WWII approach

1. Almudena
Corrales
Social Studies
Almudena
Corrales
Social Studies
D-Day Landing Craft, Robert
Capa

2. “It is one thing to learn about history books, and
quite another thing to experience it oneself. That is what I
wanted to remind you of just now when I likened a glimpse into
the past of mankind to the view seen from an aeroplane flying at
a great hight […]
In the last chapter I told you about the terrible World
War of 1914-18. Although I lived through it, I was only nine years
old when it ended. So when I wrote about it still had to rely on
books.
In my finally chapter I would like to tell you a little
about what I actually did experience. The more I think about it,
the stranger it seems. The world is now so utterly different from
what it was in 1918, and yet so many of the changes that
occured happened so imperceptibly that we now take them
completely for granted.
When I was a boy there were no television, no
computers, no space flights and no atomic energy. .[…]
[…] I am reluctant to name them, but everyone will
know that the one I have most in mind is Adolf Hitler. Hitler had
been a soldier in the First World War, and he too remained
convinced that, had it not been for the supposed deception, the

3. “ German army would never have been defeated. But
he didn’t just blame Wilson. In his eyes, the enemy’s propaganda
had been crucial in persuading the Germans and Austrians at
home to abandon the soldiers at the front to their fate. Hitler
was therefore determined to trump the enemy in the art of
propaganda. He was a brilliant popular orator and drew huge
crowds. He knew there was no better way to incite a mob to
action than to give them a scapegoat, someone they could blame
for their suffering , and he found one in the Jews.
[…] But even though I come from a Jewish family
myself, it never enetered my head that such horrors might be
repeated in my own lifetime.
I myself saw Hitler’s brown-shirts supporters beating
up Jewish students at Vienna University, and when I was writing
this book, Hitler had already seized power in Germany. It seemed
only a matter of time before the Austrian government would also
fall, so I was lucky to be invited to England just in time, before
Hitler’s troops marched into Austria in March 1938. After that, as
in Germany, anyone who greeted someone with a simple ‘Good
morning’ and not a ‘Heil Hitler!’ was taken a very grave risk.

4. “In this type of situation it soon becomes all too clear
that in the eyes of the supporters of this sort of movement, there
is only one sin, disloyalty to the Führer, or leader, and only one
virtue, absolute obedience. To bring victory closer every order
had to be obeyed, even if it ran counter to the laws of humanity.
Of course, similar things have happened at earlier times in
history, and I have described many of them in this book – for
example, when I wrote about Muhammad’s first disciples. The
Jesuits, too, were said to place obedience above allelse. I also
touched briefly on the victory of the Communists in Russia under
Lenin, and there, too, there were convinced Communists who
would not tolerate any apponents. Their ruthlessness in the
pursuit of their goals knew no bounds, and millions died as a
result.
In the years that followed the First World War,
tolerance also vanished in Germany, Italy and Japan. The
politicians of those countries told their fellow countrymen that
they had been cheated when the world was shared out, and they
too had the right to rule over other peoples. The Italians were
remind of their ancient Roman ancestry, the Japanese of their
warriors, and the Germans of the old Germanic tribes, of
Charlemagne and Frederick the Great. […]

5. “Then, when a serious economic crisis in Germany
condemned vast numbers of people to unemployment, war
seemed the simplest way out. The unemployment would
become soldiers or work in the armaments factories, and in this
way the hateful treaties of Versailles and St. Germain would be
wiped off the face of the earth. Not only that, but the Western
democratic countries – France, Britain and the United States- had
become so softened by years of peace, or so it was thought, that
hey were hardly likely to defend themselves. Certainly no one
there wanted a war, and every effort was made to avoid giving
Hitler an excuse to bring calamity down on the world. But, sadly,
a pretext can always be found. So on the first day of September
in 1939, the German army marched into Poland.
[…] In December 1941, the japanese attacked the
American fleet at anchor in Pearl Harbor and virtually destroyed
it, and Hitler took it upon himself to declare war on the United
Sates, and when, in the autumn of 1942, the German troops
were beaten back in North Africa and defeated by the Russian in
January 1943 outside Satlingrad, and when the German air force-
the Luftwaffe- proved powerless, it became clear that it takes
more than fine words and fanfares to win a war. […]
When Winston Churchill became prime minister in
England, he said: ‘I can promise nothing but blood, sweat and
tears’

6. •On 1 September 1939 Germany invaded Poland
from the west and on 15 September Russia
invaded from the east.
•Poland was swiftly defeated by the German
tactics of Blitzkrieg (lightning war) La guerra
relámpago.
• WHY?
• Quick victories would get people
behind the war effort.
• Germany’s economy could not
support long-drawn out campaigns.
•This was followed by the Phoney War (winter
1939-1940). Each side waiting for the other to
make a move.
• Hitler was confident that he could get
Britain and France to agree to a peace
deal with him rather than continue the
war.
1. POLAND DEFEATED

7. 2. GERMAN SUCCESSES IN THE WEST
•In April 1940 Germany, using Blitzkreig tactics,
invaded Denmark and Norway.
•Norway was especially important to Hitler, since it
would provide naval bases.
•On 10 May German troops attacked Holland,
Belgium and France using Blitskrieg tactics.
Britain gets a new war leader
•British attempts to help Norway failed and Prime
Minister Chamberlain was replaced by Winston
Churchill.
•Although Dunkirk was a defeat for the Allies ,
Churchill used for propaganda purposes to boost
morale led to the phrase: “Dunkirk spirit”.

