• Shuffle
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
  • Alphabetize
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
  • Front First
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
  • Both Sides
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
  • Read
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
Reading...
Front

Card Range To Study

through

image

Play button

image

Play button

image

Progress

1/159

Click to flip

Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;

Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;

H to show hint;

A reads text to speech;

159 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back
What is the "Shooting Decree" & When was it issued
-
What is the "Enabling Act"? What was it's significance?
-The "Enabling Act" gave the German government full power to do anything they wanted without going through legislation. This was against the constitution, however, the constitution was suspended so it was deemed "legal" to construction concentration camps and hold "political prisoners" in "protective custody"
What was "The Insidiousness decree"
-March 21 1933-Made the utterance of "secrets" or "untrue statements" a criminal offence with a maximum sentence of death if the statements challenged the Reich government.
What occurred on April 1 1933?
-Nazi boycott of Jewish businesses. Also Jews were now prevented from employement in civil service, church hierarchies or universities.
Who was Ludvic Beck?
-(29 June 1880-1944) A German general and Chief of Staff in the early years of the Nazi Regime during WWII. He became a major leading conspirator against Hitler. Firstly, he opposed the notion that all Germans swear an oath to Hitler personally. In addition, he opposed rapid rearmament. By 1937, it was clear where Hitler's desires were headed and Beck published "Section 7". He caused this special publication in March 1937 entitled "Thoughts on Defense". He also traveled to France in June 1937 and spoke at a dinner at the German embassy and warned of Hitler's actions. He also protected Jews in the army.
Who was Hjalmar Schact?
(22 January 1877 - June 3 1970). He was a German politician, economist, banker and liberal politician. Although he was a supporter of the Nazi party and worked underneath Hitler, he publicly spoke out against the persecution of the Jews for economic reasons. By 1938, he was an active participant in a coup d'etat against Hitler if he started war against Czechoslovakia. After the attempt on Hitler's life on June 10 1944. Schact was arrested and he was eventually sent to Dachau. Afterwards, he was sent to Tyrol by the SS and was liberate in 1945 on May 5.
What was Operation 7?
-Operation 7 was the successful attempt to smuggle 14 Berlin Jews into Switzerland using false paperwork. The operation was carried out by Deitrich Bonhoeffer and drawn up by Hans von Dohnanyi. Both men were arrested in April 1943.
Describe the White Rose?
-The White Rose was an intellectual, non-violent German resistance group in Nazi Germany that was made up of students from the University of Munich and their philosophy professor. They were known for their leaflet campaign in 1942. The group was lead by Hans Scholl and Sophie Scholl. They were both beheaded, along with the four other most prominent members, on February 22 1943.
Who was Claus von Stauffenberg and how did he resist?
-(15 November 1907 - 21 July 1944) He was a German army officer and an aristocrat. He was one of the leading members of the failed July 20 1944 plot to assassinate Hitler and remove the Nazi party from power. Along with Henning von Trescow and Hans Oster he was a leading member of the German resistance movement within the Wehrmacht.
What were the three wars in Egypt?
- Ethiopia

- Libya

- Tunisia
What was Wavell’s offensive?
-though heavily outnumbered he managed to catch the Italian tenth army between two forces and forced its surrender
Why was success after the Wavell offensive short lived?
- troops diverted to Athens

- Rommel and the Afrikakorps arrived in Tiropli
What was operation Crusader?
- attempt to lift the siege of Tobruk and push back the Axis forces

- it was successful largely due to almost a 2-1 advantage in tank numbers
What was the outcome of the battle of Gazala?
- heavy losses on each side, Tobruk retaken by Axis

- Britain humiliated needed a win in the field, replaced command with Generals Alexander and Montgomery
What was the decisive battle in Libya?
- Alamein
- Rommel almost encircled and began a 2000 mile retreat
- Italians obsolete tanks destroyed
In land battles how did Hitler and his generals disagree?
- Hitler wanted absolute defense
- generals wanted tactical withdrawals to avoid encirclement and me more mobile
What was the name of the operation of Allied landings in North Africa and where were the landings?
- TORCH
- Americans at Morocco
- British at Algiers and Oran
How were the Germans and Italians defeated in Tunisia?
- supply disruption, sunk nearly half the supplies being sent by April 1943
- already too few supplies being sent to keep the Axis forces functional
- code breaking allowed for the destruction of 2/3 of axis supply planes in the Mediterranean
- May 4 not enough fuel to supply food/water/ammo to troops

- fired off everything they had to fulfill Hitler’s order to fight to the last bullet and then surrendered

