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Falls Falls and Britain Stands Alone
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Class notes for the fall of France in 1940
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France Falls and Britain Stands AloneThe strengths and weaknesses of the German Blitzkrieg
Hitler’s War
● Or were they Hitler’s “wars”?
● Hitler may have dunnit but other players had to be ready to play his game and there was
a readiness to accept that
● Hitler was driving the narrative and holding the initiative
● He did not want a world war but a regional one maybe a continental war
● Hitler was controlling the shape the narrative took
● He made it seem as though when conflicts took place he and his government would be
the only ones to solve it
● While Hitler held a lynch pin kind of power he made it so he could lose control easily
● The seeds of Hitler’s defeat kayed in his vague grand design
Poland: Sept 1, 1939
● A Blitzkrieg?
● It was made to look like the Poles initiated the fighting but it was not the reality
● Poles were fighting are against the offensive attack
○ They were fighting on two sides (Germany and East Prussia)
○ Not ready to face a new army, new technology and one more aggressive
● Had to push their defenses because they have no where to go, the shallow defense
allowed for the Germans to easily break through with little to nothing on the other side
● After German occupation Polish government fled and continued their resistance
● Sept 17, 1939: Russia invaded
● Sept 3, 1939: Britain and France declare war which surprise Hitler
● Their initial support for Poland was lackluster because Poland was just too far away so
direct support was basically impossible
● France COULD have started a war on the western front which would have drawn
German forces away from Poland but they choose not too
● This all led to the Phony War (1939-1940)
● Jews were racially targeted by Germans leading to them being shipped to ghettos and
eventually concentration camps
Scandinavia: April, 1940
● Poland needed to fall and Russia needed to be neutralized before Hitler could look to
conquering the west
● British Navy had a blockade into Germany, so Norway was economically important for
sustaining the wartime effort
● Britain wanted to strike against Norway to keep it away from possible German
occupation (If we have control then they can’t have it)
● April 9,1940: Germany gets to Norway just a hair ahead of Britain and France
● Denmark falls within hours and Norway occupation has some ups and downs
● Hitler’s War? No, he was responding. It was not part of his initial plan and it became a
sideshow
● Norwegian government also fled to Britain where it continued its resistance
, ● There is no war enthusiasm in Germany… none
● But was able to build some when Hitler was achieving these low cost battles with little
lives lost. Makes him seem like he has control and knows what he’s doing
● His main group of followers were those who were not affected by WW1 and could justify
Hitler’s war action plans
The West: May- June, 1940
● Perhaps the definition of Blitzkrieg
● Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg and France occupied
● It took 6 weeks for the West to fall
● One failure: British and French got away (Dunkirk)
● Transition of Power in Britain (March 10, Chamberlain -> Churchill)
● Does Britain continue the fight? Churchill says yes they do
● Main Challenge facing Hitler: Royal Navy and RAF
● Battle of Britain: Luftwaffe versus RAF (Britain doesn’t lose)
○ This battle demonstrated Hitler’s limitations
Benito Mussolini and Italian Ambitions
● 1935: Ethiopia
● 1936: Intervention in Spanish Civil War
● 1939: Albania
● 1940: France and Greece
● Some inspiration for Hitler (Fascist dictator with firm control over Italy)
● Mussolini had to cut deals with the Papacy, Parliament and even his own Party
● He portrayed himself as a modern leader who was taking Italy into the future and wanted
to assert Italy's power after WW1
● Mussolini had a vision of a Roman world and seemed to manifest the myth of the Roman
“warrior”
● Italy was initially against the anschluss (Germany + Austria) in the early 1930’s
● Italian campaign failures complicate things for Hitler
● Italy was an ally for Germany therefore if Italy messed up then Germany had to help
them out drawing needed attention from the warfront
● Hitler’s War? No, he was responding to Mussolini’s actions and failures
The West 1940
● Did France lose or Germany win?
● How did the two major players, France and Germany, imagine war?
● How did these visions shape tactical doctrines in the context of the French Methodical
Battle and Germany’s Blitzkrieg?
Imagining War: France the Methodical Battle
● Experience of WW1: Long war, Defense over Offense, Total war
● Defend French Mobilization
● Protect Industry: Long War
● Defend Paris (Close Frontier)
● Continuous Front; Maginot Line
● Once enemy attacks defeated, France could go on the offensive to win the war
● French came into the war with WW1 baggage
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