8. Reasons for German success
• Blitzkrieg tactics.
• Neither Britain nor France was ready to
intervene with a large number of troops
to help Poland.
• Norwegian forces were not mobilised and
Norwegian Nazis, led by Quisling, helped
the invaders.
• By invading France through Belgium the
German army by-passed the French
defences of the Maginot Line which had
been built along the French-German
border.

9. 4. THE SURVIVAL OF BRITAIN
• Hitler planned to invade Britain
(Operation Sealion): large fleets of barges
carrying troops across the English
Channel.
• July-September 1940 the two airforces
fought for control of the skies in the
Battle of Britain.
• The Luftwaffe tried different tactics:
• Bombing convoys
airfields
factories
large cities
• German losses were heavier than British
Germans- 1,389 planes – British-792 planes

10. The reasons for the victory of the RAF
•The British Spitfires and Hurricanes were more
manoeuvrable than German Messerschmidts.
•The Germans failed to bomb the British radar
stations which told the RAF where and when
German attacks were coming.
•British factories produced new planes more quickly
than German factories.
•The skill and bravery of the British pilots surpassed
that of the Germans.

11. RAF strengths
•The RAF was led by Air Chief Marshal Sir
Hugh Dowing. He introduced command
and communication systems.
•Dowing was also a supporter of radar.
Radar worked by transmitting radio waves
that bounced back off approaching enemy
aircraft.
•The main RAF fighter planes – Spitfires and
Hurricanes-were more than a match for the
Luftwaffe.
•RAF fighters were organised into regions
so that they could meet attacks quickly.
•RAF pilots who baled out over Britain
could return to duty.
RAF strengths
•The RAF was led by Air Chief Marshal Sir
Hugh Dowing. He introduced command
and communication systems.
•Dowing was also a supporter of radar.
Radar worked by transmitting radio waves
that bounced back off approaching enemy
aircraft.
•The main RAF fighter planes – Spitfires and
Hurricanes-were more than a match for the
Luftwaffe.
•RAF fighters were organised into regions
so that they could meet attacks quickly.
•RAF pilots who baled out over Britain
could return to duty.
Luftwaffe weaknesses
•Hermann Goering led the Luftwaffe. He
did not really understand how modern air
warfare worked.
•The Luftwaffe had a lot of aircraft but not
enough of the right type of fighting aircraft.
•German fighters only had enough fuel on
board to guarantee them 30 minutes flying
time over Britain.
•Luftwaffe bombers were too small.
•German intelligence was poor.
•Luftwaffe pilots who baled out over Britain
became prisioners of war.
Luftwaffe weaknesses
•Hermann Goering led the Luftwaffe. He
did not really understand how modern air
warfare worked.
•The Luftwaffe had a lot of aircraft but not
enough of the right type of fighting aircraft.
•German fighters only had enough fuel on
board to guarantee them 30 minutes flying
time over Britain.
•Luftwaffe bombers were too small.
•German intelligence was poor.
•Luftwaffe pilots who baled out over Britain
became prisioners of war.

12. 5. THE BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC
•Britain depended on food, oil ans raw materials from the
USA.
•Germans used U-Boats and calculated that if they sank
150 merchant ships every month for a year, Britain would
have to surrender.
•Churchill wrote: ‘The only thing that ever really frightened
me during the war was the U-boat peril’.
•Later in 1943, however, the success of the U-boats
declined.
Reasons for the British victory
•Merchant ships sailed in convoys protected by warships.
•British warships and aircfat used radar to tell them where
the submarines where.
•The Allies were building merchant ships quickly.

13. 6. THE WAR SPREADS
Greece
•September 1940 Mussolini invaded Greece but italian forces
where driven back. Both Hitler and the Allies sent troops.
•The Allies were overrun and retreated to the island of Crete
which captured by German parachutists in June 1940.
Africa
•September 1940 Mussolini also invaded Egypt.
•British, Indian, Australian and New Zealand troops pushed the
Italians out of Egypt.
•Rommel, one of the best Hitler’s generals pushed the Allied
armies deep into Egypt, threatening the Suez Canal.
•The Battle of El Alamein, October 1942, was the turning point:
Montgomery’s Eighth Army defeated Rommel.
•1943, the Allies invaded Italy from North Africa.

14. 7. OPERATION BARBAROSSA, 1941
“It was the Red Army which tore the heart out of the German
army”
Churchill said
•Hitler’s ultimate dream was to smash the USSR and carve out an
empire for his master race of Germans.
•Although Hitler had signed the Nazi-Soviet Pact with Stalin in
1939 he always planned to invade Russia.
WHAT DID HE WANT?
•Lebensraum for the German people.
•To destroy communism.
•Resources such as wheat in the Ukraine and oil in the
Caucasus.

