Summary
Summary From Western Europe to World War
- Institution
- AQA
Detail notes on how it went from a European War to WW1. Great for revision. I obtained an A* overall.
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From Western European to World WarBlitzkrieg and the Phoney War - when, what happened, success for who and why?
- Rapid conquest of Poland was mostly success of German Blitzkrieg tactics
- Luftwaffe began attacking by bombing railway lines and communication links
- Tanks and infantry moved in large numbers to fight off resistance and secure the area
- Britain and France did very little to assist Poland but hoped to prevent the German
invasion of Norway as Scandinavia supplied 51% of Germany’s iron ore
- Phoney War was a phrase coined at the time to describe the lack of firm action taken by
the Aliies until Norway was threatened in March 1940
- British attempts to secure Norway against a Nazi attack failed
- Neville Chamberlain resigned and was replaced by Winston Churchill who refused to
give in to influential figures pressing for an agreement with Germany
The fall of France, the Battle of Britain and the Blitz- when, what happened, success
for who and why?
- Blitz had devastating effects against the Netherlands, Belgium and France
- British Expeditionary Force dispatched to support the French forced back to the beached
of Dunkirk in northern France and only escaped back to Britain with hastily-organised
evacuation in May and June 1940
- After the Wehrmacht swept through France, and with Italy having declared war against it
on 12 June, the French surrendered on 21 June
- Britain and its empire stood alone against the German war machine
- Hitler never aimed to invade and subjugate Britain- he respected British as imperialist
role models and natural allies against communism
- Half-hearted attempt to prepare for an invasion of Britain in summer 1940
- Under Operation Sealion, Hitler instructed the Luftwaffe to eliminate the Royal Air Force
in the Battle of Britain
- RAF’s superior planes and home-front advantages helped secure the first Allied victory
against the Nazis in September 1940, prompting a change in German strategy
- The Blitz, which began on 7 September, targeted civilians in their homes with heavy
bombing for eight months
War in North Africa and the Mediterranean- when, what happened, success for who
and why?
- Italy’s declaration of war on Britain in June 1940 prompted fighting between British and
Italian troops in Libya
- Despite being heavily outnumbered, General O’Connor let a British force into Libya and
met little determined resistance from the Italians
- Tobruk and Tripoli fell to British, and in January 1941 the British Army attacked Abyssinia
- In May 1941, Haile Selassie was restored to power, after 5 years
- Italian fortunes in North Africa were only reversed with the intervention of Germany,
which turned decreased Germany’s resources
- Mussolini ordered the invasion of Greece on 28 October as he wanted dominance of
Balkans
- Prevent failure of the fascist attack in the Mediterranean arena, Germany invaded
Yugoslavia in April 1941 and 20 May 1941 and its government surrendered within 8 days
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