Conflict in Europe 1935-1945: Key Issues

Conflict in Europe 1935-1945: Key Issues

• Causes of the conflict
• Aims and strategies of the Allied and Axis powers
• Turning points of the war
• Impact of war on civilians
• Origins, nature, and impact of the Holocaust
• Reasons for the Allied victory

Growth of European Tensions: Dictatorships in Germany and Italy

• Intentionalist/structuralist debate exists regarding the dictators role in starting the war
• Hitler's influence post-1935 was 70%, while Mussolini's pre-1935 was 30%
• Fascist regimes were driven by the totalitarian nature of their societies.
• Overy: "The nature of dictators determined the savage character of the Eastern conflict.”
• Bullock: "No other man played a role in the Nazi revolution or in the history of the Third Reich remotely comparable to that of Hitler.”
• Societies disillusioned with unemployment, military defeats and poverty
• Ideology greatly impacted everything in both regimes
  • Jingoism and xenophobia
  • Opposition to democracy, liberalism, and communism

Hitler's and Mussolini's Aims

• Hitler's aims were all related to ideology, including Volksgemeinschaft and Grossedeutsche
  • Taylor: "A second war was implicit since the moment the First World War ended.”
  • Autarky/economic self-sufficiency to prevent WWI blockade
  • Lebensraum with Hitler stating, “Destiny points us towards Russia".
• Mussolini's aims included rebuilding a new Roman/Italian empire for imperial glory, envisioned as a Fascist Lake
  • Felt short-changed by the Treaty of Versailles (ToV).

Alliances and Divisions

• The Spanish Civil War created strong alliances/divisions for major powers
• Rome-Berlin Axis Pact
  • Mussolini on their mutual convenience and similar goals
• Anti-Comintern Pact involved Japan and Germany
  • Viewed Russia as a long-term enemy, with Italy later joining when Russia opposed Franco
• Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Pact was formed
  • Hitler believed it was a, “fascist response to the threat of communism and democratic institutions worldwide.”

League of Nations and Collapse of Collective Security

• League of Nations was formed post-WWI by Woodrow Wilson to ensure peace in Europe
• The 'Covenant' outlined 4 main goals in its 26 articles.
• Collective security as an alliance system of mutual protection schemes
  • Article 11 states, “threat of war...a matter of concern to the whole League.”
  • Article 16 dictates, “Should any member of the League resort to war...it will be deemed to have committed an act of war against all other members...”
  • The articles were too vague, undermining collective security in practice as major powers prioritized national self-interest. Examples include Abyssinia and the Spanish Civil War
• Disarmament efforts were undermined by vagueness
  • Allowed dictators and major powers to manipulate the League
  • Article 8 discusses, “maintenance of peace requires the reduction of national armaments to the lowest point consistent with national safety”
  • Germany wanted parity with other countries which was refused, leading to the Anglo-German Naval Pact in 1935 at 35% capacity of Britain's Navy without notifying France/Italy.
• Diplomacy was relevant to Britain's appeasement policies
  • Gilbert argues, “Appeasement has been an aspect of British foreign policy since 1919.”

Failure of Collective Security

• The Stresa Front as a response to 1935 foreign policy including rearmament, designed to critique Hitler's Anschluss initially worked but was weakened by the Anglo-German Naval Agreement, which also broke the ToV
• Abyssinian crisis from October 1935 to May 1936
  • Highlighted nationalism over self-interest and "death” of the League of Nations, referred to as a "Fascist Lake"
  • Selassie appealed to the League, economic sanctions were placed on Italy, but didn't include oil due to self-interest, undermining their effectiveness.
• Harney calls this the, “main reason why sanctions failed to be effective”
• Hoare -Lavel Agreement
  • Appeasement at its worst, without notifying Selassie, letting Italy keep 60% of captured land to form “corridor for camels"
  • Harney argues that, “not even Britain and France, the leaders of the idea of international security, possessed the courage to uphold the laws set forth in the Convenant, they lost faith in the system of mutual respect of national integrity and safety”
• Chemical weaponry - the League banned this but Italy used 500 tonnes of mustard gas.
• The Spanish Civil War facilitated the outbreak of war in 1939, consolidating divisions within Europe arising from the League of Nations and appeasement
• Germany and Italy backed the Nationalists through the Rome-Berlin Axis Pact providing Franco with 70k troops, tanks, and artillery
• Evans calls this which, “cemented the alliance between Hitler and Mussolini”
• Britain and France championed non-intervention
  • Taylor claims the, Spanish gov. appealed to League, didn't get a genuine response → “expressed its ‘regrets' and agreed to house the pictures from the Prado at Geneva.”
• Allowed dictators to test new weapons and tactics in Guernica in 1937, where 8hrs of bombing with 11 squadrons of German aeroplanes happened
  • Goring saw this as where, “The concept of Blitzkrieg was created in Spain.”

