Total War Group Project 1

Top 10 battles of World War II

The top ten significant battles of World War II are defined from numbers ten to one given

by writer John Allen. These battles played critical roles in the outcome of the war. There were

many significant battles, but John Allen chose these at his top ten.

Hitler went on to invade France after Germany invaded and ultimately defeated Poland in

September 1939. Hitler’s ultimate goal was to invade the Soviet Union, but he knew the defeat of

the Western countries were a necessity in order to avoid a two-war front (Allen). Once Germany

defeated France in the Battle of France the Germans were able to focus their next plan of attack

on Britain (Allen).

The Allies collaborated and created a necessary strategy in order to liberate France and

take it from Germany’s control. It was critical to destroy the main force of the German Army in

Northern Europe (Allen). Operation Overlord was designed and commenced with the Normandy

Landings in June of 1944 (Allen) A year later after the operation commenced, Germany went on

to surrender. The most critical part of this operation was that Western Europe was not to be

controlled by Communist Russia, which had immense postwar political implications (Allen).

In August of 1942, the Japanese Navy was in the process building an airfield on

Guadalcanal that could increase Japanese air cover for their naval forces advancing in the South

Pacific (Allen). The Battle of Guadalcanal commenced on August 7th, in which the U.S. Marines

landed on Guadalcanal (Allen). The Japanese landed thousands of Japanese troops throughout

the month in order to recapture the airfield (Allen) In February of 1943 the Japanese withdrew

their forces from the Island (Allen).

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In June 1944 the largest naval battle in history took place during The Battle of Leyte

Gulf, and this resulted in the destruction of the Japanese Navy (Allen). The loss of Japans Navy

cut off their supply of oil and other important war materials (Allen).

On December 1941 during the Battle of Moscow the Russian were able to push the

Germany Army Back (Allen). The Germans were only 19 miles away from reaching Moscow,

which the capitol of Russia was important militarily and politically to the Germans (Allen). The

Battle of Moscow eventually led to Germany and Russia into a war of attrition, in which Russia

would prevail,

The largest tank battle in history took place during The Battle of Kursk (Allen). During

this battle alone the Germans lost a significant amount of war machines such as 720 tanks, 680

aircrafts, and 170,000 casualties (Allen). During this battle the Russian defenses were able to

defeat the Blitzkrieg offensive. This was first time the Blitzkrieg offensive had been defeated

before it could break through enemy defenses (Allen).

After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, they decided to occupy Midway Atoll to extend

their defensive perimeter (Allen). The Americans were able to break the code and knew roughly

when, where, and how strong the Japanese would appear (Allen). The Americans destroyed four

Japanese aircraft carriers and most of the veteran pilots were killed as well (Allen). This battle

aloud the Allies to land at Guadalcanal and gave the Allies the ability to be on the offensive for

the rest of the war in the Pacific (Allen).

On June 22 1941, the Germans invaded the Soviet Union which the Germans called

Operation Barbarossa (Allen). The invasion caught the Red Army completely off guard.

Operation Barbarossa was important to Hitler because he saw Russia as a source of agriculture,

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slave labor, oil, and other raw materials (Allen). The Red Army outnumbered the Germans were

terribly dispersed, unprepared, and suffered from poor leadership (Allen). This war caused the

Soviet Union to lose 14% of its population, which was close to 24 million people (Allen).

The Battle of Stalingrad was a disaster for the Germans, and made victory in the East

almost impossible (Allen). It was important to the Germans to capture Stalingrad because it was

imperative to transportation and was the gateway to the oil-rich region (Allen). During this battle

the Red Army was able to encircle 300,000 Axis troops, the Germans suffered 841,000 casualties

(Allen). The Germans launched one more offensive battle, which took place at Kursk, and

wound up being another disaster (Allen).

If Germany successfully invaded Britain, the Germans could have focused all their

attention solely on to invading and conquering Russia. The Battle of Britain is the most

important battle in World War II (Allen). If Germany had been victorious, the Americans and

Russians would have fought the Axis powers alone. Germany created Operation Sea Lion, which

its main objective was to gain air supremacy (Allen). Once the Germans achieved air supremacy

they could have destroyed the British Royal Navy, the British ships would not have had any air

support. The Royal Air Force utilized Radar so they could keep their planes grounded and plan

successful attacks against German bombers (Allen). By October of 1940, German air supremacy

was not achieved and Hitler postponed Operation Sea Lion (Allen). Once The Battle of Britain

ended, Britain was able to re-build its military and establish itself as an Allied Stronghold

(Allen).

