|
There was one country responsible for the war in Europe. German Führer led a rather reluctant German people to war. Unlike World war I, there was no appetite for war in Europe, even among the bulkmof the German people. It was Adolf Hiler and his NAZI acolyltes that wanted a war. And a horendous racial component would be added to the German war plane. NAZI Germany launched the war in Europe with the invasion of Poland (1939). The major theaters were: Northern Europe, the Eastern Front, and the Mediterranean, Germany stunned the world with the defeat of France (May-June 1940). The first NAZI defeat was the Battle of Britain (July-August 1940). While it was a not a cripling defeat, it was a critical Allied victory. Hitler's strategy was to defeat his enemies individually before a coalition could be formed by using technology to make up for Germany's relstibely small population and industry. The British victory not only laid the foundation for the massive Allied coalition that would form, but used technology to defeat the Germans. Even before America entered the War, the decession taken with the British was that NAZI Germany was the great danger. The Western Allies thus adopted a Germany First Strategy. Thus when Hitler broke his Non-Aggression Pact with Stalin and attacked his Soviet ally, both Britain and America hastened to aid the Soviet Union. The scale of war on the Eastern Front is difficult to comprehend. Victory here may have brought Hitler victory. He gambled on on victory in one emmense stroke--Barbarossa (1941). The Wehrmacht almost succeeded. The Soviets, however, held at Moscow and delivered an enormous blow tn the Wehrmacht. The Soviets achieved this victory basically on their own. Germany went from fighting only Britain to fighting a coallition including the Soviet Union and the United statesv on multiple fronts. It was an impossible undertaking even for the formidable Wehrmacht. The subsequent campaign on the Easterb Front was a massive bloodletting. But the Soviets gradually gained the advantage, enormously aided by American Lend Lease supplies. While the War was settled on the Eastern Front, but the other theaters were of considerable importance. Britain by defying the NAZIs (1940) meant that Hitler could never focus exclusively on the Soviet Union. Brtain's defiance also helped to complicate Hitler's attempt to organize an anti-Bolshevick cruasade in Europe. Britain also was the platform for the strategic bombing campaign (1941-45) as well as the eventual breeching of Festung Europa (1944). D-Day and the Anglo-American campaign in Western Europe was of immense importance, not only in defeating NAZI Germany, but also in restricting the spread of the Soviet Empire and preserving democracy in Western Europe.
The war in Europe began with the German and Soviet invasion and partition of Poland (September 1939). After the so-called Phony War, the German offensive in May 1940 overwealmed the British and French leving Hitler the master of Western Europe. Britain for more than a year stood along against the German juggernaught. Deterred by the RAF from invading Britain, Hitler launched the Wheremacht on the Soviet Union (June 1941), launching the greatest srtuggle in the history of warfare. Although staggered by the German onslaught the Red Army held in front of Lenningrad and Moscow. Incredibly a few days after the Soviets launched their Winter offensive, devestating the German front line, Hitler declared war on the United States (December 1941). The war had been transformed and the NAZis now faced an Allied colalition of staggerin proportions. Whole Axis armies were cut of and destroyed at Stalingrad (January 1943) and North Africa (May 1943). The invasion of Sicily and then Italy itself knocked Italy out of the War. The Red Army dealt the Wehrmacht a desestating blow in the greatest tank battle in history at Kursk (July 1943). The D-Day invasion of France (June 1944) presented the badly weakened Wehremacht with a two front war. The German army in France was mauled at Falaise. The last German offensive occurred again in the Ardenes (December 1944). Allied armies were penetrating into Germany from east and west (March 1945). The Allies encountered the unimagenable beastiality of the NAZIs as they overran concentration camps in Poland and Germany. The Soviets took Berlin and Hitler shot himself (April 1945). Admiral Dönitz replacing Hitler ordered the military to surrender (May 1945).
