BLITZKRIEG

The German word meaning “lightening war”, the military strategy of softening a country up through intensive air raids followed by rapid use of armoured and infantry units, based on speed and surprise.

• revolutionary style of hard, fast warfare based on surprise attack

• the key to its success was close co-operation between the German Panzer (tank) divisions and dive-bombing aircraft the Luftwaffe, and the infantry

• first wave of panzers crashed without warning through weak-spots in enemy line – pushed in as far as possible
• overhead the German warplanes knifed out of the air – sirens shrieking causing confusion and panic
• sabotage troops – using parachute or gliders dropped behind enemy lines to destroy key transport and communication sites

• main body of infantry, in motorized transportation, skirted around pockets of heavy resistance to sweep deeply into lightly defended areas at the rear

• motorcycles armed with machine gunners in sidecars scouted the countryside to report on enemy positions

TIMELINE OF ATTACK

1.  September 1, 1939

• Germany hit Poland from north, west, and south
• Polish army of 70 000 totally wiped out
• Hitler’s casualties = 1400

2.  Sitzkrieg – “Phony War”

• bulk of German army in Poland
• smaller force sat on border of France – glared at each other for 7 months

3.  Maginot Line

• By 1919 the French Army began to study how to protect France against Germany and after 1924 against Italy.
  • The French Army estimated that fortifying the border was the best way.
  • New fortification had two missions –
    • (1^st) it had to protect the French troops against a surprise attack.
    • (2^nd) it had to provide effective coverage for the main combat on the French-Belgian border and also on the French-German border.
    • Fortification had to be very sophisticated and to have a very good firepower.
  • Andre’ Maginot – The French War Minister after whom the Maginot line was named and under whose leadership walled defences were built along the French-German and Belgium borders.

4.  April 1940

• Denmark (1 day)
• Norway (2 days)
• Netherlands (5 days)
• Belgium (18 days)
• France (6 weeks)

5.  Miracle of Dunkirk: May 1940

• By May 20^th, Germany had French and British forces pinned at Dunkirk (coastal town on the English Channel)
• Hitler ordered German General Wehrmact to pull back and let the Luftwaffe have the honour of finishing them off
• This became known as Hitler’s first mistake
• fortunately a dense fog rolled in and gave the Allies enough time to plan an escape
• call went out for help, 900 boats of all kinds (sightseeing, trollers, pleasure, ferries, barges, and British destroyers) came out to help
• Only 10 000 were expected to be saved; in the end over 350 000 men were rescued
• many historians believe that only the “Miracle of Dunkirk” prevented Hitler from winning the war in 1940

6.  France, June 14, 1940

• June 14 – Nazis marched on Paris
• Hitler forced the French to sign surrender in same railcar that Germany had accepted defeat in 1918
• Now, only Britain and the Commonwealth allies remain to fight Hitler
• French General predicted that Britain would fall in 3 weeks
• At the time Britain had: Royal Navy, a small but effective airforce, some infantry and a Canadian division