o 150000 Germans, 90000 Italians surrendered
How did the conflict in North Africa aid Russia?
- diverted resources and high quality troops from the Eastern front
What was agreed upon at the Casablanca conference?
- need to invade Sicily
- operation HUSKY
When did Mussolini fall from power?
- July 25 1943
Was the invasion of Italy initially successful?
- strong German resistance
- only thanks to naval guns that beachheads weren’t overrun
- Germans emboldened believed they could hold against Allies south of Rome
What was the Winter Line?
- strong defensive positions of rivers and mountains that were fell fortified to which the German’s fell back
What are possible reasons for disagreement over Operation Overlord between UK/US?
- UK preferred position of dominance did not want full strength US taking charge in Europe
- not enough landing craft available
What two decisions were pushed by Russia at the Tehran conference?
- need for operation overlord to reduce pressure
- would attack Japan when Germany was defeated
What was operation ANVIL and why was it postponed?
- invasion of Southern France
- not enough LSTs
- need to support landings at Anzio that were going poorly
What was General Mark Clark’s stupid decision?
- wanted to capture Rome and therefore let the German 10th army escape to withdraw to new defensive positions
What were Hitler’s long-term goals in invading Russia?
-Lebensraum: living space. Now or never kind of thinking.
-Oil fields in the Caucasus
-Anti-communist/anti-Semite ideals
Why did Hitler decide to invade Russia in June 1941?
-For fear of being vulnerable when the US eventually joined in on the war effort. Had to solve all continental European problems in 1941 because from 1942 the US would be able to interfere.
Describe operation Barbarossa.
Operation Barbarossa was launched on June 22nd 1941. The fighting was expected to last 10 weeks, before the autumn rains. Three army groups: North, Center and South attacked simultaneously at different strategic points.
• Army group North was to go through East Prussia. Goal was Leningrad.
• Army group Center was the strongest. March through Belarus using Blitzkrieg tactics.
• Army group South was to capture Kiev in the Ukraine. German SS. Goal was to clear the way fro army group North and Center in their advance on Leningrad and Moscow.
Barbarossa exemplified the success and the complications of encirclement tactics: Bret-Litovsk, Bialystok and Volkovysk.
Why were the Russians surprised?
-Stalin refused to prepare for war with Germany as to not provoke him. Wanted to appease Hitler at all costs. Truly believed that Hitler would not break off their alliance.
Why did the German Army come to a standstill in 1941?
-There were far more soldiers than expected, more tanks and the Russian artillery was excellent in equipment and in men. The Germans had had their share in surprise as well. After their success in France they believed they were a superior army. Objectives could not be secured before the autumn rains. By July 1941, Hitler had perceived this and attempted to concentrate all of his forces on Moscow. He believed that an attack on Moscow would force Stalin to concentrate his troops there, thus making the battle for Moscow decisive. On November 7th the frost settled in and the Germans did not stand a chance against the better-equipped Russian winter army. Fighting came to a halt on December 5th.
What was the strategic significance of taking Stalingrad in 1942-43?
-If Stalingrad was successfully taken, the Germans could cut the Volga supply routes and protect the flank of the of a German advance to seize the Caucasus and the main Russian oil-producing region.
Describe the course of the battle of Stalingrad and its significance.
-Before the fall of 1942 Germany had been successfully advancing into Russian territory. Stalingrad had a particular significance for Stalin= where he defied Trotsky in 1918. He counted on his Stalingrad generals to resist retreat. Zhukhov outlined a plan for a wide encirclement of the German troops on the lower Volga and the destruction of Paulus’s Sixth Army in the city.
Then followed a long struggle and horrible fighting. “80 days and 80 nights of hand-to-hand struggle”. Struggle had exhausted the vanguard of the Sixth Army. On October 18th a lull fell over the city. Russians detected the Ostheer’s weaknesses- it was about to suffer encirclement by which Stalin would gain partial revenge on Hitler for those at Minsk and Kiev for example. Hitler had refused to surrender. He still hoped he could hold on to some of the oil fields he had acquired. Luftwaffe was not supplying enough provisions and ammunitions. Between January 10th 1943 and February 2nd German losses totaled 100 000
What was Hitler’s last offensive in the East?
-After Stalingrad, the balance of force on the Eastern front ruled out a third attempt at a great German offensive to win the war in a stroke. Strategic defensive.
However Hitler decided to launch a last great offensive: encirclement of Kursk. July 4th 1943. Outnumbered. Turned into long-scale mutual attrition. 13th July Hitler commanded slow retreat. July 10th British and Americans had landed in Sicily and there were as many Germans on the western front as in Russia. No time or means for a two front war.
Describe the general American policy on the war with Japan?
-Used blockade and bombing to reduce war production before an eventual invasion
- Conquest of islands to secure bases closer to mainland Japan
-Range of offensives limited by striking distance of airforce
What is the significance of the Battle of the Philippine Sea?
-June 1944
-One of two occasions when Japanese go onto offensive since adopting a defensive strategy.
-Air strikes and air engagements replace conflict between surface ships
-US victory, Japanese carrier fore reduced to a shadow
-Demonstrates superior training of US airforce
What is the significance of Battle of Leyte Gulf?
-Second occasion of Japanese offensive
-Biggest naval battle of WW2
-Japanese sea links with southern conquests threatened by US invasion of Philippines
-First use of Japanese kamikaze attacks
-Another lopsided victory for the US.
What was the condition of the Japanese Army in the late phases?
-Imperial Navy crippled, severe lack of fuel
-Outmatched at sea and in the air, which allows the US to commence amphibious assaults
