z WWII Begins · z Invasion of Poland § Britain and France declare that an invasion of Poland...
-
Upload
truongdieu -
Category
Documents
-
view
217 -
download
0
Transcript of z WWII Begins · z Invasion of Poland § Britain and France declare that an invasion of Poland...
zReview
§ Treaty of Munich: (Hitler and British PM – Chamberlain meet and agree that Germany can have Sudetenland)
§ Chamberlain returned to England with a piece of paper signed by Hitler, proclaiming “Peace in our time.”
zReview
§ Hitler breaks Munich Treaty andinvades all of Czechoslovakia
§ Aug. 1939 - Hitler and Stalin sign a non-aggression pact (includes secret clause to divide up Poland)
zInvasion of Poland
§ Britain and France declare that an invasion of Poland would mean war
§ Hitler believes Britain and France will be weak and indecisive
§ Hitler demands the return of the port of Danzig so that East Prussia could be linked up with rest of Germany
zInvasion of Poland
§ On Sept. 1, 1939 - Hitler invades Poland
§ German troops simply pushed aside border barriers and headed for Warsaw (capital of Poland)
§ Two days later Britain and France declare war on Germany
§ Polish troops outnumbered but also ill prepared for new form of warfare – Blitzkrieg “lightening war”
§ Blitzkrieg = military tactic calculated to create psychological shock and disorganization in enemy forces by surprise, speed, and superiority in firepower
zInvasion of Poland
§ 1939 – German army consisted of 1.5 million troops
§ Panzers (tanks): 2,400 – designed to quickly barrel past enemy defenses and infantry would follow behind and “mop up”
zBlitzkrieg
§ Luftwaffe (German Airforce) also designed for Blitzkrieg
§ 2,500 aircrafts lined up against Poland
§ Made pinpoint attacks in support of the fast moving land force.
zInvasion of Poland
§ Poland had just 600 planes, and army of 500,000, and 880 tanks
§ Even had 11 brigades of cavalry (lances and horses)
§ Germany had geographical advantage – 3 entry points into Poland
§ First task of tanks was to create an initial breakthrough
zInvasion
§ From the start, it went well for the Germans
§ Polish air force effectively eliminated within the first two days
§ Big and medium Luftwaffe bombers proved effective
§ Within a couple weeks, German’s had reached Warsaw and Brest-Litovsk
z
§ Sept. 17 – Soviet forces cross the east Polish border (as part of the agreement reached in the Nazi-Soviet Pact)
§ Polish government officials flee the country
§ The city of Warsaw fought on– its defenders rejected a German offer to surrender
§ The full fury of the German war machine was turned on the capital
zWarsaw Surrenders
§ Sept 27 – Warsaw surrenders
§ The next day, the victors carved up Poland into the Nazi-Soviet Pact
§ The Soviet Union annexed slightly over half the country to the East – German took the rest
§ Both regimes began rounding up anyone who they deemed my pose a danger in the future - many were murdered
zOccupied Citizens
§ The first time German’s and Hitler would showcasehow they would treat anyone they deemed inferior
§ They sent in special squads to round up Jewish people
§ Most were forced into ghettos in the major cities were they would starve to death – others executed on the spot
zMobilization in Britain and France
§ This was not the end of Polish army – more than 50,000 troops escaped to France
§ The Polish troops would eventually fight on bravely from abroad
§ Despite their guarantee to defend Poland, the British and French had done very little
§ Hitler had gambled that they would have no idea what to do once they declared war
§ Both France and Britain had begun mobilization
§ Anti-aircraft guns placed in major cities
§ Air raid precautions tested
§ Shelters constructed
§ Everyone had to carry gas masks
§ Britain had deployed 100,000 troops to Northern France