15. By summer of 1941, Hitler felt that the time was right and he launched Operation Barbarossa:
• 3 million German soldiers in 153 divisions poured across the frontier into the USSR.
• Blitzkrieg against the Red Army had devastating effects.
• September 1941, Leningrand was under siege. They controlled Ukraine and they also
reached Crimea.
• In the centre of Russia, the Germans almost reached Moscow, and Stalin seriously
considered surrendering.
• The Red Army used the winter of 1941-1942 to reorganise. In one of the most
extraordinary turnabouts in history, USSR survived and played the key role in the
defeat of Hitler.

16. 1. The Allied offensive in Greece held up the German invasion of
Russia. This meant that when the Germans did attack (in june) the
dreadful Russian winter was not far off.
2. The Germans found it difficult to keep their armies supplied over
such vast distances. This was made harder by the ‘scorched earth!
Policy of the Russians (destroying everything as they retreated).
3. The harsh winter of 1941 halted the German advance.
4. The Russian armies and the Russian people showed stubborn
resistance.

17. 8. AMERICA AND THE WAR WITH JAPAN
Causes of the war with Japan
Japanese expansion
•Japan had already conquered Manchuria
and by 1941 had invaded deep into China.
•Japan needed supplies of coal, oil, tin and
other raw materials.
•America was very worried about Japanese
advances in these areas.
•Japanese leaders admired dictators like
Hitler and in 1936 signed an agreement with
him.

18. What was the reaction of America?
•The USA had important trading links with China.
•America demanded that Japan withdraw from
China and Indo-China.
•America stopped trading with Japan and this was
particulary serious for Japan beacuse it depended
on America for the 80% of its oil.
Pearl Harbor December 1941
•Japan decided to launch a surprise attack on the US naval base in Hawaii.
•If the US navy in the Pacific could be destroyed, Japan could conquer the whole of
the Pacific and South-East Asia.
•In the attack most of the US fleet and 120 aircraft were destroyed, and 2,400
Americans were killed.

19. Pearl Harbor to MidwayPearl Harbor to Midway
•Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941.
•The only confort for the US navy was that its
aircarft carries were not in Pearl Harbor at the time
of the attack.
•This was a decisive error.
•The US carrier comander, Admiral Halsey, was able
to use these carries throughout 1942, while US
shipyards frantically constructed new ships,
especially carries.
•The decisive battle came at Midway in May 1942
when the Americans destroyed four japanese
carries. Without air protection the Japanese navy
was hopelessly vulnerable and Japan could not
match the output of the USA’s shipyards and
aircraft factories.

21. 9. THE DEFEAT OF GERMANY
By June 1944 Britain and France were ready to launch their
offensive in Europe. This was now possible because of the
following factors:
• Germany had suffered massive losses in Russia.
• In July 1943 British and American troops had landed in
Italy. By April 1945 Italy had fallen.
• Over 3 million British, Canadian and American troops
were in southern Britain ready to invade France.
• The Allied bombing campaign againts Germany:
• One of the most controversial aspects of the war.
• Sir Arthur Harris (Head of the RAF) and Churchill
thought that bombing would demoralise the
German population as well as destroy vital
industries, rail links and resources such as coal
mines.

22. • When Roosvelt and
Churchill met in January
1943, they agreed that
their forces would not be
ready to attack Europe
until 1944.
• They were conscious that
Stalin was pressuring them
to equal the enormous
efforts of the USSR against
Germany.
• They decided that the
bombing campaign would
be intensified and that it
would be focused on
targets in Germany.
• Berlin was bombed
regularly from 1943 to
1945.

23. 10. D-DAY 6 JUNE 1944
•The landings were on five different beaches on a 60-mile strech of the Normandy
coast.
•Within three weeks northen France had been liberated. On 25 August, Paris fell.
•By September both France and Belgium had been freed from German control.
•In December the Germans launched a counter-attack but the Allies recovered. Hitler
had gambled everything on this attack: he lost 250,000 men and 600 tanks.
•By April 1945 the Allies were entering Germany. However, the Russians, attacking
from the east, reached Berlin first.
•Hitler shot himself on 30 April and Germany surrendered on 7 May 1945.

28. 11. The defeat of Japan
•The conflict between the Allies and Japan was fought over a
vast territory.
•Although the Japanese were being pushed back in 1943 and
1944, the Allied losses were huge.
•The Japanese fought fanatically for each island in the Pacific
and each piece of territory in China, Burma and India.
•By summer 1945, the USA was confident of winning the war
eventually.
•In 1944-1945 America won the Philippines back. Only Japan
was left.
•An international team of scientists in the USA, working on
what was known as the Manhattan Project, had just
perfected the wolrd’s first nuclear bomb. It was decision time
for Truman.
•In August a nuclear bomb was dropped on the city of
Hiroshima, and a few days later another one in Nagasaki.
•On 14 August 1945 Japan surrendered.