WORLD WAR II - Why We Fight

We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight in the

seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength; we shall defend our island whatever the cost may be Winston Churchill
Why do nations go to war? Why would anyone decide to enter into this realm of insanity? Quick answer: because the alternative is more insane. Although war movies seem gory, they also have a sense of machismo that makes it normal. 'Besides, we didn't start it and we're doing it for a good cause.' 'm sure !itler thought he was fighting for a good cause " i.e. #erman su$remacy. %f course we were definitely fighting for a good cause " &anadian su$remacy' (hat might be a tough sell, though. )erha$s we were fighting for #od, Queen and lower $rices at the $um$s. don't know about you, but would rather think that lost my life for a $hiloso$hical ideal, rather than a free carwash with every fill"u$. t is one thing to romantici*e about war but it is another to commit an entire nation of men women and children to the well"know horrors of war. Why do we do it? (o kee$ what is ours maybe and get a little more when the dust settles. We fight over the $ossession of land and resources that feed our nation+ everything else is a side show. (his lecture will look at the first years of the second #reat War. Morning Notes . When is war less insane then the alternative? . ,o you know anyone who e-$erienced WW ? !ow do they remember it, if at all? f you don't, does that make it harder for you to connect with it? . ,o you think the world will see another great war? !ow would it be different from the $revious ones? Preparation . .lideshow: The Success of Nazi Germany . /ideo &li$: Hitler's Speech to the Workers . /ideo &li$: Beer Hall Putsch /. /ideo &li$: Winston Churchill's speech: "We Shall i!ht Them" /. /ideo &li$: Battle of Britain. Bombing of 0ondon. VI. 1eading: 2odern 3igures " !itler VII. 1eading: ,ick Winters on 0eadershi$ / . 1eading: !ow a 1ight &an 2ake a Wrong

Key Ter s . %$eration .ea 0ion . Blit*krieg . 0uftwaffe /. 2aginot 0ine /. %$eration Barbarossa Focus !uestions . (he Blit*krieg was not sim$ly a military strategy but a di$lomatic and economic design as well. 4-$lain this strategy and why it was so attractive to !itler. . Why did 3rance fall so une-$ectedly? . What factors lead to the stalling of the #erman war machine in 1ussia?

Faces o" Worl# War II

Lecture $ui#e Ne% Alliances i. (he fascist, militaristic governments of #ermany, taly and 5a$an had formed the (ri$le A-is $rior to the war. 6A-is7 ii. Britain and 3rance had remained allies through the twenties and thirties. After 3rance fell in 89:;, Britain would stand alone against the A-is until the <..1 65une 89:87 and the <nited .tates 6,ec. 89:87 =oined them to form the (ri$le Alliance. 6Allies7 The Phony War &'(' - &')* i. (he Allies had declared war u$on the invasion of )oland, but the actual conflict in the West did not start until the s$ring of 89:;. ii. 3or months the two sides e-changed s$oradic artillery fire along the border, but nothing significant would develo$. iii. 3inally in 2ay of 89:; #erman forces swe$t through Belgium and !olland in an attem$t to sur$rise and >uickly crush 3rance. +lit,-rieg - The Fall o" France i. Blit*krieg or 'lightning attack' was a military strategy. t was designed for >uick victories in order to avoid the stalemates of World War . t would de$end on the use of machines 6tanks and air$lanes7. (he main feature of the blit*krieg was movement. A coordinated attack would smash the o$$onent, encircle them, and smash them again. ii. (he 2aginot 0ine ? was a massive $ermanent line develo$ed to $rotect the 3rench from invasion. (he line was a war behind ? it was designed for the statement of WW not the lightning fast movements of WW . (he mobile #erman forces moved around these defenses >uickly, catching the 3rench com$letely by sur$rise. (he 3rench army crumbled in a mere si- weeks. iii. 2iracle of ,unkirk ? with 3rance lost the British begin the evacuation of their troo$s from the main land. (he British used every shi$ available to withdraw @@A BBC troo$s. (here were factors that contributed to this success ? !itler ordered the $an*er divisions

