THE STORY OF WORLD WAR II

Donald L. Miller and Henry Steele Commager

Preface:

Chapter 1: The Nazi Juggernaut

* Jap, Ger, and Italian aggression, expansion, and justification

*Spanish Civil War = WWII precursor

*Rape of Nanking: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/223038.stm

A. The Failure of Appeasement

B. War

*German/USSR non-aggression pact and invade Poland in 1939Italy invades Albania (empire building)

C. The Belligerents

*Allies had larger army and navies, but Germanys mechanized troops, panzers, industrial power and air power were # 1full econ focus on war for 6+ years

D. Poland

*Overwhelmed, outgunned, outmaneuvered in 4 weeksmotorized division and air power were innovative and decisive. Warsaw attacked.

*Molotov-Ribbentrop Treaty: Partitioned by Ger and USSR who was anxious for more buffer space in Baltic region

*France and Britain honor treaty and declare war on Germany

*Katyn Forest murders

*Soviet paranoia and treachery. Slavomir Rawiczs memoir The Long Walk: A True Story of a Trek to Freedom (and movie: The Way Back)

E. Finland

*Finland refused subservienceit battered and embarrassed USSR with 200k Red Army dead vs. 20k Finnish dead6 month warcedes land

F. Denmark and Norway

*Stood no chanceVidkum Quisling (traitor) led Norway to Nazism

*B/F/P forces landed, but withdrewMay 10, Churchill to PM and his Blood, Toil, Tears, and Sweat Speech (Victory at all costsWithout victory there is no survival)

G. Low Countries

*Low Countries invaded and conquered.

*Dutch resisted, but gave up after Terror Bombing of Rotterdam and threat of more destruction.

H. Dunkirk

*Evac at Dunkirk, Fr (400K B/F/P) May-June 1940665 civilian and 222 naval vessels rescue men, but not material

*Hitler held back von Rundstedts tanksbad geography (canals, swamps)

I. The Fall of France

*BBC Fall of France Animated Map

*Maginot Line outflanked.

*Poor leadership and poor morale. PM Paul Reynaud Resigns and Marshall Philippe Petain collaborates (dies in 1951 at 95)

*French Resistance Movement vs. Collaborators and Vichy France

*Charles de Gaulle resists, escapes, sets up Free France with this symbol:

Chapter 2: Britain Stands Alone

A. The Blitz

*The Battle of Britain (1st great air battle in history) most of 1940staved off invasion (German Operation Sea Lion)united British peopleWC praises RAF: never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.

*What was terror bombing like? Ask Ernie Pyle (page 41).

*Did Hitler really want to invade UK?

B. The Atlantic Lifeline

*FDR must balance his goals with series of neutrality acts.

* Battle of the Atlantic: merchant marine, subs, mines, battleships, cruisers, convoys

*Royal Navy, by summer 1941, had control of surface, but not below

*mines, subs, coastal batteries, and land based planes

*Deal: Destroyers for Bases Agreement in Sept 1940 (50 American ships for 99 year lease of various British bases)still not sufficientso

C. Lend-Lease

*Lend-Lease Act in March 1941massive shipbuilding endeavor in America (jobs program). UK transformed from last outpost of defense to forward operating base.

*American Merchant Marine: Liberty Ships (supply/troop transport ships like SS. John W. Brown) were quickly createdmore made in 1943 than total Brit supply.

*By 1943, US made more planes than all other nations combined

D. War in the Mediterranean

*Mussolini boasted of Mediterranean Sea as Italian Lakenot true after losses of friendly French Fleet at Oran, Algeria and Libya, then Italian Navy at Cape Matapan, Greece and Taranto, Italy (under heel).

E. Desert and Mountain Victories

*Rick Atkinsons Liberation Trilogy: Volume One: An Army At Dawn

*Operation Torch in North Africa (November 1942 to May 1943):

*BBC Animated Maps: Operation Torch

*Combined forces (Brit/Can and Americans): vice on Axis

*General George S. Patton, Jr. (speech) and Admiral Hewitt

*Italians (and Germans) whipped out of North Africa by spring of 1943

F. Terror in the Balkans

*Hitler rescues Italians in GreeceBrits and Greeks w/d to CreteHitler attacks Crete with airborne troops (for the last time). B/G w/d, again.

G. Defeat

*NA and Middle East were critical: oil, ports, air fields, Suez Canal

*Field Marshal (FM) Erwin Rommel (Desert Fox) and his Afrika Korps rampaged across Northern Africa to Egypt

*WC replaces Gen Archibald Wavell with Claude Auchinleck (British 8th Army) after siege of Tobruk is not broken. After considerable action, Tobruk surrendered 28K Brits.

H. El Alamein and Beyond

*BBC Battle of El Alamein Animated Map

*WC replaces Gen Sir Claude Auchinleck with Gen Sir Harold Alexander

*Gen Bernard Law Montgomery takes command of 8th Armysurprise attack.11/1942: leads Second Battle of El Alamein, Egyptthen Rommel is chased back 1,400 miles to and evacd from Tunisia.

