CourseofWar

=German Advances: the fall of Poland, the Low Countries and France.=
 * Blitzkrieg - "Lightning War"
 * Poland - September / October 1939 - Warsaw fell 28 September.
 * Denmark and Norway fell in April 1940
 * The Poles had about 370,000 troops, 313 tanks and an aiforce of less than 400 planes.
 * There was simply no match for an invading German force of almost 1.25 million men, backed by 2,400 tanks, 1400 planes and almost 10,000 artillery field guns.
 * Britain and France declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939.

=The air war and its effects: The Battle of Britain and the Blitz, the bombing of Germany=
 * The germans thought that the bombing would crush British Morale and also didn't think that it would counter attack.
 * 2.5 Million tonnes of bombs dropped on Germany, almost completely destroying the Germans munition industry.
 * Luftwaffe
 * Many cities were leveled. millions of civilians killed, many famous landmarks were destroyed.
 * The British were Aryans, Hitler's goal was expansion in the east and so Britain's continued opposition was a major irritant.
 * In early July, German fighters engaged in probing raids on coastal targets and shipping in the Channel.
 * The first major rain on Southern England occurred on the 10th of July.

=The Battle of El Alamein and the significance of the conflict in North Africa to the European War=
 * The Germans wanted to gain control of the Suez Canal as it would be beneficial (supplies). The Allies prevented them reaching it.
 * The end of war in North Africa allowed the allies to concentrate on war in Europe.
 * By October Montgomery had 195,000 men, 1000 tanks, 900 guns and 1500 anti tank guns.
 * November 1940, British naval forces sank three battleships at their base in Taranto.
 * In early February the town of Bengahzi was captured.
 * Britain controlled Egypt and thus Suez Canal. The channel provided a quick route to India, the far east, the empire and the Persian gulf.

=Operation Barbarossa, the Battle of Stalingrad and the significance of the Russian Campaign.=


 * Hitler's longterm aim was Lebensraum, he wanted more living space.
 * Stalingrad had no tactical significance for the Germans, it was Hitler who wanted to take the city named after Stalin.
 * Operation Barabarossa was the code name for the German invasion of the Soviet Union.
 * Hitler called the invasion of Russia "operation barbarossa" after the German 12th Century Holy Roman Emperor.
 * The defeat of Russia would totally isolate Britain which Hitler expected to bring to it's knees anyway with his submarine forces.
 * Why operation Barbarossa failed - climate, geography, role of Stalin, Hitler interference and Japan's decision to expand southwards.