Breakout of

World War II

·many Europeans were prepared to agree to certain German demands with the __________________________.

·some French and British viewed the Nazi ideology regarding its hatred of communism as acceptable ·without __________, nations will go through various short-lived governments, which will lead to inconsistent policies within the nation

-after WWI, relations were strained between English and French Canadians which many did not want to rekindle by entering another war

·a nations leadership will set the domestic and external policy goals for that nation

·during periods of crisis, public will expect the national leadership to secure their well being

·Totalitarian State: decisions affecting the nation are made with _________________________.

·Democratic Government: aware of public input and public opinion; the setting of national goals is _____________________.

NOTE: National decision making and meaningful public input/opinion is restricted during periods of national crisis

Responses to the Outbreak

·By September 1939, effective domestic political opposition to Hitler's regime had been greatly eliminated

-German public ______ play a huge role in the decision to initiate a major war

-Hitler's sole prerogative was to invade Poland

Germany(Adolf Hitler)

·British public and its elected leadership wanted to avoid another world war·Chamberlain's government had staked its foreign policy hopes on the strategy of _______________. ·British had wanted to ______ their involvement once the war had begun

Britain(Neville Chamberlain/Winston Churchill)

France

·French public and military were haunted by the experiences in WWI (cost France an entire generation)·French military devised a defensive military strategy·Nation was ___________ between political right & left

-extreme right openly _______ Hitler's anti-Semitic and anti communist beliefs

(Charles DeGaulle)

Canada

·English Canada and French Canada differed greatly as to the appropriateness of Canadian involvement in another world war:

-________ Canada was prepared to enter the war and support the Britain

-________ Canada opposed Canada's entry into the war

__________

·No significant public support for American involvement in an European war·American isolationist sentiment remained a significant influence on decision makers (similar to their refusal to join League of Nations)

(Franklin Roosevelt)

Nazi-Soviet Pact·Neither Hitler or Stalin trusted each other, but they both felt that it was in their best interests not to engage in an immediate war

-_______: thought it was strategically smart to form a treaty with Hitler because he feared an eventual German invasion

-_______: did not want to have the Soviets assist Poland (his next target)

However, behind the pact there were some secret agreements :

-it divided Poland between Germany and Soviet Union-it allowed the Soviets to occupy the Baltic

states and part of Romania ·In Hitler's book "Mein Kampf" he addressed his intent to _______ __________ and overtake large areas of Eastern Europe for German settlements ·From the Soviet perspective, occupying Eastern Poland meant that German forces were an additional 160 kms from the Soviet Union

German Military Strategy War plans were not defensive, rather incorporated an offensive strategy

·Factors influencing the favored strategy:-available resources -presence & commitment of military

allies-potential enemies -previous wartime experiences -public support for war effort

Blitzkrieg

·Hitler unleashed German forces on September 1, 1939

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ha0qKquG2E

(meaning lightning war)

·Involved the coordination use of ________ and ________:

-air attack would weaken and disrupt enemy forces and then tank forces would smash through enemy lines

-attack would be continuous giving the enemy little time to organize an effective defense

Poland: Blitzkreig and Total War·Luftwaffe quickly destroyed the Polish air force

-they bombed defenceless Polish cities -Warsaw was bombed and thousands of civilians were killed -by mid-September 1939, Polish resistance to the Germans had ended -Soviet forces occupied ____ Poland -by October, Poland ceased to exist

·The speed & totality of the German victory surprisedwestern powers and added to their resistance to engagein German forces

·Poland possessed geographic & military disadvantages:

-separated from western Europe-no geographic barriers along its borders-Polish army was not mechanized and

relied on cavalry -Polish air force was _____ and ______(technologically) compared to Luftwaffe

The Fall of France ·After the failure of appeasement to prevent war, many German victories, and inactive democracies, Chamberlain was not trusted by others and began losing his leadership

-on May 10, 1940, Chamberlain resigned and _______ ___________ became British Prime Minister

-this was also the day that Germans invaded the Netherlands and Belgium·Once again, German troops quickly gained victory and they moved towardsFrance

-British Expeditionary Force was trapped at the port of _________-Naval vessels, merchant ships,

fishing and pleasure boats were sent and

were able to evacuate over 300,000 men from Dunkirk

-also referred to as "Miracle at Dunkirk"·With German victory in sight, Mussolini (______) declared war on France·June 1940, France signed an armistice (agree to stop fighting) with Germany

Battle of Britain ·June 1940, Hitler issued orders to begin preparations to

invade Britain-their plan was to gain air superiority over the English

Channel

·Battle of Britain began in late August:-_________________________ became the prime targets for

the German airforces -the goal was to destroy the RAF which would enable German forces to cross the English

channel -outnumbered RAF was

aided by the developmentof the radar

-significant number of Canadian pilots participated in the Battle

·Although the British forces (Royal Navy and Air Force) were smaller than those of the Germans, their strength made a German invasion across the English Channel difficult

·Late August 1940, Germans accidentally bombed London:

-British retaliated and bombed Berlin-Hitler bombed urban and industrial centers as

well as air bases-mid-September 1940, plans to invade Britain

were ____________

English Channel

·by the end of 1941, over 13,000 Londoners were killed http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1OXlb6UcqM