-Japanese troops preferred death to surrender and still presented capable resistance
-Us overestimated the production capacity of Japan
What was the significance of Iwo Jima
-February-March 1945
-US needs to create airbase within distance of striking Japanese mainland
-Heaviest naval bombardment of WW2
-American victory but with considerable casualties
-example of Japanese resistance and ability to fight to the last man
Role of other countries?
-Stalin promises to invade Japan 3 months after German defeat.
-Soviet Union engages the Japanese in Manchuria and China
-Japan attempts to negotiate with Stalin and hopes for Soviet-mediated peace
-Nationalist China plays a smaller than expected and is largely on defensive
What was the process of developing the A-bomb?
-Project starts in 1939
-Not a secret to the world, scientists published the theoretical principles of such a weapon, only a matter of application
-By 1941 allies consider using such technology for decisive results in war. Britain leads race for the bomb until US entry into the war.
-By 1944 Churchill and Roosevelt consider using bomb on Japan
-Important for allies to prevent the Soviet Union from developing their own A-bomb
What are possible reasons for using the A-bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
-August 1945
Force Japanese surrender
-Demonstrate military strength of US
-Avoid military losses by the US against capable Japanese resistance
-Strengthen US post-war diplomacy, especially concerning Soviet Union
-Cities were targeted to demonstrate the destructive capabilities of the A-bomb
What was the Potsdam Declaration?
-July-August 1945
-Proclamation defining the terms for Japanese surrender
-Threatened utter destruction if Japan fails to surrender
-No mention of the fate of the Emperor, possibly because prosecuting him as a war criminal would outrage the Japanese public and cause them to align with the Soviet Union.
-Japanese reject and vow to complete the war.
What were the kamikaze attacks?
-Suicide attacks by pilots targeting US naval ships
-Purpose built airplanes were made that stored explosives.
-Japan adopts a policy of sacrificing its population to make the allies lose the will to fight
-Example of Japan’s refusal to surrender
What was Operation Overlord?
- the code name for the Battle of Normandy (France)
- the invasion of German-occupied north-western Europe by Allied forces
- commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings (Operation Neptune, commonly known as D-Day).
- Nearly 160,000 troops crossed the English Channel on 6 June; more than three million allied troops were in France by the end of August.
- The battle for Normandy continued for more than two months, concluding with the closing of the Falaise pocket on 24 August, the Liberation of Paris on 25 August, and the German retreat across the Seine which was completed on 30 August 1944
- Normandy beaches chosen because they were within range of air cover but less predictable than the Pas de Calais (Deception plan: Operation Fortitude)
Who participated in Operation Overlord?
- Montgomery (American) was appointed command of landing forces on 2 January 1944, due to international politics
- Allied land forces that saw combat in Normandy on D-Day itself came from the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada.
- Free French Forces and Poland also participated in the battle after the assault phase
- There were also minor contingents from Belgium, Greece, the Netherlands, and Norway.
- Other Allied nations participated in the naval and air forces.
What was the Allied deception plan, when was it created?
- Codenamed operation Fortitude, to be enacted by the fictitious First US Army Group (FUSAG)
- Conceived in May 1943 to persuade the enemy that the landing would fall in the Pas de Calais, which made military sense because it entailed a quick crossing and not closed off by high cliffs
- Hitler was only partially deluded by Fortitude and succeeded in the weeks before D-Day to materially reinforce his anti-invasion forces including those at Normandy (though only one division was fully prepared).
What were the Allied strengths in Operation Overlord?
- Navy: Operation Neptune was the naval plan to engage and destroy the coastal batteries of the Atlantic Wall: provided close fire support and bombardment, so that the aircrafts bringing in infrastructure for the assault waves could proceed
- Air: 12,000-strong British and American air forces support the landings; with the mightiest element being the RAF Bomber Command and the US Eighth Air Force who dropped an unprecedented 5000 tons of bombs over the morning and night of D-Day.
- Security of surveillance: British counter-espionage (the ‘Double-Cross System’) created actively misleading reports
What was the German response?
- Due to jammed radar stations, only a small number of German night-fighters were available
- Three German divisions were under attack against 8 Allied divisions without any immediate support from their higher headquarters
Why was the Omaha beach landing the word of the invasion ordeals?
- The US 1st Infantry Division was opposed to the best German formation (352nd) on 6 June, on steep cliffs as well as having no direct fire support from swimming Shermans
- Still, some were able to survive and by the end of D-Day all chose landing places were in Allied hands
How were the Allies successful in ‘the battle of the build-up’ following D-Day?
- the Channel was a broad highway and wholly under Allied control with better transport fleet
- German losses by: heavy losses from inefficiency of mines and E-boat attacks as well as the carrying capacity of French roads and railways were inferior
What was the July bomb plot?
- 20 July 1944: an attempt to assassinate Hitler in his HQ by Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, who placed a bomb under the conference table at Rastenburg
- Stauffenberg’s motives were patriotic rather than moralistic because he recognised the mortal danger of the defeat into which Hitler was leading the country and anticipated disgrace and punishment on citizens by Nazis
Who was George Marshall, and what was his preference for the next step of the war at the beginning of 1942?
- He was the American Chief of Staff
- He wanted to open up a second front ASAP
What did Churchill want, and why was it a strategic dilemma
- Churchill did not want an immediate second front over the English channel

