poland attacked: sept. 1, 1939dwelshman.weebly.com/uploads/2/3/5/6/23566174/3.2.1... · 2018. 9....
TRANSCRIPT
Poland Attacked: Sept. 1, 1939
Blitzkrieg [“Lightening War”]
German Successes Early in WWII
3.2.2
• Poland was pleased to learn that France and
Britain would help defend Poland against a
possible German attack in early 1939. There was
hope that a German invasion could be averted or
possibly halted and the German army defeated.
• Within 4 weeks Poland was crushed at the cost
of just 8000 German dead. The British and
French had hardly fired a shot.
• What had happened?
3.2.1 Blitzkrieg
• The answer is Blitzkrieg . The principle behind
this strategy was that the best way to defeat
an enemy is to throw a massive assault against
the enemy’s weakest point and cut them off
from all supplies, reinforcements
and communication.
Blitzkrieg
• This was achieved by:
• First enemy headquarters and communications were
bombed by artillery and bombers. Parachutists
dropped behind enemy lines to cause panic.
Blitzkrieg
• Second tanks and infantry punch a hole in the
weakest part of the enemy frontline encircling enemy
strong points.
Blitzkrieg
• Third troops following up cut the enemy off from
reinforcements thus forcing surrender.
Blitzkrieg
German Troops March into Warsaw
The “Phoney War” Ends: Spring, 1940
Phoney War 3.2.1
• ‘Phoney War’ is the name given to the period
of time in World War Two from September
1939 to April 1940 when, after the blitzkrieg
attack on Poland in September 1939,
seemingly nothing happened. Many in Great
Britain expected a major calamity – but the
title ‘Phoney War’ sums up what happened in
Western Europe during this time – nothing of
any importance.
France – False Sense of Security?
The Maginot Line
Maginot Line 3.2.1
• The Maginot Line named after the French
Minister of War Andre Maginot, was a line of
concrete fortifications, obstacles, and weapons
installations that France constructed just
before the border with Switzerland and the
borders with Germany and Luxembourg
during the 1930s. The Line did not extend
through to the English Channel because the
French military did not want to compromise
Belgium's neutrality.
Maginot Line
• While the fortification system did prevent a
direct attack, it was strategically ineffective, as
the Germans invaded through Belgium, going
around the Maginot Line. Essentially the
Maginot Line provided France with a false
sense of security and Germany invaded and
defeated France in six weeks.
France – False Sense of Security?