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Work Cited

Allen, John. "Top 10 Battles of World War II - Listverse." Listverse. N.p., 25 Aug. 2012. Web.

28 Jan. 2016.

http://listverse.com/2012/08/26/top-10-battles-of-world-war-ii/

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Most Influential Weapons of World War II

The most influential weapons of World War II are described by James Friend. Friend

goes on to say that they might not be the best or most powerful weapons, but they certainly had

important roles in the war. There were many weapons utilized in the war, but Friend lists his top

ten starting with number ten and going down to one.

The Higgins boat was critical during D-day, and without the boat it might have not been

successful. Andrew Higgins designed and created the boat, in which 23,000 of his boats were

created (Friend). These boats were specifically designed to ride over the water and had a ramp in

the front, which allowed troops or supplies to unload directly onto a beach (Friend). The boats

allowed the Americans to reach land without the need of a port.

The Russians utilized a new form of artillery called The Katyusha rocket launcher. The

rocket was typically mounted on the back of trucks, they were capable of unleashing a huge

amount of firepower (Friend). The rocket launcher laced in the accuracy department, but the

Katyusha Rocket Launcher was feared by German soldiers (Friend).

Britain originally had a bomber in their fleet called the Avro Manchester. The Avro

Manchester was not a great plane, but the designers had faith in their plane so they decided to

redesign it rather than disassemble it and create a new plane (Friend). The designers went

decided to enlarge the wings and add two extra engines (Friend). The redesigning of the bomber

was successful, because the bomber allowed Britain to take the war to the Germans (Friend).

The Germans did not have a strong enough navy to go up against the Allies, so they

created the U-Boat. The U-Boat was used to starve Britain of supplies and to knock the

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adversary out of the war (Friend). The German U-boat proved to be effective, sinking roughly

2,606,000 tons of Allied shipping in 1940 alone (Friend).

On June 22, 1940, France signed an armistice with Germany, which left Britain alone

against Germany. The British successfully held off Germany with their Hawker Hurricane

fighter jets (Friend). These fighter jets were very important to the Royal Air Force.

The Sherman was by no means the best tank of the war (Friend). They were somewhat

rushed into war and suffered badly against much heavier German tanks such as Tigers and

Panther (Friend). These tanks were massed produced and were not expensive to make, hard to

repair, and they did not suffer mechanical issues like the German tanks (Friend). The Sherman

Tank played an important role in defeating Germany in the West and were also used in the war

against Japan.

The 88mm Gun was an important part of the German arsenal. The 88mm was very

versatile, it was used for destroying allied tanks, aircrafts, field artillery, and was mounted on

German tanks (Friend). Germany produced around 18,000 88mm guns during the course of

World War II.

The Americans had one of the better fighter jets in the war and that was the P51 Mustang

(Friend). The Mustang was used to escort bombers, and destroy other enemy aircrafts. The

Mustang was utilized because when the Americans first joined the war they lost many bombers

due to the fact they were not protected by any escorts during daylight raids (Friend).

Aircraft carriers played important roles during World War II. The Japanese truly grasped

the true potential of aircraft carriers, and they used them with devastating effect at Pearl Harbor

(Friend). The Japanese launched 353 aircrafts from six aircraft carriers on December 7, 1941,

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which would turn the European conflict into a world war (Friend). As the war progressed it

became clear that aircraft carriers were now the most powerful weapon at sea (Friend).

The Russians produced a tank called the T-34, which was a far better tank than anything

the Germans could produce (Friend). The T-34 was a newly designed which was fast, easily

maneuverable, packed a heavy fire power, and was heavily armored (Friend). The tank was

protected so well that German shells would bounce right off. If Russia did not have the T-34 in

its repertoire it is extremely that the Germans could have succeeded in defeating the Russians

(Friend). In Friend’s opinion, this makes it easily one of the most influential weapons of World War II.