- The problem was that Churchill was not entirely in control – the decision to open a second front in France was at least partially Roosevelt’s.
What happened at Casablanca in 1943
- A conference was held there
- In attendance: Churchill, Roosevelt, de Gaulle, Giraud
- Point was to decide next stage of the war, after the Germans had begin to be turned back by the Russians
- The result: Roosevelt, who had wanted to immediately open a second front over the English Channel, was convinced by Churchill to hold off – and convinced to instead plan an Italian invasion through Sicily. In return, the British committed troops to the Pacific front
- As well, this is where the terms “unconditional surrender” emerged – the Casablanca Declaration said that the Allies would accept nothing except that.
What were Churchill’s concerns over a second front?
– In early 1942 Churchill was opposed to an immediate cross channel invasion of France, probably because he preferred that the Russians and the Germans do damage to each other, rather than risk a repeat of the first world war bloodbath of the fields on France
What was the logic behind the unconditional surrender doctrine of the Casablanca Conference ?
- It was hoped that this would prevent Hitler from making a separate peace agreement with the USSR
When was the Canadian Defense Committee formed?
• 20 August 1936
• Some subcommittees formed to deal with issues of “alien” enemy immigrants.
What did Mackenzie King say to Goering about Canada’s loyalties?
• Canada would stay with Britain
• Canada remained, however, “as free and independent as Germany”
• Canada was determined to remain free, and it would stand alongside the commonwealth if anything were to threaten that freedom.
What happened on 23 August 1939?
• Canada entered a state of apprehended war?
• The war measures act was put into place on September 1st.
When did Canada decide to declare war on Germany?
• Sep. 9th 1939.
• Technically the war wasn’t official until November, as the official declaration signed by King George was lost.
What was the state of the Canadian forces during the interwar period?
• Not very strong.
• 4500 regulars, 60,000 reservists – army
• 1800 men, 13 ships – navy
When did the first convoy depart from Halifax?
• 16 Nov. 1939
When were Canadian military headquarters established in London?
• 13 Nov. 1939
• Canadians arrived in London on 17 Dec.
When did the Canadian forces first land in France?
• 13 June 1940.
Where were the Canadian forces considered being sent? Where were they actually sent?
• They were considered being sent to Egypt, however King didn’t want them outside of Europe.
• 1 or 2 battalions were approved to go to Hong Kong
o 290 Canadians were killed, 493 wounded before surrender.
What kind of conditions were the captured Canadians held in in Japan?
• Foul conditions
• Made to work 12 hours a day
• Given only 800 calories a day
• This resulted in 550 Canadians losing their lives.
What was the result for the Canadians in the Raid of Dieppe on Aug 19 1942?
• Not successful
• Objective: to capture coding material for the Bletchley park project
• Canadians were the main force in the raid (5000 of 6000 people)
• 907 Canadians died, 2000 captured.
• The Canadian POW were shackled by the Germans (due to the fact that the British did the same to their POW)
• The British announced a reprisal without consulting Canadians
What other important battle did the Canadians participate in?
• The Invasion of Normandy
What was the effect of strategic bombing on the enemy?
• Destroy the economy and the will to fight of the enemy
o At first sight, it is surprising that the British and American bombing campaigns against Germany took place because previous campaigns failed
o But to abandon strategic bombing would be to waste resources already assembled at a time when Britain was fighting alone and later, giving strategic support to USSR
• The navy could only win the war by blockade
o RAF Bomber Command alone could not drop the weight of bombs called for by air staff but needed US help
o Air ministry directive → primary object of our operations should now be focused on the morale of the enemy civil population and in particular of the industrial workers
o Towns suggested for attack had specific industrial importance but ‘the aiming points are t be the building areas not the dockyards or air factors
• Before the war, RAF expected to make daylight attacks on precise military objectives but experience soon showed British that flying unescorted in daylight
Why did the US airforce disapprove of British tactics and what was their preferred strategy?
• The US airforce however disapproved of British tactics and favoured precision bombing, aimed attacks on carefully selected targets of military importance carried out at daylight
o Americans believed that it was better to cause a high degree of destruction in a few essential industries than to cause a small degree of destruction in many industries
• An American daylight bombing campaign, which implied the winning of daylight air superiority, would cause Marshall to view a great bombing campaign as a desirable or even essential → Anglo-American Combined Bomber Offensive
o At Casablanca conference, the combined chiefs of staff ordered a directive that combined both nation’s languages
• Britain →dislocation and destruction of German military, industrial and economic system and undermining the morale
• British → set out precise target systems
• Instead of listening to Britain who learned from experience, the Americans set out on daylight attacks on Germany to learn that long-range d
What was the strategy of the Combined Chiefs of Staff, Spaatz and Harris?
• In April, the Combined Chiefs of Staff agreed, immediate preparations for the invasion of north-west Europe became the principle task of both RAF Bomber Command and US air force
o Spaatz and Harris believed their forces, if left to themselves, could win the war, though they disagreed on how to do it
• Spaatz wanted to attack German synthetic oil production which would oblige them to defend their own feuls and within three months would halt German war machine while Harris urged the continued obliteration of German towns
 They continued strategic bombing and exploited lengthening daylight to go for oil
What did the successes and failures of night bombing depend on?
• The successes and failures of night bombing depended on electronics
o When the British navigated their aircraft, dropped ther bombs by uninterrupted electronic guidance, they struck hard even in cloudy weather and when the Luftwaffe detected British radar signals and used its own radar to find British bombers it inflicted serious losses
