Netherlands from the Germans Netherlands from the Germans Translation of the broadcast: May 15,...
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Transcript of Netherlands from the Germans Netherlands from the Germans Translation of the broadcast: May 15,...
Tim
elin
e-
all
in 1
94
0 May 10
Germany begins invasions of Belgium, the Netherlands, and France
May 13
French and British troops move into Belgium, but are trapped between German armies
May 14
Luftwaffe bombs central Rotterdam; Netherlands surrenders to Germany
May 27
British troops begin mass evacuation from Dunkirk
June 3
Luftwaffe initiates air raids on Paris
June 12
German forces penetrate France’s final lines of defense
June 22
France signs armistice with Germany
June 23
Hitler visits Paris
The W
est
ern
Fro
nt
Germany advanced to the Western Front on May 10, 1940
The primary goal was to conquer France
German bombers began by attacking air bases in France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands
They destroyed large numbers of grounded Allied planes- crippling the Allied air defenses
Elite squads of German paratroopers then attacked the front, neutralizing France’s chance at defense
The W
est
ern
Fro
nt
Germany advanced in two directions- through the Netherlands and through Belgium
Britain and France only expected the Belgium invasion and sent most of their troops there
This left the bulk of Germany’s troops, the ones going through Luxembourg, more or less free to march into the heart of France
The F
all
of
the N
eth
erl
ands
Initially, the Germans made slow progress on their way to Brussels because the Dutch fought back
In response to the resistance, on May14th the Luftwaffe began a massive bombing attack on central Rotterdam
Over 800 civilians were killed before the Netherlands surrenderd
The F
all
of
the N
eth
erl
ands
German news broadcast after the fall of the Netherlands:
Netherlands from the Germans
Translation of the broadcast:
May 15, 1940. UFA Tonwoche No. 506. The crossing of the Dutch border is conducted in thick morning fog. The bridges over the Juliana Canal have been for the most part been readied. The military engineers have constructed what is necessary in a short time. Here is a military pontoon bridge. Advance across the border roads. A tank easily removes a Dutch road obstacle. In a sudden attack the bridge over the Juliana Canal has been taken before the Dutch could blow it up. At this crossing a short but bitter fight took place in the early morning hours, but the enemy was quickly thrown back. German troops on the Albert Canal. The Belgians could only manage to blow up a part of the bridge. The remainder of the explosives are removed by military engineers. The first Belgian prisoners. The advance continues without halting. Wherever German troops encounter resistance, it is broken with all weapons. The numerous watercourses and canals in Holland and Belgium pose an additional difficulty for the German troops. However, there is no stopping. All the obstacles are quickly overcome. After a quick fight, the garrison at the bridge at Maastricht surrenders to the advancing German troops.
Belg
ium
The British and French planned to make a stand between Antwerp and Liege
The German paratroopers had already captured these, and began attacking the Allied troops on May 13
At this time, the unexpected German troops that had gone South came up behind the Allies- effectively trapping them
The main Allied army was not able to protect Paris or to prevent the Germans from marching towards the English Channel
The entire battle was considered an Allied disaster
The British and French wanted to defend forts here
They were surprised by Germans who came
through here
The British and French troops were essentially trapped here
The Germans were able to divide
the British and French
troops. The British retreated
to Dunkirk, France. But were
again trapped.
The E
vacu
ati
on o
f D
unki
rk
While most of the French army was trapped between two German armies, the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) tried to make a push for the French port of Dunkirk
They ended up trapped between the coast and the Germans
The British designed Operation Dynamo to evacuate the BEF
Beginning on May 27, 1940, more than 800 civilians and a large number of military sea vessels spent a week bringing the 300,000 troops back to Britain
The feat was heroic- the Luftwaffe was bombing the entire time- but it abandoned France to the Germans
The F
all
of
France
With the British out of the way, the Germans began to push into France
By June 12, the Germans and their tanks had gone through France’s main defenses along the Somme River and the Maginot Line
The F
all
of
France
The ultimate goal for the Germans was Paris
The British were encouraging the French to stand up against the Germans
Winston Churchill, Britain’s new prime minister, even flew to Paris to give his encouragement
France really needed military assistance though, and the British continually denied their pleas for help because they wanted to conserve their strength for when they would need to defend themselves against the Germans
The F
all
of
France
The French army was down to half of its original strength
On June 22, 1940, the French leaders signed an armistice with Germany
On June 23, Hitler came to Paris for a sightseeing tour of the city now in his possession
Reaso
ns
for
France
’s D
efe
at
France’s army was much larger and more technologically advanced than Germany’s in 1940
Hitler and his officials seriously doubted that the Germans would be successful during this mission
The only reason that the Germans were able to successfully take over France was because of mistaken assumptions
The French did not believe that the Germans would be able to send their tanks through the Ardennes Forest so they sent all of their men to Belgium
This element of surprise was the key to Germany’s success
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July 3
British initiate Operation Catapult to neutralize the French navy
July 10
First German bombers attack over the English Channel
July 19
Hitler urges Britain to make peace
August 13
Eagle Day- more than 1400 German planes attack southern England
September 7
Beginning of the “London Blitz”
September 17
Hitler indefinitely postpones plans for ground invasions in England
Win
ston C
hurc
hill
Took office as British prime minister in May 1940
Rallied the people and the military during the Battle of Britain
Finest Hour Speech
The C
hannel B
att
leOperation Sea
Lion- the German code name for this attack- began in July 1940
It began with small, quick
German bomber attacks
against British ships in the
channelBritain did not respond to
defend their ships- they knew their
best plan was to conserve
resources for the REAL
battle
Eagle
Day
In early August 1940,
Hitler launched a massive air strike on the
bases in southern England
Eagle DayOn August
30th, Germany sent 1,400
bombers and fighters across
the English Channel
The Germans brought down only 13 British jets, but lost more than 40 of their own
The L
ondon B
litz
In September 1940, Hitler ordered the Luftwaffe to begin bombing the city of London nonstop
From September 1940 to May 1941, the Germans air-raided the city, day and night, for weeks at a time
Tens of thousands of British civilians lost their lives
During this time, the British were running nightly air raids on the German city of Berlin
Hitler eventually decided that it would be too difficult to break Britain and turned his focus to Russia
The London Blitz video (9 minutes)
The F
irst
Turn
ing P
oin
t
The Battle of Britain was the first time that the German forces failed to achieve a major goal
The Royal Air Force’s incredibly strong and effective resistance proved that Hitler could be beat
The B
riti
sh A
dvanta
ge
The Importance of Air Power
The Battle of Britain was the first time that air power alone had decided a battle
Hitler knew he had needed to gain air superiority over Britain first before he could move ground troops in
Churchill knew he had to beat Hitler’s Luftwaffe if Britain wanted to survive the war
By the end of the battle, Germany had lost 1,700 airplanes, but Britain had lost only 900
The B
riti
sh A
dvanta
ge
The Importance of Radar
This battle also proved the value of radar technology
The British had built a net of radar towers along their coast before the invasion of France- they knew when the Germans were coming and could prepare their men
The Germans initially began attacking these radar towers, but decided that this strategy was ineffective- that decision would lead to their downfall in this battle
The Importance of Fighting at Home
The British were also able to stay in the air longer because they were closer to their refueling stations
The Germans lost precious time running back and forth to get refueled between bombing attacks
The British pilots would often engage the Germans and divert them from their course, causing the Germans to waste their fuel and not spend as much time bombing their target