World War II Begins

8th Grade Social StudiesGilmanton SchoolWorld War II BeginsUsing the sudden, mass attack called the blitzkrieg, Germany overruns much of Europe and North Africa32.1 Hitlers Lightning War

Germany Sparks a New War in EuropeSecret AgreementNonaggression pactGermans and Soviets agree not to fight each other. This was known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact signed in 1939.Agreement includes secret deal to split Poland

Ribbentrop and Stalin at the signing of the Pact

Text of the secret protocol (in German) Germany Sparks a New War in EuropeGermanys Lightning AttackSeptember 1, 1939Hitler launches invasion of PolandBritain, France declare war on Germany, but Poland falls quicklyBlitzkrieglightning warGermanys new military strategyPlanes, tanks, infantry used to surprise enemy and quickly conquerGermanys Lightning AttackThe Soviets Make Their MoveSoviets capture Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, resistance met in FinlandFinland is invaded by the Soviet Union in what is called the Winter War. Finland surrenders in March, 1940The Finns name the incendiary device the Molotov Cocktail after Soviet foreign minister Molotov during the Winter War.

Germanys Lightning AttackThe Phony WarFrench, British mobilize along French border, wait for German attackMany months of no actionthe phony warIn April 1940 Hitler attacks and quickly captures Denmark and Norway

British Ministry of Home Security poster of a type that was common during the Phony War

Denmark quickly surrenders to the Nazis, and cooperates with the German occupation. However, King Christian X becomes a symbol of Danish resistance when he stays in his capital of Copenhagen and still goes on a daily horseback ride through the capital. This picture taken in 1940 is of one of those rides. He is NOT accompanied by any armed guard.

King Haakon of Norway (brother of Christian X of Denmark) refused to surrender to the Nazis, and was a symbol of Norwegian resistance. He escaped to London and moved the Norwegian government in exile there.

German infantry attacking through a burning Norwegian village.

German Neubaufahrzeug tanks in Oslo.The Fall of FranceFurther GainsMay 1940Germany conquers Netherlands, Belgium, LuxembourgSoon after, German army reaches French coastThe Fall of FranceRescue at DunkirkGerman forces trap British, French on coast of DunkirkBritish Navy and civilians take ships across the English Channel to rescue soldiers

British troops evacuating Dunkirk's beaches. Many stood shoulder deep in water for hours, waiting to board the warships. The Fall of France

France FallsJune 1940France surrenders to GermanyCharles de Gaulle, French general, organizes opposition to GermanyThe Battle of BritainThreat to BritainWinston ChurchillBecomes British prime minister and vows no surrender.

Winston Churchill giving his famous 'V' signThe Battle of BritainGermany plans invasion of Britain; begins with air attacks in 1940British use air force, radar, code-breaking to resist GermanyBattle of BritainAir war over Britain that lasted until May 1941Stunned by British resistance, Hitler calls off attacks

A pair of 264 Squadron Defiants. (PS-V was shot down on 28 August 1940 over Kent by Bf 109s.)

Aircraft spotter on the roof of a building in London. St. Paul's Cathedral is in the background. 306-NT-901B-3.

Standing up gloriously out of the flames and smoke of surrounding buildings, St. Paul's Cathedral is pictured during the great fire raid of Sunday December 29th." 1940. 306-NT-3173V.

Over 500 firemen and members of the London Auxiliary Fire Fighting Services, including many women, combined in a war exercise over the ground covered by Greenwich (London) Fire Station." Ca. July 1939. 306-NT-901-19.

Children of an eastern suburb of London, who have been made homeless by the random bombs of the Nazi night raiders, waiting outside the wreckage of what was their home." September 1940. 306-NT-3163V.

Two bewildered old ladies stand amid the leveled ruins of the almshouse which was Home; until Jerry dropped his bombs. Total war knows no bounds. Almshouse bombed Feb. 10, Newbury, Berks., England." Naccarata, February 11, 1943. 111-SC-178801.

89.Life in London during the war. View of a V-1 rocket (flying bomb) in flight, ca. 1944. 306-NT-3157V. The British nickname was a Doodlebug

A London bus is submerged in a bomb crater after a German air raid.

The Mediterranean and the Eastern FrontAxis Forces Attack North AfricaMussolini and Italy at first neutralMussolini declares war on France and Britain after German victorySeptember 1940Mussolini attacks British in North Africa

On 13 September 1940 Italy launched the Tenth Army stationed in Libya in a 200,000 troop invasion into the British protectorate of Egypt and set up defensive forts at Sidi Barrani. But Italian Marshal Rodolfo Graziani, Governor-General of Libya, with little intelligence on the state of Allied forces there, chose not to continue further towards Cairo.

Italian L3/33 in North AfricaThe Mediterranean and the Eastern FrontBritain Strikes BackDecember 1940British attack and drive Italians backErwin Rommel, German general, battles British in North AfricaIn 1942, Rommel first retreats then succeeds against British

Gen. Erwin Rommel with the 15th Panzer Division between Tobruk and Sidi Omar. Sdf. Zwilling, Libya, January or November 24, 1941. 242-EAPC-6-M713a.

General Bernard L. Montgomery watches his tanks move up." North Africa, November 1942. 208-PU-138LL-3. The Mediterranean and the Eastern FrontThe War in the BalkansHitler plans to invade Soviet Union; moves to take Balkan countriesHitler invades Yugoslavia and Greece in April 1941; both fall quickly

An animation depicting the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia from the Why We Fight series of propaganda films.

The Battle of Greece is generally regarded as a continuation of the Greco-Italian War, which began when Italian troops invaded Greece on October 28, 1940. Within weeks the Italians were driven out of Greece and Greek forces pushed on to occupy much of southern Albania. In March 1941, a major Italian counterattack failed, and Germany was forced to come to the aid of its ally. Operation Marita began on April 6, 1941, with German troops invading Greece through Bulgaria in an effort to secure its southern flank. The combined Greek and British Commonwealth forces fought back with great tenacity, but were vastly outnumbered and outgunned, and finally collapsed. The Mediterranean and the Eastern FrontHitler Invades the Soviet UnionGermany invades an unprepared Soviet Union in June 1941Soviet troops burn land as they retreat; Germans move into RussiaGermans stopped at Leningrad, forced to undertake long siegeGermans almost capture Moscow, but forced to pull back

Soviet and German invasions, annexations, and spheres of influence in Central and eastern Europe 1939-1940

Russian soldiers prepare to attack German lines outside Leningrad.

A column of Red Army POWs captured near Minsk is marched west.

A group of Soviet POWs, taken to undefined Prison Camp The United States Aids Its AlliesAmerican PolicyMost Americans want to avoid warRoosevelt fears that if allies fall, U.S. would have to fightHe hopes to strengthen allies so they can resist GermanyLend-Lease ActU.S. loans weapons to countries fighting Germany

President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Lend-Lease bill to give aid to Britain and China (1941)The United States Aids Its Allies

Roosevelt and Churchill meet, issue statement of principlesAtlantic Chartersupports free trade, right to form own government