• A few experienced German night-fighter pilots, if they had the fuel, and could find a target, still inflicted casualties, but though it remained numerically strong, the German night-figther force no longer won large-scale victories
What is the great firestorm?
• American bombers concentrated, by day, on oil and transport targets and the british returned to day bombing, but their main effort remained at night: against oil and transport and carried out area bombing of cities
o Culminated in the fourth great firestorm
Why did British policy of area bombing arouse controversy?
• Thus, Churchill argued first, that the Germans started the bombing of civilians so that bombing German civilians in their turn was legitimate and secondly, the Germans deserved punishment
o These arguments appeal less now then they did then as it is hard to believe that a nation whose policies are immoral is made up of immoral men
• The US forces in Europe aroused less controversy than British Bomber Command
o Americans attempted precision bombing of targets individually selected for their military value while the British attacked residential areas to kill or frighten civilian workers
• Criticism of Area bombing strategy by many who thought it was wrong
o Analysts argue that precision bombing of oil and communications weakened Germany more effectively than the area bombing favoured by Harris
• Attack on synthetic oil plants turned out to also threaten products of the by-products and therefore production of fertilizers and explosives
• Railway and waterway traffic was impeded
o
What was the impact of Morale
• Came from two sources
o A sense that the war was worth winning
o A feeling of membership of a community together with the desire to have the respect of others within it
• Urgent and recognizable danger to a whole society strengthened morale, as in Britain in 1940
• Civilians morale and the morale of fighting men influenced each other
• Civilians hoped the war would bring a better world
• To win battles, fighting men must voluntarily risk injury or death
o Coercion by the state can put them on battlefields, but success in battle requires a controlled courage which cannot be compelled
• All armies used conscription and combated desertion by seeking out and punishing offenders
• Concern for the good opinion of others was the main motive for bravery and endurance
• Easily, the most important element in good morale in comba was for an individual to feel himself to be a valued member of a group
o He must feel that his group cared for him, so that in return he would sacrifice himsel
Why was Harris’ prognosis of the effect of diverting his strategic bombers from the area bombing of Germany to precision bombing on France was to be proved dramatically incorrect
• His crews demonstrated that they had now acquired the skills to hit small targets with great accuracy and to sustain this precision campaign even in the in the teeth of fierce German resistance
• The strategic air forces embarked on a campaign against the French railway system
• Attacks on France hit Germans, were being devastated by constant air attack
• Moreover, in a flat contradiction of Harris’ perdiction, RAF bombers carried out their missions with an effectiveness which not only supported the army effectively indeed but went far towards determining the Geman’s defeat in Normandy
o German army belonged to a pervious generation of military development as its motorized divisions moved over a short distance by foot and road but long distances by rail
• The interruption of the French railway system and the destruction of all bridges therefore severely resistricted its ability to fight
• During the course of the Normandy battle, the French railway was brought to almost standstil
What were the roots of strategic bombing?
Roots of strategic bombing operational function lay in a study prepared by the “father” of the RAF, Trenchard
• There are two factors, morall and material effect
o The best means to achieve this end is to attack industrial centrs where you
• Do military and vital damage by striking at the centres of war materials
• Achieve the maximum effect on the morale by striking at the most sensitive part of the German population- the working class
o Siege mentality: citizens who chose to remain within a city’s walls after a siege exposed themselves to its hardships: starvation, bombardment, rapine and pillage
• RAF commitment to bombing → rooted in conviction that attack was the best form of defence
Crisis in Bomber Command
• British bomber command lacked the power to bring Germany to breaking-point when it began its bombing campaign in winter of 1940
o RAF Mannheim raid was an exercise in direct civilian attacks, bringing Bomber Command to the same moral level as Luftwaffe, while lacking the means to be equal or exceed the Luftwaffe’s area bombing capacity
o The most shaming index of RAF incapacity was the exchange ratio between aircrew and German civillians killed in the course of the bombing raids
• He bombers had to overfly Imbalance has several explanations
 Material
• Poor quality of British bombing aircraft, which yet lacked the speed, range, height and power to deliever large bomb-loads on to distant targets
 Geographical
• To reach Germany, the bombers had to overfly France, Holland or Belgium, where the Germans had already begun to deploy a defense screen of figthers and anti-aircraft guns
 Third, and most important, was technological
• Committed to bombing by night, since the RAF did not
What is Gee?
• Gee → first navigational aid for more accurate bombing
o Resembled Luftwaffe’s “beam system”
o It transmitted two pairs of radio signals which allowed a receiving aircraft to plot its precise position on a gridded chart and so release its bombs at a preordained point
o Followed by Oboe and H2S
• Improve Bomber Command’s target finding capacity
o The arrival of the ‘heavies’
• Harris’ commitment to area bombing was also lent credibility by the appearance of a new and greatly improved instrument of attack
The Lancaster proved to be capable of carrying enormous bomb-loads, eventually the 10-ton ‘Grand Slam’ over great distances and to be robust enough to withstand heavy attack by German nightfighters without falling from the sky
• The success of Bomber Command’s new tactics depended not only upon increased numbers and improved target finding but also on a frank adoption of fire-raising methods
• When the US Eight Air Force arrived, then the strategic bombing offensive against G
What were the Hamburg Raids?