The European naval campaigns were fought all around the Continent, mostly in the Atlantic and connecting seas. The heart of the naval struggle and the longest camapign of the War was fought in the North Atlantic with the German Kriegsmarinr trying to cut Britain's life line with America and Canada. They were first opposed by only the Royal Navy which before the War had concluded that German U-boats were not a threat. With the new tactics developed by Admiral Dönitz, they proved a deadly threat, even more serious than the Luftwaffe which battered Britain in 1940. The Royal Navy was joined by the Royal Canadian Navy, which was virtually built from the ground up, and the U.S. Navy which enered the fight before Pearl Harbor. There were surface engagements, but he central struggle wa the Allied effort to defaet the German U-boat campaign. Americans thought differetly about the U-boats in Worlkd War II than World War I, but after Pearl Harbor and Hitler's declaration of War were all in. Like other campaigns, the naval, lam\nd and sea capmpaigns ere inter-connected. The basic issue that Britain could not survive without food and supplies from Anerica and the Dominions. And America could not project its prodigious industrial power without control of the seas. And the air camapign played a key role in preventiung the Germans from brining their new generatin of highly advanced U-boats to the battle. More limited naval campaigns were fought in the connected seas: the Baltic, Black, and Mediterannean Seas. The struggle in the Mediterannean was of special importance. There were engagements in the Arctic Ocean as Britain and America tried to deliver arms and supplies after the Soviet Union was forced to switch sides when the Germans invaded them (June 1941)
<
It was the Germans who began bombing civilian populations rather than military targets as a terror tactic calculated to destroy civilian morale. Visionary German military planners in the 1930s built the world's most advanced air force at the time--the Luftwaffe. Germany was the first World War II combatant to use bombers to terrorize urban populations. This began even before World War II during the Spanish Civil War. The British Government even before war was declared on Germany in September 1939 sought to safeguard the civilain population, especially children, from aerial bombardment. The Government on August 31, 1939 ordered the evacuations to begin. Within a few weeks, 3 million Britains, mostly children had been evacuated from the cities. The German initiated their long awaited western campaign in May 1940. Paris fell June 14 and France capitulated June 22. The Luftwaffe quickly established bases in France and by July 10 launched preliminary strikes in what has come to be called the Battle of Britain. The Luftwaffe while better trained and outnumbering the RAF was ill prepared for the campaign. They did not appreciate the critical importance of the British home chain radar network. The initial British bombing raids in 1939 dropped leaflets. The British were reluctant to actually bomb German cities, in part fearing reprisal raids from the Luftwaffe. The German airassualt on Britain changed this. The whole thrust of the War was changed with Operation Barbarossa--he NAZI assault on the Soviet Union. the Luftwaffe was a key aspect of the invasion, but it hadbeen weakened in the Battle of Britain. Adolf Hitler on December 11, 1941, declared war on the United States. This conviently solved FDR's dilema of how to enter the war against the NAZIs when America had been attacked by the Japanese. Curiously, America was the only country on which Hitler ever declared war. The entry of America into the War changed all calculations of strategic ballance. The output of American industry made possible the construction of amassive air armada to assault Hitler's Germany. Once America joined the War in December 1941, a massive bombing campaign against Germany from England became feasible. America's indistrial potential gave the Allies to mount a strategic bombing campaign orders of magnitude above the Luftwaffe's capability. Much less known than the British World War II evacuation of children from urban areas is the German evacuation program evacuating children. The program was called the Kinder Land Verschickung (KLV) which operated during World War II. The Allied air campaign against Germany in the months leading up to the Normandy invasion has to be cut back. Targets in France associated with the landings were given the highest priority. Contrary to popular conceptions, the German economy was not effectively harnessed for war. Civilian consumption was not drastuically curtailed as was the case in Britain. Women were not mobilized for war work. Industrial prodiction was not totally directed at the War effort. Only when Albert Speer was appointed Armaments Minister in 1942 did German industry begin to take needed steps to maximize production and reach some of its potential. [Speer] The Germans, as a result, despite the bombing were able to expand war production. Some have used this to charge that the Allied bombing cmpaign was ineffective and a misallocation of resources. Hitler by late 1944 no longer spoke to the German people in sharp contrast to earlier years when he ws a constant presence on German radio. His deteriorating physical condition, relentlessly depressing reports from the fronts, and the destruction of German cities by Allied bombing were all factors. Hitler's mouth piece Josef Goebbels became his spokesman. Goebbels raged about vengenance and secrt weapons. There were indeed secret weapons. The most criticised Allied air raid occurred at Dresden near the end if the War. The Allies conducted incendiary raids on Dreden February 13-14, creating a firestorm killing thousands of civilian. After Dresden, Prime Minister Churchill ordered Air Marsahll Harris to end to area bombing. Churchill explained: "It seems to me that the moment has come when the question of bombing of German cities simply for the sake of increasing the terror, should be reviewed. Otherwise we shall come into control of an utterly ruined land." Any assessment of the Allied bombing campaign has to ask the question of how much more the Germans could have expanded production had it not been for the bombing. The bombing significantly clearly disrupted the economy and the ability of the NAZIs to persue their development of new weapons.
