The world war ii in Europe

1.

Lecture 5. The World War II in Europe
Course: IRN 220 Contemporary History of IR
Instructor: Durdona Yussupova

2.

Lecture outline
I. Reviving the German military
II. Nazi Expansion in Europe
III.Munich Conference
IV.German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact
V. German-Soviet Suspicions
VI.Major Turning Points in WWII

3.

Germany’s Military Condition
• In 1933 Germany was a militarily weak country.
• Its western frontiers were demilitarized, hence French troops
could easily move to Germany’s industrial zones in case of war.
• Germany’s eastern neighbors – Poland and Czechoslovakia – had
defensive treaties with France.
• German army had only 100 000 troops.
• No air force and limited army

4.

Military Revival
• In March 1935, Hitler announced about the creation of a new
air force and enlargement of Germany’s army up to 550 000
troops.
• France, Great Britain, Italy condemned this unilateral breach
of the Versailles Treaty.
• But they did not take any concrete action.

5.

Hitler explained such moves by the need for
only revising the unfair conditions of the
Versailles Treaty and allow Germany to
retake its rightful place in Europe.

6.

The absence of actions from the European states
led Hitler to believe that they would not use force
in order to maintain the provisions of the
Versailles Treaty.
Hence he sent German troops to the demilitarized
Rhineland.

7.

Meantime, in October 1935 Mussolini invaded Ethiopia

8.

The condemnation of this act made by France and
Britain caused him to cooperate with Hitler. In
October 1936, the two countries concluded an
agreement that recognized their common interests.

9.

“Anschluss” (Union) with Austria

10.

Sudetenland Crisis
• Sudetenland was the areas in
Czechoslovakia that were predominantly
inhabited by the German speaking
population.
• The area was home to important
industrial resources.
• Sudeten Germans who were left under
Czechoslovak rule according to SaintGermain Treaty supported the Nazi
regime in Germany.
• They wanted to be united with Germany.

11.

Munich Conference
• September 29-30, 1938
• Hitler demanded quick annexation of the
Sudetenland as well as the incorporation
of all the Germans in Czechoslovakia to
Germany
• No Czechs were invited to the
conference
• The participants signed the Munich
Agreement that was suitable for Hitler’s
demands
Neville Chamberlain, Edouard Daladier,
Benito Mussolini, Adolf Hitler

12.

They issued an ultimatum to Czechoslovakia
to cede the Sudetenland to Germany
by October 10, 1938.

13.

Chamberlain’s Appeasement
• Main figure – British prime minister Neville
Chamberlain
• For him anything was preferable to a repeat of
WWI.
• Chamberlain and Daladier did not wish to go
to war to preserve Czechoslovakia which was
only created in 1918.
• Chamberlain misunderstood Hitler whom he
thought could be appeased by taking
Sudetenland since Hitler promised him that
Sudetenland was his last demand.

14.

Chamberlain returned to Britain believing that he
had achieved “peace in our time”.

15.

As a result, on October 15, 1938 German
troops occupied Sudetenland.

16.

Czechoslovakia
• Hitler still was not satisfied because he
was convinced that the western countries
would not fight back against him.
• In March 1939, Germany occupied
Czechoslovakia (Bohemia and Moravia).
• The Slovaks with the support of Hitler
declared their independence.
• Hence, the German puppet state of
Slovakia was created.

17.

Pre-war Alignment
• Britain and France negotiated with the Soviet Union
on containing Nazi aggression.
• However, the alliance was not established due to the
lack of trust between the western Europeans and
Soviets.
• Germany sought to prevent an alliance between
Britain, France and USSR so that it could avoid twofront war.

18.

German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact
Also known as Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (August 23, 1939)

19.

Terms of German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact
• The two countries agreed not to attack each other
• Not to support any third power that might attack the other party to the
pact
• Remain in consultation with each other on questions of their common
interest
• Not to join any group of powers directly or indirectly threatening one
of the two parties
• Solve all the differences by negotiation
• The pact was to last for 10 years

20.

It included secret protocol that divided the eastern
Europe into German and Soviet spheres of
influence.
Eastern part of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia
and Finland was assigned to the Soviet sphere of
influence.

21.

The pact was surprising to the world given
the ideological hostilities between the two
countries.

22.

The Non-aggression Pact granted Nazi
Germany with freedom to move eastward, thus,
on 1 September 1939 Hitler invaded Poland.
On 3 September 1939, Britain and France
declared war on Germany.

23.

24.

Nazi Invasion of Europe
• April 9 1940: attack on Norway and Denmark
• May 1940: attack on Netherlands, Belgium and France
• June 22, 1940: France capitulated
• August 1940: German air force (Luftwaffe) launched
offensive against Britain; Britain fought back, massive
bombings of cities took place
• September 1940: Germany lost and abandoned the plan

25.

Tripartite Pact (Axis Pact)
• 27 September, 1940: Germany,
Italy, and Japan signed an
defensive military alliance
• November 1940: Hungary,
Romania, and Slovakia joined
• March 1940: Bulgaria,
Yugoslavia followed
• The pact was directed against the
US

26.