• Four night said on Hamburg in July provoked a ‘firestorm’ and burned to ciders the heart of the great north german port
o Combination not of just bombing force but of prevailing weather conditions and overwhelming civil defence
• Hamburg encouraged Harris to set his sights beyond Germany’s western periphery of industrial cities and Hanseatic ports
o Made Berlin crew’s main target
What was the Battle of Berlin?
• Battle of Berlin
o Sixteen major raids
o When the battle was then called off, it was not only because Harris’ aircraft were needed to help in the preparation for D-Day
• He had been brought to accept that in the exchange ratio between the attrition of Berlin’s fabric and defences and that of his bomber crews
Who's gunna kill this midterm?
You are!
When did the soviets exceed German armament?
-1942
-as the germans grew weaker the russians grew stronger through their abilities to re-supply
Why didn't the Germans engage in a strategic bombing campaign on the allies earlier?
-Germans didn’t have the resources to do the same as the allies (needed them for the attack on the soviets)
-hitler trying to maintain his stance on not bombing illegitimate targets
-didn't want to prompt further retribution
How was the allied strategy of strategic bombing mirror allied strategy against Germany in WW1?
-parallels the strategy of WWl which was to starve out Germany by blockade and by a “supply war”
-preventing supply and imports
-blockade is a form of siege
-possibilities of air power now replaces/were added to the possibilities of naval power in terms of a blockade/siege
What is the "doctrine of the just war" and how does it apply to the strategic bombing campaign of the british?
-a “just war” is a war of defense against an aggressor when you are attacked and you resist
-if you are just then the other side must be guilty
-if you consider an entire country to be a defended fortress then you can bombard the whole thing. this was the British ideology
-as long as the town is defended, anything is permitted in a siege (can be attacked, bombarded, starved etc)
What was the first of three phases of the air war?
-both sides took positions in apparently conformity with international law, but the Hague rules of air warfare (written in 1923) were never ratified by any county
-rules were written but never signed by any country
-no international code of law which dictates air warfare which is collectively agreed
-against international law to bomb civilians as such and deliberitly attack them
-targets aimed at from the air must be legitimate military targets and capable of being identified from the air
-reasonable care must be taken in attacks on such targets, not to bomb a civil population
-British ministrys instructions to air crews (August 1939) quoted the above principles said by Chamberlain in June 1938
-Britain said that owing to German action in Poland (September 12, 1939 word of hitler’s indiscriminate bombing of open towns in Poland
September 24-25, 1939, bombing of Warsaw by the Germans), we are no longer governed by Roosevelts demands and we shall act expediently
What was the second of three phases of the air war?
-BEF evacuated when they realized the campaign in france had been lost
-the fighter forces that could have held off the Luftwaffe from france were needed to cover the evacuation at Dunkirk
-RAF bombing attack on Berlin is not a reprisal, but part of the regular policy adopted by the RAF under instructions of his majesties government of bombing all targets in the 2 guilty countries that are capable of weakening their industrial and military strength
-should be continued regardless if Germany attacks Britain again
What was the third phase of the air war?
-February 14, 1942 RAF staff directive re-asserted the primacy of the bombing offensive against Germany (which had been authorized May 14, 1940) which now authorized the commander and chief of bomber command to “employ his forces without restriction against the morale of the enemy civil population and particularly of the industrial workers”
-aim points should be built up areas, not dock yards or aircraft
-used insindiary bombs for fire raising and to illuminate the targets
-concentrated high explosive attacks to destroy homes and prevent firefighting
What came of the calculations of the air marshall that said that 4,000 bombers with fully trained air crews could “wipe out” 43 German towns and break Germany in 6 months?
-wrong!
-just made the people more pissed off and united
-Americans still didn't learn from this at Vietnam
-aerial bombardment doesn't break the people as effectively as they had hoped
-civil population is not so easily defeated, they become angry and take the position they have nothing to lose
What were the "tourist" bombings by the Germans on the British?
-mild, relatively ineffective strategic bombings of Bath, York and Cantabury in retaliation for the british campaign against german towns
-had to be called off due to lack of resources
-were re-started by the V1 and V2 rockets
What was General "Bomber" Harris' "operation demora" in 1943?
-devastating allied air bombing attacks on Cologne and Hamburg (civilian populations)
-August 1943, 50000 killed in Hamburg, the inner city was destroyed, incendiary bombs using phosphorous (which burns if it gets on your skin)
-was so horrifying that around August 2, 1942 Gerbits ordered the evactation of women and children in Berlin fearing that they would be subjected to the same fate as Hamburg
What was the result of the American aerial bombing targeting of axis ball-bearing factories?
-especially in Schweinfurt (Frankish part of buvaria)
-thought if they took out these specific parts that they would cripple the productive capabilities of the germans
-relatively ineffective because the German munitions minister had decentralized the German ball-bearnings industry, and it was moved down south west into lake country
-20% aircraft losses in 2 raids
-American bomber crews stationed in italy had to fly 30 missions before they could expect to be rotated home
-takes 20 missions before 100% of the American crew was lost (assuming 5% loss each time) then if you have to fly 30 missions you have no statistical chance of survival
What was the Canadian defence committee and why did it's division into sub-committees in 1928 indicate Canada was preparing for war?
-divided into sub-committes in March 1928
-inter-departmental committee on the treatment of enemy aliens and the handing of enemy alien property
-recognized that there were probably enemies to be faced (germany or soviets)