*WC calls it the end of the beginning (text) speech (first Brit victory!)

Chapter 3: From the v

A. The Attack on Russia

*Operation Barbarossa = Hitlers greatest gamble (reckless?) broke pact, stunned Stalinimmobilized for 10 days (see Constantine Pleshakovs Stalins Folly: The Tragic First 10 Days of WWII on the Eastern Front).

*Nazis strategic goal: destroy SU/Communism (lebensraum) and Britains last continental lifeline, all while destroying Slavs and Jews.

*Red Army: half on offensive, half on defensive, all in chaos. Stalin planned 1942 offensive.

B. The Bloodiest Front in History (see maps)

*More deaths on E Front than all other combined.

*3M Gers (Ital, Rom, Huns) surprise 3M defensive Soviets3 pronged attack: FM Wilhelm Von Leeb to Baltic region toward Leningrad; FM Fedor von Bock east to Smolensk to Moscow; FM Gerd von Rundstedt south to Kiev in Ukraine, Caucasus/Crimea, and Black Sea (Stalingrad)

*Initial success (Deaths, POWS ((675K), territories, key points), but Defense in Depth countered Wehrmachts Blitzkrieg tactics, so Hitler orders Annihilation Battles.

C. The Battle of Moscow (October 41-January 42)

*Fierce fighting. Suicide delay missions. Massive defensive works. Govt relocated, but Stalin and (Stavka) other remained in Kremlin (Russian for fortress) to dictate Not One Step Back Field Order 227.

*Ger maneuvers for encirclement, not frontal assault or strategic bombing.

*Under Georgy Zhukov, Red Army CTR attacked early December, push back 50-200 milesbreaks myth of Nazi invincibility

D. Guerillas and Scorched Earth

*Nazis not expect nor where they prepared to battle such guerillas. *Brutality backfired on Nazis. Partisans. (see: Defiance: The Bielski Partisans or movie)

*Evacd food, people, factories/equipment, cattle, etc east of the Ural Mtns.converted industry and forced laborincreased productionsoon US Lend-Lease: boots, trucks, cars, tires, locomotives, rolling stock.

E. Leningrad (read WMs account in Miller, page 68)

*See Anna Reids Leningrad: The Epic Siege of WWII, 1941-1944.

*See Elena Skrjabinas Siege and Survival: The Odyssey of a Leningrader

*See William Lubbecks At Leningrads Gates: The Story of a Soldier with (German) Army Group North

*Leebs Army Group North (with FM Carl Mannerheims Finns) encircled, pummeled, froze, and starved a city of 3M for 900 days. 1-2M dead.

*You dont know what suffering and hunger are...

F. Stalingrad (August 1942-February 1943)

*See Antony Beevors Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege: 1942-1943

*Rundstedt/Nazis most successful offensive in terms of territory, production destroyed, POW, killedHungary/Ital/Romanians help.

*After taking port of Odessa and Sevastopol, moved to Volga River/Stalingrad/Caucasus Oil Fieldsthen Moscow!

**Miller: With Sevastopol and the whole of the Crimea secured, the Germans prepared for a giant movement that was intended to outflank Moscow from the south, cut communication with the Urals, secure the Volga River and its valley, and capture the rich oil fields of the Caucasus, bringing the Soviet war machine to a halt. No campaign on a more prodigious scale, involving larger armies, and bringing richer rewards, had been seen. (71)

*FM Vasily Chuikov and sniper Vasily Zaitsev defy Nazis in Stalingrad see: William Craigs Enemy at the Gates or movie)urban/rubble warfare.supreme ferocity on both sides plus freezing temps. Chuikov: Germanys only mistake was strategicHitler got command.

*Soviet CRT attack begins in mid-Novemberpincer cuts off 6th Army (von Paulus)s supply/comm. and psych impact. FM von Mansteins rescue breakthrough failedGoering air lift failedlate January 1943, Paulus surrendered remnants of a might host (91K sick/weak Nazis200k killed/lost). Soviets lost 500k.

*Details: page 80.

Chapter 4: The Rising Sun

A. Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

*Japan (Emperor Hirohito and Gen/PM Hideki Tojo) took the FDR/US ultimatum to w/d from China and Indochina and embargo as declarations of war.

*So, IJN Commander Isoroku Yamamoto planned Pearl Harbor attack...massive, secret, necessary blow to disillusion US people and stagger US military.6 carriers, 2 waves: 183 then 171 fighter, dive bombers, torpedo planesTora, Tora, Tora Jap for Tiger = successful attack (movie)Yamamotos awoken a sleeping giant quote controversy.

*After Japanese surrender, Tojo suicide attempt failed, upon Tribunals sentence of death: [I]t is natural that I shoul