British and French Policy of Appeasement

• Appeasement defined as a diplomatic policy of making political/material concessions to an enemy power to avoid conflict.
• Gilbert argues “Chamberlain did not invent the idea of appeasement; it had been an aspect of British foreign policy since 1919”
• Early examples included the Anglo-German Naval Agreement and the Hoare-Laval Agreement
• Anchluss of Austria saw Hitler threaten Chancellor von Schuschnigg, who caved in and eventually resigned
  • Chamberlain saw a, “close affinity between Germany and Austria”
• At the Munich Conference/Annexation of Sudetenland in September 1938, Hitler’s Lebensraum/Volksgemeinschaft/Treaty of Versailles (ToV) ideology involved 3m ethnic Germans living there.
• Despite President Edvard Bene wanting to fight, Chamberlain did the Munich Conference instead as a failure of collective security without inviting Czechoslovakia
  • They were also did not invite their allies, the Russians
  • Kennedy called it, “Vulnerable eastern European states (i.e. Czechoslovakia) were all too often regarded as nuisances.”
  • Kennedy argued, “The emotional dislike of Communism was such that Russia's potential as a member of an antifascist coalition was always ignored or downgraded.”
  • Military advisers exaggerated Germany's capabilities, which was conducive to a policy of appeasement
• Churchill argued, “...all of Czechoslovakia would be engulfed...do not suppose this is the end"
• The invasion of Czechoslovakia in Jan 1938 despite the terms of the Munich Conference promoted confidence
• Created desperation in other European countries
  • AJP Taylor states, “It is difficult to see what other course Stalin could take.”
• Chamberlain realised Hitler was unappeasable
• Economies of Britain/France were still recovering from the Great Depression, with Chamberlain believing the ToV had been too harsh
• This, in turn, allowed Hitler to acquire allies, build up military resources, and Kennedy claimed, “The crisis was there was no good or proper solution”.

Significance of the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact

• Russia was excluded from alliances and proposals which contributed to Stalin's paranoia/desperation for military expansion, leading to ‘diplomatic isolation'
  • Examples include the Versailles Peace Conference, League of Nations and Munich Conference.
• Foreign Minister Litvinov in 1939 ordered negotiations with Germany where the Pact was suggested
  • AJP Taylor claims, “It is difficult to see what other course Stalin could take. [He] wanted recognition and Hitler gave this distinction to him.”
  • Kennedy argues, “The emotional dislike of Communism was such that Russia's potential as a member of an antifascist coalition was always ignored or downgraded.”
• The Soviet Union has a lack of faith in Britain and France which was evident in the Czechoslovakian crisis and after the Munich Conference where french refused russian's suggestion of mutual assistance
• Allowed Hitler trade of resources and a promise that they would not force a war on two fronts if invading Poland.
• Stalin would get a buffer zone and avert immediate risk of war.
• The Nazi Soviet Non-Aggression Pact, also called the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, was signed July 1939, initially as a trade agreement where Russia would provide petroleum products, grain, and phosphates as resources and Germany would invest 200m ReichMarks
• Russia obtained time. Germany avoided a two-front war. Germany later declared war on Russia in 1940
  • AJP Taylor remarks, “[Stalin]... slipped into the delusion Hitler would keep his word.”

