and Luxembourg.
This was a strategy to
keep the Allies’ attention
there, while Germany
snuck into France
through the Ardennes
forest.
Rescue at Dunkirk
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After being trapped by
German forces in northern
France, the Allies retreated
to Dunkirk, a French port
city near the Belgian
border.
The Allies had no where to
go.
Heroically, the British
navy rescued the army.
Though the armada was an
amateur, it rescued more
than 338,000 soldiers.
France Falls
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After Dunkirk, resistance in France
began to crumble.
Germans had taken Paris.
French leaders surrendered on June 22,
1940.
General Charles de Gaulle led the French
in German resistance.
France was finally liberated in 1944.
The Battle of Britain
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After France fell, Great
Britain stood alone in
battling the Nazis.
Winston Churchill was now
the British Prime Minister.
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“We shall never surrender.”
1940, Germany’s Luftwaffe
(air force) began bombing
Great Britain.
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At first, focused on airfields
and aircraft factories.
Later focused on cities, such
as London.
Royal Air Force
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Despite being outnumbered,
Britain’s air force (RAF) had two
things in their favor.
 Radar
 German code-making
machine, Enigma.
Germans switched from day raids
to night bombings to avoid the
RAF.
After about a year, Hitler decides
to call off the attacks.
The Battle of Britain is over.
Allies now realize that Hitler’s
attacks can be blocked.
The Mediterranean
and the Eastern Front
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Hitler decides to deal with Great Britain
later.
He now focused on the Mediterranean and
the Balkans.
Despite the non-aggression pact, Hitler
also goes after the Soviet Union.
Axis Forces Attack North Africa
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Mussolini attacks British forces
in Egypt while the Battle of
Britain is occurring.
By February, Britain had taken
130,000 Italian prisoners.
Hitler stepped in to save
Mussolini.
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Sends a German tank force
under the command of Erwin
Rommel.
Rommel finally defeats the
Allies.
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Earns the name “Desert Fox”.
The War in the Balkans
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Hitler was planning on attacking USSR but
wanted to build bases in the Balkan countries
first.
Hitler persuades Bulgaria, Romania and
Hungary to join the Axis Powers.
Greece and Yugoslavia refused because they
favored Britain.
Hitler invaded them and they surrendered in
about two weeks.
Hitler Invades the Soviet Union
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With the Balkans in control, Hitler could move
forward with Operation Barbarossa.
Soviet Union was not prepared for attack.
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Largest army in the world, but had poor training
and little equipment.
Germans push 500 miles inside the Soviet Union.
The Soviets use the same scorched-earth
strategy that they used against Napoleon.
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As the Soviets were pushed back, they torched
everything in their path.
Leningrad
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Hitler seizes Leningrad and cuts
it off from the Soviets.
Determined to starve the
population (2.5 million people),
Hitler bombs food warehouses.
People began eating cattle and
horse feed, cats and dogs then
crows and rats.
Nearly one million people died
that winter (1941-1942).
The city still refused to fall.
Moscow
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Hitler now focused on Moscow, the
capital and heart of USSR.
Germans weren’t prepared for harsh
winter.
They were still in summer uniforms and
wanted to retreat.
Hitler would not let them.
More than 500,000 die.
The United States Aids Its Allies
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Most Americans felt that the United States
should not be involved in the war.
Congress had passed three Neutrality Acts
between 1935-1937.
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Made it illegal to sell arms or lend money to nations
at war.
FDR knew that if the Allies fell that the U.S.
would be dragged into war.
FDR asks Congress to allow the Allies to buy
American arms.
Lend-Lease Act
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1941 – Congress passes the Lend-Lease
Act.
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U.S. can lend or lease arms or supplies to any
country vital to the U.S.
U.S. Navy helps escort British ships
carrying U.S. arms.
Hitler orders his submarines to sink any
cargo ships they see.
Atlantic Charter
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U.S. was still not in the war at this point.
However, FDR and Churchill met secretly and
issued a joint declaration called the Atlantic
Charter.
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Upheld free trade among nations and the right of the
people to choose their own government.
Charter later serves as Allies’ peace plan at the
end of WWII.
Dragged into War
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September 4 – a German Uboat fired on a U.S. destroyer.
FDR orders the U.S. navy to
shoot German submarines on
sight.
U.S. was now involved in an
undeclared naval war with
Germany.
The attack that ends up drawing
the U.S. into war comes from
Japan, not Germany.