to halt their advance and it was a $articularly foggy day, which ham$ered the ability of #erman aircraft. (hese men would become the backbone of the invasion force four years later on ,"day. iv. !itler audaciously insisted that the armistice be signed in the same railway car at /ersailles that the #erman army had surrendered in WW . v. &harles de #aulle went to Britain and continued to su$$ort 3rench resistance. +attle o" +ritain i. Britain was now #ermany's sole o$$osition in 4uro$e. !itler began to $lan for invasion ? %$eration .ea 0ion. Before any invasion could be attem$ted the 1A3 would have to be cleared from the skies. !itler would learn the same lesson Da$oleon had over a hundred years earlier. ii. (he 1oyal Air 3orce 61A37 held off the 0uftwaffe and $revented %$eration .ea 0ion 6an invasion of the British island7 (he British had the distinct advantage as the defender as their $ilot that were shot down were fre>uently saved and sent back into service. (hey also develo$ed radar, which allowed for the early detection of invaders. iii. ,uring the Battle of Britain bombing cities, although at first unintentional, would become a common feature of WW . &ivilians were no longer safe, something that hadnEt been a $art of WW . Operation +ar.arossa i. ,es$ite signing a non"aggression $act with the .oviets in 89@A, !itler would invade the .oviet <nion in the s$ring of 89:8. .taring in 5une the #erman army would Blit* through .oviet territory with @ ;;; ;;; troo$s. ii. (he war in the east was to be an ideological war to the death. !itler invaded with the ho$e of e-terminating the .lavic $eo$le and creating living s$ace for the Fmaster race.G Warfare would be com$letely redefined by the confrontation on the eastern front. iii. nitially the $lan was a s$ectacular success. (he #ermans drove dee$ into 1ussia. !itler made a critical error diverting troo$s to ca$ture the oil fields and industrial area

south of 2oscow. (he .oviet $eo$le reverted to the $olicy of Fscorched earthG that had been used during Da$oleonEs invasion. (he #erman advance was finally stalled by weather and counterattack. (he blit*krieg had been halted for the winter of 89:8. Pearl /ar.or i. (he <nited .tates had again assumed a $osition of neutrality as the start of WW . ,es$ite the naHve $ublic $erce$tion that the war did not involve the <nited .tate, the Americans had significant over seas colonies that were threatened by the A-is $owers. ii. (he Americans were com$leting with 5a$an for dominance of the )acific. (he aggressive actions of 5a$an in &hina, .outh 4ast Asia and in the )acific 1im would $rom$t the Americans to cut off all trade of materials that could be used to make war. iii. 5a$an either had to ca$ture the re>uired materials to make war or halt their aggression in Asia. !owever, the American )acific fleet was seen as an obstacle to 5a$anese e-$ansion. iv. (he 5a$anese government had two choices in 89:8 ? sto$ the war they had been fighting since 89@@ or eliminate the American threat and continue to e-$and. v. ,ec I 89:8 ? the 5a$anese elect to destroy the American fleet docked at )earl !arbor. (he 5a$anese launch a massive sur$rise attack sinking 8: shi$s, destroying 8AA aircraft and killing B:;@ Americans. vi. 3ailure of )earl ? although hailed as a great success in 5a$an )earl !arbor was $erha$s one of the greatest military miscalculations in history. Done of the American aircraft carriers were at $ort and the 5a$anese failed to destroy the infrastructure on the island itself. 2ost of the shi$s that were sunk or damaged in the shallow $ort were re$aired and $ut back into service. (he 5a$anese had successfully brought the worldEs largest economy into the war and effectively done nothing to cri$$le American military might. Turning the Ti#e - &')0 i. At the start of 89:8 the only resistance to A-is aggression was Britain in the west and a disorgani*ed collection of nations in the east lead by &hina. By the end of 89:8 the Da*is had $rovoked the .oviets into action and the 5a$anese had done the same to the Americans in the east. ii. 4uro$e 3irst )olicy ? 1oosevelt, des$ite entering the war because of the attack on )earl !arbor, was convinced that the (hird 1eich had to be defeat first. (he Americans

would concentrate their efforts on ensuring Britain survived and liberating 3rance before finishing the war with 5a$an. iii. By the fall of 89:B the war was turning in the favour of the Allies. (hey had counter attacked in 4gy$t, Dorth Africa and in the <..1. iv. (he industrial might of the <nited .tates and the <..1 would become a huge factor. .oviet factories were turning out BJ tanks to every 8 made in #ermany. (he Americans were $roviding food, aircraft and fuel to Britain, &hina and the .oviets. (he A-is would find themselves engaged in an unwinnable war of attrition moving into 89:@.

The 1uccess o" Na,i $er any