The Battle of Britain

The defeat of France in June

1940 left GB alone against Hitler.

Hitler was sure that

GB would ask for peace

The new prime minister Winston Churchill inspired

his people to continue the fight

Hitler’s plan for invasion of GB was called

Operation Sea Lion

Operation Sea Lion

The Royal Navy is too strong for a

sea attack

1.

2.

The Wehrmacht is more powerful than theRoyal Army but it is

useless here

3.

Can theLuftwaffe

beat theRAF ?

Eliminate the RAF and the Royal Navy becomes

vulnerable.

In July 1940 the attacks are limited to strategic locations such as ....

•Airfields

•Harbours

•Refineries

At the same time Churchill ordered the bombing of German cities by

Lancasters

This is the first time in the war that the German civilian population is directly

affected by total war.

Goering orders the bombing of cities such as

London

The destruction on both sides is unprecedented.

But the British had

five advantages

This period of bombing is called The Blitz.

1. With the bombing of cities, it is now easier for British aircraft to operate.

2. British fighters, Hurricanes and Spitfires are very maneuverable

3. Radar

4. The distance

5.The British are superior in air

combat called “dog fights”

In October 1940, Hitler

realizes that he has lost the

battle, his first defeat.

Operation Barbarossa

After the Battle of Britain, the Wehrmacht continued its

conquest

In June 1941 Hitler

launched his

invasion of Russia

It is the largest military

operation in history!

Why attack Russia?

1.

To destroy communism

2.

To get agricultural land(lebensraum)

3. To get access to

oil

4.

The Slavs are seen as untermensch, and a source of free labour

Leningrad

Moscow

Stalingrad

Hitler’s 3 targets

At first, the panzers advanced very quickly, traveling up to 80 kilometers per day

The 2 Russian

advantages

1.

Vast territory

1600 km

Moscow

Berlin

The Russians practiced a policy called scorched earth.

As they retreated they left nothing for the invading Germans

German supply lines were long and delays common

2. The cold

The Battle of Stalingrad is long and brutal

Better trained at urban warfare, the Soviets

eventually crushed the Wehrmacht, capturing 70000

soldiers in July 1943.

The Soviets advance towards

Berlin.

Despite huge losses, it is Russia who stops Hitler.

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Number of civilian and military deaths in millions

Russia

China

Germ.

Pol.

Japan

Yug.