German Advances: Fall of Poland, Low Countries, France

• Germany's overarching tactic of Blitzkrieg involved Luftwaffe, Panzers, and Wehrmacht
• Blitzkrieg represented a fancier/more technological version of combined arms tactic from WWI
• Included rapid simultaneous attacks involving
  • Luftwaffe (saturation bombing)
  • Panzers (close surrounding road networks)
  • Wehrmacht and airborne troops with panzer units (to capture soldiers and civilians)
• Resulted in 2.2m killed/wounded, 1.8m POW, Germany's losses comparatively were 200k killed/wounded
• Flat landscape of Poland made it susceptible to the tactic
  • Involved 6 weeks, 350k soldiers + civilians were killed.
• Britain declared war in response to Poland invasion after refused ultimatum
  • Sent 160k BEF troops and 24k vehicles to France
  • This was the first practice of Blitzkrieg which meant they could improve upon it further in france over two weeks
  • Hart saw Poland as an opportunity to refine Blitzkrieg tactics on ideal terrain with effectiveness representing ample proof of combined tactic.
• Oberkommando translates to “supreme commander”
  • Lacked organisational structure
• German strategy was the Maginot mentality and an overly defensive consolidation on the French Maginot line
• AJP Taylor argued, “If France had launched an offensive in the west, Hitler would have been in grave danger...the war may have ended there.”
• Assumed there was little to save Poland, didn't confront Germany head on
• Occupied the 'Sitzkrieg' from October 39 to April 40, postponing Operation Fall Gelb due to European winter

Battle for the Atlantic

• In 1939, the Kriegsmarine had 50 U-boats and Britain relied on imports via trans-Atlantic convoys
• Admiral Karl Doenitz ordered to “sink any ship that isn't German”
• Battle for the Atlantic lasted six years - Germans used ‘wolf packs' as deep under water, surfacing only for mass attacks on convoys at night
• Sonar could locate position of Axis submarines
• Allies suffered 14.5m tons of shipping sank by wolf packs and 31k seaman died
• Germany suffered 800 U-boats sunk and 28k German submariners
• The North Sea and English Channel became highly contested spaces
• However, Germany had achieved autarky making the ‘blockade' strategy ineffective

Case Red and Case Yellow of April 1940

• British attacked Germans in Norway and failed.
• Chamberlain received criticism and resigned on May 10, 1940 after Churchill becomes PM.
• Yellow attacks targeted the Low Countries by General von Bock to create a distraction/diversion for Case Red
  • Involved 30 divisions and 2k aircraft as part of the Blitzkrieg
  • Allied were tricked into thinking they would do a neo-Schlieffen plan through Belgium
• Red attacks targeted the Ardennes Forest
  • The prank worked where Allied sent 1/2 their command
  • Involve 20 divisions to target the maginot line tying down French-British and 46 divisions to storm the forest for the the Battle of France

Evacuation of Dunkirk

• The Evacuation of Dunkirk 29 May 1940: Showed faults of Oberkommando
  • Hitler ordered divisions to stop allowing the British to evacuate the port of Dunkirk in what Churchill called Operation Dynamo.
  • 338k men were rescued

Battle of Britain and the Blitz

• With the collapse of France, Britain was at risk of invasion; Germany wanted its seaports and naval resources
• Hitler's strategy for Operation Sea Lion from July to Oct 1940 aimed to control British channel through preliminary attacks on coastal ports and luftwaffe, destroy RAF bases, and bomb british cities
• Reasons for Defeat regarding German Strategy:
  • Oberkommando was inferior- shifting from military targets was counterproductive
  • 75k civilians were killed and 1733 aircraft were lost by the Germans
  • DOWDING used tactical/logical planning to prevent damages and attrition utilizing homeground advantages knowing radar
  • German strategic aims compared to Dowding's certainty of purpose
  • With the great distances, German planes were predictable
  • The Germans lost 915 aircraft and could not retrieve their pilots
  • German planes had limited range and German Messerschmitt had disadvantage

Significance of Victory and Bombing of Germany in 1942-43

• The success over the Germans saw an psychological impact where Hitler believed Luftwaffe invincible and increased opportunity for the Allies
  • Richards argued it was by, “earning Britain a great breathing space in which the further progress of events was to bring her the mighty alliance of Russia + USA, they made possible the final victory.”
• In Allied bombing of Germany, victory was more effective due to the increase aircraft production
• Marshall Arthur “Bomber” Harris led American/Britsh
• Roosevelt wanted,
  • “the progressive destruction and dislocation of the German military, industrial, and economic system",
  • “undermining of the morale of the German people to a point where their capacity for armed resistance is fatally weakened.”
• Examples in series of satire campaigns where 40-50k people killed in Hamburg
• These had some effect of victory where Overy argued there was less resources due to factories
  • Allied bombing did produce an oil famine and cities where people could live