When Germany attacked the Soviet Union on
June 22, 1941, Germany violated the
German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact.
Why did this happen?

27.

German-Soviet Disagreement
• Despite signing the Non-aggression Pact, the two
countries were deeply suspicious of each other.
• Germany invited the Soviet Union to join the Axis Pact.
• Soviet Union replied that it would agree if Germany did
not intervene in the USSR’s sphere of influence.
• Germany did not respond.

28.

Factors for the Soviet Invasion
1. As Germany succeeded, its military needed more oil, thus it invaded
the North Africa. Soviet territory offered more oil too.
2. Germany relied on the power of blitzkrieg (quick, surprise attack).
3. Germans believed that the Soviet military was weakened as a result of
Stalin’s purges.
4. The idea of lebensraum made the Germans look at the vast Soviet
lands.
5. In WWI Germany was defeated due to a blockade and lack of food,
hence it wanted to avoid that. The Soviet lands offered an escape from
a blockade.
Hitler planned to invade the Soviet Union in several weeks

29.

30.

The German ‘Lightning War’ Strategy
Blitzkrieg - the method of offensive warfare responsible for Nazi Germany’s
military successes in the early years of the WWII
Combined forces of tanks, motorised infantry and artillery
Air Forces and radio communications were key to effective Blitzkrieg
operations
These techniques were used to great effect in 1939:
• Polish Army was destroyed in a series of encirclement battles.
• In May 1940 Hitler attacked France,
• Cut off the British Expeditionary Force at Dunkirk
• Spectacular success was also achieved during the invasion of the
Soviet Union in 194.

31.

IWM's John Delaney explains the three key ingredients for any
successful Blitzkrieg: speed of movement, speed of decision making,
and an overconfident enemy.
Blitzkrieg tactics explained | How Hitler invaded France WW2:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yOPih9zRNs&t=96s

32.

London
The Battle of Britain
July 1940 to May 1941
the Royal Army Force and the Fleet
Air Arm defended the UK against
large-scale attacks by Nazi
Germany’s air force, the Luftwaffe
Major military campaign fought
entirely by air forces.
Blitz - Large-scale night attacks
Germany's failure to destroy Britain’s
air defences to force an armistice (or
even an outright surrender) was the
first major German defeat in the
Second World War

33.

Operation Barbarossa
Operation Fritz - the invasion of the Soviet Union
But later named by Hitler as Operation Barbarossa after the Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick Barbarossa (reigned 1152–90), who sought to establish German
predominance in Europe.
The Germans allotted almost 150 divisions containing a total of about three million
men.
It was in effect the largest and most powerful invasion force in human history.
the Germans underestimated the troop reserves that Stalin could bring up from the
depths of the U.S.S.R.
The Germans correctly estimated that there were about 150 divisions in the western
parts of the U.S.S.R. But the Soviets actually brought up more than 200 fresh divisions
by the middle of August, making a total of 360

34.

Battle of Stalingrad
Aug 23, 1942 – Feb 2, 1943
● Brutal military campaign between Russian
forces and those of Nazi Germany and the
Axis powers
● Largest, longest and bloodiest engagements
● Strategically important to Hitler to get
access to Caucasus oil fields
● Long supply routes, harsh weather
conditions, strong counteroffensive
“Operation Uranus” — German defeat
● The loss at Stalingrad was the first failure
of the war to be publicly acknowledged by
Hitler
Why was The Battle of Stalingrad so Deadly?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4iQFuQqp-o

35.

Operation Barbarossa: Hitler's failed invasion of Russia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gr_-HjefPi0

36.

Dresden
● Joint British and American aerial bombing attack on
the city of Dresden, the capital of the German
state of Saxony
● Between 13 and 15 February 1945, 772 heavy
bombers of the Royal Air Force and 527 of the
United States Army Air Force dropped more than
3,900 tons of high-explosive bombs on the city
● Destroyed more than 1,600 acres (6.5 km2) of the
city centre. Up to 25,000 people were killed
● Strategic target of a major rail transport and
communication centre, housing 110 factories and
50,000 workers in support of the German war effort.

37.

Major Turning Points
• December 1941: entry of the US into the WWII led to the
creation of Grand Alliance of Britain, the US, and the USSR
• February 1943: Germans surrendered in the Battle of Stalingrad
• May 1943: German and Italian troops surrendered in North
Africa
• June 1944: success of the Operation Overlord (biggest naval
invasion and amphibious landing)
• August 1944: liberation of Paris
• April 1945: Soviet troops enter Berlin

38.

Why Hitler Lost the War: German Strategic Mistakes in WWII
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5agLW7fTzBc

39.

Next Class
Reading assignment:
• W.J. Duiker, Chapter 6, pp. 129-134.
• C.S. Gray, Chapter 10, pp. 124-142.

40.

Next Class
For seminar class:
1. Choose one/two volunteer to prepare the questions and lead a first
half of class discussion based on the readings
2. Choose 2-3 major battles of WWII and discuss them in a class