Raw materilas played a major role in World War II. This included both the impetus for war and the waging of the war. Germany and Italy were raw material defecit countries. It is no accident that they wanted to launch a new war to fundamentally change the European order. Italy did not have the power to launch a new war. Germany did. Gernany laxked, however virtually all the raw materails needed launch a modern war. The only really abundant resource Germany had was coal. Other European countries had most of the resources Germany needed. Germany needed European sources because in time of war, the Royal Navy would cut off maritime imports. There were two key resources Germany needed--iron ore available from Sweden and oil available from Romania. Other important resources werevlocated thoughout Europe. And Germany diplomacy sought to expand trade relatiins with the countries involved. After the Allied acpitualtin at Minich, few European countries were wiiling to challenge German dominance. While Europe had much of what Hitler wanted, it was the Soviet Union that had the mother load--not only vast rich agriculural areas, but just about every resource Germany would need to fight the war in perpetuity. And most importantly all the oil Germany would ever need. Unlike most of the other European countries, the Soviet Union had a powerful military force. Britain also lacked resources beyond coal, but had the Royal Navy to protect the sea lanes so it could ipmort what it needed and even before American entered the ar, it began picking up the tab for much of waht Britain neeed--Lend Lease. This included food, equipment, and raw materials. Raw materials also played a role in how the war a fought. Early Grmany victories gave the Germans access to what they needed. And the alliance with the Soviet Union (August 1939). The Soviets shipped vast quantities of grain and strategic raw materials including oil to Germany, making possible the Western Offensive and the fall of France (June 1940). This changed when the Germans invaded the Soviet Union (June 1941). This ended the steady supply from the Soviet Union. Germany managed, however, to obtain what its war industries needed from occupied countries and adjacent neutrals. As long as there was a rail links, the eichbahn could deliver the needed resources.
World War II was an industrial war more than any other war in history. And the United States, the largest industrial power, wanted no part of it. Europe itsel was divided into three groups. The Germans ere the largest indtrial nation in Europe. And as a result, of Hitler's rearmament program, had at the onset of the War not only the most professial military, but the best armed force. While te Germas has the largest war economy, the Allies (Britain and France) combined had a larger economy, but at the onset of the War not yet geared for war. The Allies like the Americans wanted no part of another War, but after Prime-Minister Chambrlain's appeaement policies failed had to confront the Germans. The third large economy was the Soviet Union, a develoment not yet fully understood by Hitler at the onset of the War. Germany expanded its induistrial base in its early conquests, but did not fully utilie the economies of the occupied countries. The fall of France weakened the Allied ecomomic base, but Hitler's decision to wage war against both the Soviet Unin and the United States meany that German orces had to face huge armies with massive sueriority in supplies and equipment which could not be overcome by some excellent excelent Germans weapons.
Science was dominated by Europe at the time of World War II. This was particularly the case of pure or theoretical science. American science was primarily oriented to paractcal applications useful to industry. Germany was the leading nation in science at the outset of the War. This can clearly be seen in the Nobel Prize awards. While Germany was the most important country, the Allies (Britain and France) combined overwealmed them. Of course, Frencgh science was lost to the allied effort when France surrendered to the Germans (June 1941). This was more than made up for by America's entry into the War. America not only had some pure science to offer, but the industrail power to manufacture what Amrrican and British scetiusts invented. The Germans in contrast not only did not significantly utilize France's substantial industrial capacity (Renault trucks were a rare exception), but did not use its science capbility at all. The Germnans in addition drove many scientists, especially Jewish scientists, out of Europe and to Amrica. This would have an important impact on World War II and an even greater impact on the Cold War.
The potent mix of British science and American industrial might would have amajor impact on the War. While Nobel Prize awards are probably a reasonable proxy for the vscientific establishment in most countries, this is proably not the case for the Soviet Union where the NKVD tended to keep major advances secret. Thius kept them out of German and Amercan hands, but also kept them out of the hanfs of Soviet civilians. When you cinsider how much of modern economies are based in the work of World ar II and Cold War scientists, the economic cost of Soviet secrecy can be seen. It is notabel that Russia today has an economy based on exporting raw material. Except for arms, Russia is not an important industrial manufactuer in any significant area. We have all purchased British, Chinese, German, Japanese, Korean, and other European products. Who has bought a Russian product?