What effect did the implementation of the canadian war measures act in 1939 have on Germans in canada?
-German enemies suspected were rounded up
-German immigrants who entered Canada after 1922 were forced to register
-850 German Canadians were interned through the war of a population of about 60,000
When did Canada's official declaration of war come into effect? Why the delay?
-Canadian declaration of war was decided on September 9, 1939 in the house of commons
-attempted to be made on September 10, 1939, but nobody knew what the words were to formally declare war, so they sent a message to London where king george the Vl signed the document saying it was war, but those got lost… things didn’t become official until November
What role did the Canadian forces play in the war prior to 1940?
-September 16, 1939 first convoy escort departed Halifax and was escorted by the decrepite Canadian navy
-canadian squadrons stationed in britain
-defeat of france and Britain had disrupted plans for the Canadian land forces that were in Britain in 1939, so they were un-battle tested
-June 13 (late in the battle of france) the Canadians landed in france, but there was an armistice declared on the 18th, so they essentially were dropped in and then just evacuated
-were in Britain to defend against the german invasion of britian, but that never happened so they remained un-battle tested
Why were Korean troops sent to Hong Kong on October 2, 1941 instead of being sent to Egypt?
-idea of sending Canadians to Egypt, which was resisted because they approved defence of Britain, but didn’t want to be fighting British colonial wars for them
-1,975 canadians sailed from Vancouver towards Hong Kong in October 1941
-China was seen as a legitimate colonial interest to protect (and they wanted Chiang Kai-Shek to stay an ally) so they had to seem to be supporting them
-Japanese attacked hong hong on the 8th of December
-Canadians forced to surrender on the 25th of December
-overwhelmed and there was nothing they could do but surrender (nice start to the canadians battle testing in the war)
What was the Dieppe raid? How were the allied prisoners captured during this raid treated significantly?
o French channel town
o 19 August 1942
-not a successful raid
-purpose was to capture German coding material for submarine direction detection so that the British decoding operations (ultra) could be assisted
-also designed to show stalin that the British were trying to invade the continent, but nobody took it seriously because the invasion force was so small
-Canadians were the main force (6,000 men total 5,000 canadians)
-British had captured some German soldiers and shackeled them, which was illegal due to the Geneva convention, which was retaliated by the Germans shackeling the prisoners of the raid (2,000 canadians)
-British ordered reprisals, without consulting the Canadians, of whom the majority were captured
-Canadians shackeled 1,000 German POW’s
-Germans manackled 3x the number of allied prisoners for almost a year
Where did Prime Minister King want the Canadian troops to be utilized in January 1943? Where were they sent instead?
-king finally supported sending them to north africa, which was now viewed as a legitimate target
-infantry and tank brigade were send as a part of the invasion of sicily
-worst tank conditions, hilly and no roads
What does CINCPAC stand for?
-commander in chief pacific
Who was commander in chief of the south west pacific during WW2 for the americans?
General MacArthur
Describe the initial successes against the allies that the Japanese experienced in the wake of pearl harbour?
-10 hours after pearl harbour 1/2 of the aircrafts in Philippines were destroyed
-dutch-british-american force had been destroyed at the battle of the Java sea on March 8
-Allied navies suffered a disastrous defeat at the hand of the Imperial Japanese Navy, on 27 February 1942
-These defeats led to Japanese occupation of the entire Netherlands East Indies.
-Hong Kong and east indies had fallen to Japanese, Singapore, Burma, India, and Australia is threatened
-9 April 42 last defenders of the Philippines capitulated to the Japanese
Why did Yamamoto originally want the Japanese to expand eastwards towards Midway and Hawaii? Why did he switch his plans to moving south?
-****
-Since Japanese forces were too weak for America or Australia, they wanted to destroy British squadrons and move into the east
-Japan postponed eastern expansion and decided to attack Australia, beginning with Papua new guinea
What was the battle of the Coral Sea?
-The Battle of the Coral Sea, fought during 4–8 May 1942, was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II between the Imperial Japanese Navy and naval and air forces from the United States and Australia. The battle was the first action in which aircraft carriers engaged each other, as well as the first in which neither side's ships sighted or fired directly upon the other.
-Although a tactical victory for the Japanese in terms of ships sunk, the battle would prove to be a strategic victory for the Allies for several reasons. The battle marked the first time since the start of the war that a major Japanese advance had been checked by the Allies. More importantly, the Japanese fleet carriers Shōkaku and Zuikaku – one damaged and the other with a depleted aircraft complement – were unable to participate in the Battle of Midway, which took place the following month, ensuring a rough parity in aircraft between the two adversaries and contributing to the US victory
What was Yamamoto's plan for the battle of Midway on June 4th?
-Yamamoto's plan was to trap the Americans by diversion by sending a northern strike force to pretend that the main show was an attempt to take and occupy Dutch harbour
-By the 6th of June, the Japanese would be occupying Midway and the Americans wouldn’t be there because the American fleet would have followed the illusion up to the Dutch harbour
-If Yamamoto had succeeded his plan would have given the Japanese mastery of the pacific
American intelligence had figured out Yamamoto's plan and had been able to prepare for it
-Second part of the Japanese fleet would bomb the Americans as they would try to come back to go to midway
Describe the events of the battle of Midway.
-Bombing of Midway began at 6am on June 4th
-Nagumo changed the armament of the planes to incendiary and fragmentary bombs
-Found out there were ten enemy ships approaching
Nagumo ordered 93 rearmed again with torpedoes to attack the ships
-This had to be done quickly because 108 planes were returning from bombing midway and could return at any moment