Operation Barbarossa, Battle of Stalingrad, and Significance of Russian Campaign

• Hitler's motivations for attacking Russia included
  • Failures in Africa and Britain
  • A personal vendetta to destroy Slavic peoples
  • The German desire to destroy all communists
  • The hope that the allies would surrender as well
• Rees called hitler virtually insane due to popular belief
• Fuhrer Directive No 21
  • Began 22 June 1941
  • Encompassed 3 German group troops who were all crushed

Primary tactics of Blitzkrieg led to problems

• At leningrad, hitler divided attacks with 3 million men
• Von Bocks attack was delayed which aloud the Russians to mobilize
• Battle of Leningrad turning point in -5 to -17 degrees for German men
  • Murray and Miller said this resulted due to misbelief with whermacht saying Soviet Union would collapse with stalins challenge
  • Hitler had his senior leaders fired, and germans were demoralized
• Operation Blau made Hitler focus on winning in Russia for psychological victory
• Operation Uranus meant Russians surrounded captured German soldiers
• Russia under Zhukov was able to mobilize 750k troops
• Significant German casualties
• The significance of the battle lead to Russian tactics dominating and racial warefare

The Battle of El Alamein and Significance of North African Conflict

• Took place over Western Desert Campaign (Egypt + Libya, El Alamein)
• Britain was concerned about Egypt, the area for middle eastern oil and trade routes
• Britain put 200k soldier in Lybia, led to Operation Compass Feb 1941 with italian defeat
• Rommel was a gifted commander, and Montgomery would take over in July 1941
• As Rommel had supply issued, Montgomery was able to use this time
  • Operation Torch meant enemies to eat and west + It was not a massive impact, with only 4.5 Divisions being there, while Russia had 190
• Romel was skilled, resulting in loss for Germany
  • With 3 fronts, it took a strain on resources for war.
• Lead to three fronts of warefare (Greece, NA, Russia0
  • This significant impact on the stall of the SOviet Union war, as Stalingrad needed resources
  • Was a signaficant rise of boost for Britsh and allled morale due to victory as Rommel had control

Social Impact of War in Britan

• Citizens came together and became a national unity
• The Blitz left the working class in danger leading to Government incompetenence and class warefare
• War propaganda meant that there was an inbalance that had to be used
• Rationing became used so that the average did not starve and they could use what they could
• Women had the role of freed service men, as well as auxiliary

Nazi Government control and role

• Total war had the strategy for morale
• However, women were not allowed in the military, they had to make do with domestic positions
• New changes occurred when there was more shifts made
• Propaganda became key for the Nazis
• There was much pression and violence

The Holocaust

• The Nazi racial policy created mass discrimination to the jews
• Mentally and physical ill were murdered in 1939
• Gypsies killed and deported
• Jew discrimination led to war saw
• The Nuremberg saw the protection of high class Germans
• This led to the plan for a final solution
  • In 4 steps
  • 1 discrimination and segregation, 2 increasing violence, 3 ghettos, 4 mobile vans etc

4. 1 D Day and Liberating the freach

• Alarming largest with history
• 50k soldiers would charge the beaches to face opposition
• Ghost artmy led to deceiving
• Allie made it to Normandy, but 2 American soldiers saw stiff attack
• Within 3 months Allied almost won due to lack of strategic desitions with hitler
• Germans saw much violence and dmaaghe as they retreats, Allides were uplifted

Germany and Russians

• Russains show signs of superiority over Germany
• The Warsaw leaded to poles in a uprising where many were killed
• Germans fought in savages against russia

How the Allies won and Nuremberg

• There was no longer support due to the outside impact was not with the wareffot for Russia
• America was on the decline along side hitler
• Russians with drawn
• The Allies won due ti the superior tactics
• The Nuremberg vilified countries for the war