Racism was a key aspect of World War II. Racism was a primary factor within the Axis military alliance. Except for the Haitain Revolutiinary wars and American Civil War, race has not been a factor in many wars. This thanks primarily to the NAZIs and Facist allies, made race a major factor in the War. World War as conceived by Adolf Hitler was a racist war. It was not a foot note in the history of the War, tt was a primary German war goal. Hitler clearly conceptualizes a great killing campaign conflict against Jews and the only slightly less objectionable Slavs. The Jews Hitler believed had to be purged from German life. This process evolved into the Holocaust. The German hatred of the Jews and the Holocaust is well known, but only a part of the race war they launched. They planneda ahd had begun a much larger killing program in Eastern Europe--Generalplan Ost. And that was to be just the beginning if their race war. At least some of the Slavs would be allowed to survive because slave labor was needed for the new Reich and NAZI war effort. And Hitler saw the War as not a German war, but an Aryan war. For this reason, the people of the Nordic countries, the Netherlands, and the British would fit into the new Aryan nation. America entered the War as a still largely racist country. These racist ideas, unlike Germany and Japan, did not significantly affect its foreign policy. The South was still strictly seggregatated with black Americans denied civil rights and precvented from voting. America fought the War with a segregated military. The anti-Japanese prejudice of the time was often intense and sharply reflected in American war propaganda that is today very disturbing. There are lots of blatantly racist images of slanted, weaked eyes Japanese with over-sized glasses. Of course this was exacerbated by Pearl Harbor. Anti-German propaganda was not racist, of course, because so many Americans looked like Germans. Anti-Japanese racism was reflected in the disgraceful internment of Pacific-coast Japanese-Americans simply on grounds of their ethnicity. he Soviet Union needs to be considered as a third force in World War II. It was the Soviets along with the Germans who launched the War as a result of the NAZI-Soviet Non-aggression Pact (August 1939), as unlikely allies. The Soviet Unuin unlike Germany was a multi-national state. Both countries, however, proceeded to carry out a long series of aggresons against neighboring countries and terrible attrocities in the countries they occupied. The NAZI attrocities were more race based than the Soviets, but the Soviets carried out ethnic attrocities of their own, deporting several national groups and like the NAZIs set you to destroy Poland as a nationality. And Stalin sought to alter the ethnic balance in the Baltics by deportung Balts and incouraging Russian emigration. The NAZI-Soviet alliance was abruptly broken with the German invasion. And as a result, the Soviets finished the War as key part of the victorious Allied coalition. The racial policies in the Soviet Union is more difficult to assess. Communist doctrine was race neutral which was one reason that it appealed to many Jews. And none other than Lenin was of mixed race origins, includung central Asian ancestors. Of course Communist ideological neutrality on race does not mean that racist beliefs were not prevalent among Soviet officials or as we have noted, Stalin did not pursue a range of racist policies.
World War I was a traumatic experience in Europe, both for the victors and the defeated. The people of Europe were determined to prevent another war. Losses were enormous, both in blood and material wealth. An entire generation had been desimated in many countries. Most thought that the War had been a huge mistake. The huge cost of the War made even the victors sharply cut back military expenses. Most people thought that the War had not only been costly, but poinless as well. Few stopped to consider what a German dominated Europe would have meant. Pacifist movements grew throughout Europe and had considerable impact on major political parties, especially the socialists. Inter-war pacifism had a major impact on World War II. In the democracies, pacifists significantly influenced public policy. Here the principal impact was to impede military spending and defense prepartions, leaving the democracies dangerously unprepared for aggressive nations where pacifists were excluded from the public arena. Public opinion in America remained staunchly against involvement in World War II until Pearl Harbor. In America the Isolationist movemnt grew in importance. While anti-war and pacifist movements were of great influence, there were other currents at play in Europe. Socialist parties wanted welfare, not miltary spending. The Soviet Union gave lip service to abnti-war sentiment, primarily to weaken potentil adversaries while at the same time lavish enormous sums into military spending. The rise of Fascism also fueled oposition to the World War I settlement and glorified war. This began with Mussolini in Italy (1924), but did not become a real threat until Hitler seized power in Germany (1933). He quickly supressed the pacifist movenment in Germany and launched a massive rearmament program. The denmocraies were slow to respond to this threat because of the strength of the anti-war and pacifist movements. The primary impact of the pacifist movement was thus to lay the foundation for the most costly war in human history.
Navigate the CIH World War II Section:
[Return to Main World War II geographic theaters]
[Return to Main World War II campaign page]
[Return to Main World War II essay page]
[About Us]
[Allies]
[Biographies]
[Children]
[Concentration camps]
[Countries]
[Decision]
[Denyers/Apologists]
[Displaced persons]
[Economics]
[Eisatzgruppen]
[Eugenics]
[German Jews]
[Ghettoes]
[Impact]
[Justice]
[Literature]
[Movies]
[NAZIs]
[Occupied Poland]
[Process]
[Propagada]
[Resistance]
[Restitution]
[Questions]
[SA]
[SS]
[Special situations]
[Targets]
[Wansee Conference]
[Return to the Main World War II]
[Return to Main Holocaust page]
[Return to the Main mass killing page]
[Return to CIH Home page]
