AP US History

March 27 – March31 2017

Hey ya'll I carried a few of the notes from last week over because so many people were out for various reasons last week. Also, as I sit here and fashion these plans I am still not sure if we will be on block schedule because of another stupid a$$ test.

Our focus is actually the D-day invasion and the end of the war in Europe…which by the way with also be the end of Historical Period 7!

Hopefully you completed the weekend quia quiz on the Second World War and completed the extra credit on the decision to use the atomic bomb (no late work accepted on this).

MONDAY and TUESDAY

  • Examine the events leading to the end of the war in Europe (WOR-7,8)

Materials Strategy/Format

PPT and video clipsLecture-Discussion L.CCR-1

Source packets (Tuesday)Close Text Reading R.CCR-1,2

Student Skill Types

Chronological Reasoning (1, 2, 3)

Comp/Context (5)

Historical Evidence (6,7)

The Invasion of Poland September 1, 1939

The Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact also involved a planned invasion of Poland. The ostensible aim of Germany's unprovoked assault, as publicly stated by Hitler and other prominent Nazi officials, was the pursuit of lebensraum—that is, territory deemed necessary for the expansion and survival of the Reich. But, of course, Hitler had no intention of ending his aggression at Poland's borders, and instead was launching a full-blown war against all of Europe. (On Sept. 3, both England and France declared war on Germany—but not on the USSR.

The Invasion of the Benelux Countries and the Fall of France in 1940

  • Following the Nazi invasions of Denmark and Norway (designed to give Germany control of the Baltic Sea
  • After a period of relative inactivity on both sides that was called "sitzkrieg" or "Phony War" in the media, the Germans launched a major offensive. On the night of May 9-10, 1940, German forces attacked the Low Countries. Moving to their aid, French troops and the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) were unable to prevent their fall. The Luftwaffe effectively "herded" refugees which chocked major roads slowing the Allies counter-attack. Meanwhile, the French has rather stupidly believed that an attack through the Ardennes was impossible and had shored up the most likely invasion route with the vaunted (and useless) Maginot Line.
  • On May 14, German panzers tore through the Ardennes and began driving to the English Channel. Despite their best efforts, the BEF, Belgian, and French forces were unable to halt the German advance. Six days later, German forces reached the coast, effectively cutting off the BEF as well as a large number of Allied troops. Turning north, German forces sought to capture the Channel ports before the Allies could evacuate. Large elements of the French army simply melted away in the face of the Nazi onslaught.
  • The Battle or sometimes called the "Miracle" at Dunkirk followed. Winston Churchill met with his chief of Staff and began planning to evacuate the BEF. The operation continued as the perimeter around the port began to shrink and the Royal Air Force battled to keep German aircraft away from the embarkation areas. Hitting its stride, the evacuation effort began to peak as 47,310 men were rescued on May 29, followed by 120,927 over the next two days. This occurred despite a heavy Luftwaffe attack on the evening of the 29th and the reduction of the Dunkirk pocket to a five kilometer strip on the 31st. On June 1, 64,229 were taken off, with the British rearguard departing the next day.
  • With German air attacks intensifying, daylight operations were ended and the evacuation ships were limited to running at night. Between June 3 and 4, an additional 52,921 Allied troops were rescued from the beaches. With the Germans only three miles from the harbor, the final Allied shipdeparted at 3:40 AM on June 4. The two French divisions left defending the perimeter were ultimately forced to surrender. However, over 300,000 men were evacuated.
  • By June the situation in France was bleak. With the evacuation of the BEF, the French Army and remaining British troops were left to defend a long front from the Channel to Sedan with minimal forces and no reserves. This was compounded by the fact that much of their tanks and artillery had been lost during the fighting in May. On June 5, the Germans renewed their offensive and quickly broke through the French lines. Nine days later Paris fell, and the French government fled to Bordeaux. With the French in full retreat south, the British evacuated their remaining 215,000 troops. On June 25, the French surrendered, with the Germans requiring them to sign the documents at Compiègne in the same rail car that Germany had been compelled to sign the armistice ending WWI. German forces occupied much of northern and western France, while an independent, pro-German state (Vichy France) was formed in the southeast under the leadership of former WWI French hero Marshall Pètain. The remainder of the French army escaped to North Africa led by Charles De Gaulle who established a government in exile generally known as the Free French.More on this later.

The Battle of Britain and Operation Sea Lion 1940-1941

By the Summer of 1940, Hitler was largely in command of Europe with one notable exception; Britain. On 18 June 1940, Churchill gave a rousing speech to the British people, announcing: "... the Battle of France is over. The Battle of Britain is about to begin." Four days later, France surrendered to Germany and Hitler turned his attention to Britain.

  • German air superiority in the south of England was essential before Hitler could contemplate an invasion so Hermann Goering, the head of the Luftwaffe, was instructed that the RAF must be "beaten down to such an extent that it can no longer muster any power of attack worth mentioning against the German crossing". This was easy enough to understand and Hitler faced the same problem as had Napoleon.