Work Cited

Friend, James. "10 Most Influential Weapons of World War Two - Toptenz.net." Toptenz.net.

N.p., 12 Dec. 2014. Web. 28 Jan. 2016.

http://www.toptenz.net/10-influential-weapons-world-war-two.php

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The Commissar Order

In March of 1941 Adolf Hitler gave the commissar order, which instructed his

subordinates to execute commissars (North). Hitler went on to say that the commissar order

would disregard the rights of the Russian soldiers because Russia did not partake in the Hague

Convention (North). General Edwin Reinecke, who was ultimately responsible for the treatment

of POW’s went on to explain the order to senior army officers (North). Reinecke instructed that

Soviet political officers should be killed immediately after being captured as well as any prisoner

that can be identified as a Bolshevist supporter (North). Reinecke would often tell his

subordinates that the Bolshevik Soldier gave up their rights to be treated as an honorable soldier

and did not earn the rights from the Geneva Convention (North).

Axis allies such as the Finnish, Italians, and Romanians would uphold the rights of their

captured adversaries (North). Many of Hitler’s armies would adhere to his order and felt

somewhat relieved that they did not have to uphold the rights of captured soldiers. The

commissar order quickly evolved into a complete atrocity. Captured Russian soldiers that were

injured were executed rather than be treated. Food deprivation was another act of cruelty acts

towards captured Russian soldiers.

Work Cited

North, Jonathan. "Soviet Prisoners of War: Forgotten Nazi Victims of World War II." History

Net Where History Comes Alive World US History Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2016.

http://www.historynet.com/soviet-prisoners-of-war-forgotten-nazi-victims-of-world-war-ii.htm

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Pearl Harbor the Strategic Attack

The attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th 1941 by Japan was created because of

strategic desperation. Japan at the time had a difficult relationship with the United States due to

diplomatic and economic struggles (Sass). The Roosevelt administration tried their best to

diffuse the Japanese aggression by utilizing embargoes on raw materials that were imperative for

the Japanese war machine (Sass).

After several years the U.S. decided to create a bigger struggle for the Japanese by

cutting off supplies of aircraft materials in 1939, scrap steel in 1940, and machine tools and

metal ore in 1941 (Sass). The most significant struggle for Japan was went the U.S. suspended

oil deliveries in 1941 (Sass). Instead of peaceful negotiations Japan elected to plan a surprise

attack on Pearl Harbor which Japan hoped to be a knockout blow to the United States. The attack

on Pearl was significant to Japan because it was home of the U.S. Pacific naval fleet. Japan

calculated that this would enable the Japanese to conquer the pacific without any resistance for

nearly two years (Sass).

Work Cited

Sass, Erik. "The Planning of Pearl Harbor." Mental Floss. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2016.

http://mentalfloss.com/article/29434/planning-pearl-harbor

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World War II Forced Labor

Before and during World War II the Nazis subjected many individuals would force both

Jews and other victims to perform labor for their movement. Nazis often called their laborers

enemies of the state, and as early as 1937 they subjected these individuals to forced labor for

economic gain to meet labor shortages (Forced Labor). Most Jewish Males living in Germany

were required to perform forced labor for various government agencies (Forced Labor).

After Poland was conquered the Germans would again force unpaid labor upon all Jewish

and Polish males. Ghettos were created in Poland as well, which was where Polish Jews were

required to reside and also subjected to forced labor much it was manual labor (Forced Labor).

The ability to work meant the opportunity to survive for the Jews, especially after the final

solution was implemented (Forced Labor).

Work Cited

"Forced Labor: An Overview." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States

Holocaust Memorial Council, 29 Jan. 2016. Web. 31 Jan. 2016.

http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005180

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World War II – The Soviet Experience

The Soviet Union’s experience was not fully understood by Americans World War II

(Dykman). The United States never experienced bombings from an enemy airplane on any of

the 48 states at the time. No civilians were enslaved, starved, murdered and not one city fell

from complete destruction (Dykman).

As of 1941 Russia had a population of 130,000,000 people (Dykman). Russia

experienced 11,000,000 killed or missing soldiers and another 7,000,000 to 20,000,000 killed

civilians during World War II (Dykman).