The air attacks began in mid-July and, initially, the Luftwaffe concentrated on attacking shipping in the English Channel and attacking coastal towns and defenses. From 12 August, Goering shifted his focus to the destruction of the RAF, attacking airfields and radar bases. Convinced that Fighter Command was now close to defeat, he also tried to force air battles between fighter planes to definitively break British strength.

  • However, Goering grew frustrated by the large number of British planes that were still fighting off his attacks. On 4 September, the Luftwaffe switched tactics again and, on Hitler's orders, set about destroying London and other major cities. This was one of Hitler's great blunders. Eleven days later, on what became known as 'Battle of Britain Day', the RAF savaged the huge incoming Luftwaffe formations in the skies above London and the south coast. It was now clear to Hitler that his air force had failed to gain air superiority so, on 17 September, he postponed Operation Sea Lion, his plans to invade Britain. His attention was now focused on the invasion of the Soviet Union, although the Luftwaffe continued to bomb Britain until the end of the war.
  • It's difficult to establish an exact figure of how many aircraft were shot down in the Battle of Britain, partly because both sides tended to exaggerate their successes and downplay their losses. However, it's estimated that between 10 July and the end of October 1940, the RAF lost around 1,023 aircraft whilst the Luftwaffe lost 1,887.

Operation Barbarossa: The Invasion of the Soviet Union 1941-1944

  • As you will remember, Hitler had always planned to attack the Russians. His whole concept of lebensraum centered upon this.The actualplans for the attack on Russia had been around since 1940.
  • Germany amassed 117 army divisions for the attack excluding Rumanian and Hungarian units. In total, Russia amassed 132 army divisions for the defense of the ‘motherland’, including 34 tank divisions.
  • The final plan which Hitler codenamed Barbarossa. This plan was constructed in December 1940. For Hitler, the primary military activity would take place in the north. Hence Leningrad became a vital target as did Moscow. His drive in the south was confined to the occupation of the Ukraine to the west of Kiev.
  • The attack started at 03.00, Sunday morning June 22nd 1941. In total the Germans and her allies used 3 million soldiers, 3580 tanks,7184 artillery guns,1830 planesand, proving that modern warfare was still not so modern, 750,000 horses.
  • The success of the attack was a shock for Hitler as well as Stalin, albeit for different reasons.By the second week 300,000 Russians had been captured, 2,500 tanks, 1,400 artillery guns and 250 aircraft captured or destroyed. This was only in the territory attacked by Army Group Centre. To any military observer, the Russian Army was on the verge of a total collapse and Moscow seemed destined to fall.
  • In fact, the German advance had been so fast that it had compromised the whole army’s supply and communication lines. The Army Group Center paused on the Desna but it was still thought that it was only catching its breath before moving inexorably on. Had this been the case, there was little doubt that the course of history would have changed. But once again the "genius" Hitler had other plans.
  • The mechanized sweeps north and south had the same massive success as the initial assault on June 22nd. Masses of Russian prisoners were captured and vast quantities of Russian equipment was destroyed. But the orders of Hitler had one dire effect – loss of time. The delay was such that the impact of the winter occurred before the Germans had reached the objectives set by Hitler. Very few in the German Army were equipped to cope with the cold and the army, so used to advancing, found itself very much affected by the freezing temperatures. A war of movement as seen so much in June/July 1941 became an attack blighted by freezing weather that would hinder any army let alone one so ill-prepared for such weather conditions.
  • Battle of Stalingrad (July 17, 1942-Feb. 2, 1943), was the successful Soviet defense of the city of Stalingrad (now Volgograd). Russians consider it to be the greatest battle of their Great Patriotic War, and most historians consider it to be the greatest battle of the entire conflict.It stopped the German advance into the Soviet Union and marked the turning of the tide of war in favor of the Allies. The Battle of Stalingrad was one of the bloodiest battles in history, with combined military and civilian casualties of nearly 2 million. It essentially sapped the strength of the Nazi Army and was the major turning point of WWII.The Soviet victory at Stalingrad was a great humiliation for Hitler, who had elevated the battle’s importance in German opinion. He now became more distrustful than ever of his generals. Stalin, on the other hand, gained confidence in his military, which followed up Stalingrad with a westward drive and remained largely on the offensive for the rest of the war.
  • In the days following the Nazi withdrawal from Stalingrad the most epic armored battle ever fought occurred near Kursk in 1942-43. The battle involved thousands of tanks and over 2 million men. Though tactically a draw, Nazi losses forced a withdrawal from Soviet territory. Kursk and Stalingrad were the beginnings of the end for the so-called Thousand Year Reich.

The First Allied Offensive (Operation Torch)

Lacking the strength to invade France from Britain, the British and the Americans attacked the Germans and Italians in North Africa. The Allied victory in North Africa allowed shipping to cross the Mediterranean in safety and made it possible for the Allies to invade Southern Europe. The Allies decided to invade Italy because that country appeared to be the Axis' weak point. Sicily fell in August 1943, after a campaign of slightly more than a month. Victory in Italy resulted in the overthrow of Benito Mussolini

American and British forces defeated AfrikaKorps (Rommel) and now the way is open to Italy

In Italy Pietro Badoglio takes over and Italy is effectively negated but the Germans intend to hold on especially in the more rocky northern areas.