Before Germany invaded Russia, Hitler for the first time gave an order to his tasks forces

to kill all potential leaders of society, all communists, Jews, Gypsies, guerillas, and anyone

capable of resistance (Dykman).

Work Cited

Dykman, JT. "WWII Soviet Experience." Eisenhower Institute at Gettysburg College -. N.p.,

n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2016

http://www.eisenhowerinstitute.org/about/living_history/wwii_soviet_experience.dot

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Total war dates all the way back to the Peloponnesian War which took place between

431- 404 B.C.  Total war was used from this time up through WWII and up to some current

conflicts. Total war is a type of warfare in which nations mobilize all available resources in order

to be successful in the conflict and to destroy another nation’s ability to engage in war. As

industrialization was taking off military equipment was becoming more sophisticated which led

to a time of military conflict (warfare) that required less of a total war mentality.

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Total_war

               Total war is or becomes ideological in nature at an early stage, not least because the

ruled need to be reassured that the sacrifices they are called upon to make are for a worthwhile

cause and not, as is invariably the case, to increase the power of the rulers. The term total war is

historically most related to Hitler and his leadership but the tactic Total war has been used by

many other leaders, even to some extent to some Allied leaders in the World Wars. Total wars

are a full effort by a country to use every resource they have available to succeed and overcome

the opponent. Nuclear war and war using high power weaponry made is more likely to use less

of the total war way of thinking.  

http://www.cc.gatech.edu/~tpilsch/INTA4803TP/Articles/Total%20War-

definition&discussion.pdf

               Although the style of warfare, known today as total war, has been around for a long

time and many of conflicts have been carried out in that manner, the style of warfare didn’t get

its name until General Erich Ludendorff, the German First Quartermaster General (joint chief of

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staff), in 1918 coined it. To be able to wage total war states would have to mobilize all the

material, intellectual, and moral energies of their peoples; by implication the enemy community

as a whole--its scientists, workers, and farmers--became legitimate objects of war. Total war was

a methodology to gain an advantage over an opponent by using all possible resources to aid the

military movement.

http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/ww2/overy.htm

This topic discusses total war as a method that uses all resources of a society. There are still laws

governing what the military can do, but any and all resources can be used to accomplish them.

This includes the entirety of the economy. It can all be subject to the needs of the government.

  "Silvapages." Total War and Effects--WWII. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2016.

This article discusses the advanced weapons that both the Allies and the Axis powers used

during World War II. It goes into detail about air, sea, and land warfare. All of these inventions

were possible because of the way total war works. Everything is used to further the war effort.

"WWII Weapons and Tactics." Armed Forces History Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2016.

The article here includes a video that illustrates total war and its weapons very well. It discusses

the Blitzkrieg and Luftwaffe, along with the Final solution and the Holocaust. It shows what can

be gained and what can be lost from total war. It concludes with a section discussing the atomic

bomb and its outcomes.

"World War II: Tactics, Weapons and the Holocaust." WatchMojo.com. Rebecca Brayton, n.d. Web. 30

Jan. 2016.

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This article describes Napoleon’s reign on Europe as being one of the first acknowledged methods

of Total war being used; In fact this book gives much credit to the methodology of total war to

that of the 18th centuries Napoleon.

The First Total War: Napoleon's Europe and the Birth of Warfare as We Know It

This book gives information that is very similar to that of our Text, I’d use it for quotes but feel

that such information can be gained from our text itself.

A World at Total War: Global Conflict and the Politics of Destruction, 1937-1945

Lyons, Michael J. World War II “A Short History”, Boston, Columbus, Indianapolis, New York,

Prentice Hall 2010, Print

This book talks about the international race for recognition as the superior nation; this mainly

occurred between the Soviet Union and the United States in all Social, Political, economic and

Governing means of life; however, this was also felt by Europe and Asia as well.

Total Cold War: Eisenhower's Secret Propaganda Battle at Home and Abroad

This book tells the same information as our text but from a Europeans’ point of view, so wording

is generally similar; however, the issues are gingerly stepped around not to offend anyone.

The English Historical Review, Vol. 123, No. 501 (Apr., 2008), pp. 516-517 Published by:

Oxford University Press