Hitler’s Next Mistake: Stalingrad 1943

Hitler’s generals wanted to push south toward Caspian oil fields and further weaken any hope that the Soviets could supply fuel. Also, it would give the Nazis all that they needed. However, Hitler overruled them and demand that they take Stalingrad. This ridiculous plan to embarrass Stalin and demoralize the population (see the film Enemy at the Gates) was a blunder of global historical proportions.

More Soviets died here alone than all US forces in the whole war! The Red Army stopped the German advancement into the Soviet Union at Stalingrad--the most horrific battle of the Second World War. During the four month long battle, the combined battle deaths exceeded one million. Of the 10,000 men in the Soviet's 13th Guards Rifle Division, only 320 were still alive at the end of the battle

1944: The Turning Point

World War II ended in Europe like a countdown from Normandy as Allied troops were pressing in on all sides now and the vaunted German army was populated by the too young and too old. In the Pacific the circle had closed also but faced with a colossal invasion, a new option was employed.

D-day invasion at Normandy France

  • Maybe you knew that this was important if for no other reason than you here more about this or perhaps you have seen the film Saving Private Ryan. Lacking the strength to invade France from Britain, the British and the Americans attacked the Germans and Italians in North Africa. The Allied victory in North Africa allowed shipping to cross the Mediterranean in safety and made it possible for the Allies to invade Southern Europe. The Allies decided to invade Italy because that country appeared to be the Axis' weak point. Sicily fell in August 1943, after a campaign of slightly more than a month. Victory in Italy resulted in the overthrow of Benito Mussolini.
  • In preparation for Operation Overlord (the Allied invasion of France), British and American forces instituted saturation bombing, dropping 2,697,473 tons of bombs on German territory, killing 305,000 civilians, and damaging over 5.5 million homes. The Allies massed more than three million soldiers in England under the command of General Dwight D. Eisenhower. The Allied invasion began at 6:30 a.m. on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Nearly 6,000 Allied ships ferried 60,000 troops and their supplies across the English Channel into Northern France. Casualties among the first assault groups totaled 60 percent.
  • It took six weeks to secure the beachheads. By then, Allied troops had captured the French port of Cherbourg, allowing the Allies to advance into Western Europe. Allied forces liberated Paris in August, and by mid-September Allied forces had crossed the German border.

The Battle of the Bulge and Fall of Germany

  • Following the invasion at Normandy it took six weeks to secure the beachheads. By then, Allied troops had captured the French port of Cherbourg, allowing the Allies to advance into Western Europe. Allied forces liberated Paris in August, and by mid-September Allied forces had crossed the German border.
  • In December 1944, German troops launched a massive counteroffensive in the Ardennes Forest along the border of Belgium and Luxembourg. In the Battle of the Bulge, the Germans temporarily broke through Allied lines, thus creating a “bulge in the allies’ defensive lines. A determined effort by General George Patton to head north and relieve the beleaguered Americans at Bastogne saved the day. Almost like an act of God, the skies suddenly cleared and Allied air power rained bombs down on the now retreating remains of the Nazi army. The German offense had only successes in slowing the Allied invasion by about six weeks.
  • By February 1945, the Red Army was within 45 miles of Berlin. On April 30, Hitler committed suicide, and Germany surrendered a week later. On May 8, 1945, the Allies celebrated V-E (Victory in Europe) Day

The War in the Pacific

  • Now with the other Axis Powers defeated now full attention could be focused upon Japan. Following Pearl Harbor, the Japanese did as Yamamoto had said. On December 7, 1941, Japan had launched an offensive incredible in its scale. A thousand Japanese warships attacked an area comprising one-third of the earth's surface, including Guam, Hong Kong, Malaya, Midway Island, the Philippine Islands, and Wake Island. The offensive was a stunning success. Hong Kong was overrun in 18 days; Wake Island in two weeks; Singapore held out for two months. By May, the Japanese had also captured the islands of Borneo, Bali, Sumatra, and Timor. In addition, Japan had taken Rangoon, Burma's main port, and seized control of the rich tin, oil, and rubber resources of Southeast Asia.
  • By mid-summer of 1942, however, American forces had halted the Japanese advance. In May, a Japanese troop convoy was intercepted and destroyed by the U.S. Navy at Coral Sea, preventing a Japanese attack on Australia. In early June, at Midway Island in the Central Pacific, the Japanese launched an aircraft carrier offensive to cut American communications and to isolate Hawaii to the east. In a three-day naval battle, the Japanese lost three destroyers, a heavy cruiser, and four carriers. The Battle of Midway broke the back of Japan's navy. They never again won another major battle in the war and, from this point the U.S. fleet became the aggressor.
  • To defeat Japan, Allied forces pursued two strategies. General Douglas MacArthur pushed northward from Australia through New Guinea and from the Philippines towards Japan. Meanwhile, Admiral Chester Nimitz advanced on Japan by attacking Japanese-held islands in the Central Pacific in a leap-frog fashion—(called island hopping) invading strategic islands and bypassing others. By late 1944, the United States was able to bomb the Japanese islands

Homework