launched his bombers now he would catch the Japanese rearming or at least refueling on the decks: and this is what was happening
-Most of the american bombers missed or were shot down by the Japanese
-American dive bombers arrived to meet the carriers at 10:26 am on 4th June right after Japanese believed they had won
-Japanese had lost 4 carriers in a matter of few hours and over 200,000 men
-Japanese had never been defeated or so badly damaged in battle ever, until this point
-Japanese was on the defensive for the rest of the war
What events mark the decisive turning points from offensive to defensive for Germany and Japan?
-Germany - Stalingrad
-Japan - Midway
Describe the battle of Guadalcanal.
-battle of attrition
-coordinates with the end of the battle of Stalingrad
-military campaign fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theatre of World War II. It was the first major offensive by Allied forces against the Empire of Japan
-southern Solomon Islands with the objective of denying their use by the Japanese to threaten the supply and communication routes between the US, Australia, and New Zealand. The Allies also intended to use Guadalcanal and Tulagi as bases to support a campaign to eventually capture or neutralize the major Japanese base at Rabaul on New Britain.
-The Allies overwhelmed the outnumbered Japanese defenders, who had occupied the islands since May 1942, and captured Tulagi and Florida, as well as an airfield
-Guadalcanal marked the transition by the Allies from defensive operations to the strategic offensive in that theatre and the beginning of offensive operations that would end WW2
What was the "island hopping" technique used by the Americans to combat the Japanese? Why was this technique chosen?
-"frog-leaping"
-go from small island to small island while bypassing the fortified mainland and strategically invaluable islands (leave them to "wither on the vine")
-establish air fields on the secured islands to establish air dominancy over the area, which allows the americans to move onward
-Did not try to clear all of the islands from Japanese soldiers because that would have taken years
What is the "Japanese Stalingrad"?
-***
-The Japanese launched an offensive against Assam in India: wanted to take more land march 44-june 44 after two month siege of Imphal
-In monsoon rains the Japanese offensive lost their most costly battle in the second world war
-the Japanese offensive launched in March 1944 against forces of the British Empire in the North-East Indian region of Manipur. Aimed at the Brahmaputra valley, through the two towns of Imphal and Kohima, the offensive along with the overlapping Ha Go offensive was one of the last major Japanese offensives during the Second World War. The offensive culminated in the Battles of Imphal and Kohima where the Japanese and their allies were first held and then pushed back.
Why did the Japanese treat their POWs so poorly?
-propoganda vilifying the enemy: seen as sub-human
-no international hague or geneva convention ratified
-in spite of the declaration that "all men are created equal" and then the refusal to really deal with the Japanese as equals in the west
What were some of the major setbacks/defeats of the Germans in 1943?
-defeat at stalingrad
-defeat at kursk
-north africa campaign defeat
-battle of the atlantic called off in may 1943
How did the allied strategy shift after 1941?
-shifted to a focus on the pacific but still with germany as the first target to be eliminated
-were not prepared to do an invasion of the continent at that point
-american emotions demanded immediate action in retribution for pearl harbour
Describe the battle of kursk (operation citadel)
-German and Soviet forces on the Eastern Front between July and August 1943
-largest tank battle in history up until that point
-For the Germans, the battle represented the final strategic offensive they were able to mount in the east. For the Soviets, the decisive victory gave the Red Army the strategic initiative for the rest of the war.
-With Operation Citadel, the Germans hoped to weaken the Soviet offensive potential by cutting off a large number of forces that they anticipated would be in the Kursk salient assembling for an offensive.[19] By eliminating the Kursk salient, they would also shorten their frontline and relieve the strain on their overstretched forces.[20] The plan envisioned a double pincer attack, breaking through the northern and southern flanks of the salient
-Soviets were alerted to the German intentions months in advance of the attack
- first time a German strategic offensive was halted before it could break through the Soviet defences
Explain what Hitler meant when he told General Halder on November 19, 1941 "neither of the two belligerent groups can defeat the other".
-meant the group around Germany (axis) and the group around Britain (allies)
-was saying this prior to the US entering the war
-hoped for a negotiated peace with britain
-if you are looking for an armistice you can never be truly victorious (hitlers weakness?)
When Hitler appointed himself commander and chief of the army on December 19, 1941, what were the outcomes? What kind of a Commander did he make?
-Hitler had a great memory and knew a lot of figures, but he was not trained in military commanding, he had no military professionalism
-Tried to micromanage everything in the army, even gave orders (in some occasions) down to companies
-Hitler was not interested in reality anyway: he believed in his mission
-was able to stabilize the russian front from its shaky advance on moscow in the winter through is ruthless discipline and "no surrender" policy
What was fuhrer directive #41?
-"operation blue" summer offensive in the soviet union
-main overall goal was to destroy definitively the remaining soviet forces
-divert armies south to take the oil caucuses
-Hitler wanted to take both Stalingrad and Rostov at the same time because he was getting impatient
-Resources were insufficient for either operation, let alone both
What was decided at the conferences Moltov held in June 1942 in the US?
-agreement upon the addition of a second front in Europe to take pressure off the soviets
-What followed talks in Washington was British/Canadian invasion of Dieppe: testing German coast defenses and relieve plans of bullets and war supplies
-Collect cipher materials for battle of Atlantic
-wanted to make sure they would actually do as they promised and not keep stalling as the british had been doing since 1941
What was Operation Husky?
-the allied invasion of sicily
-"the soft underbelly of europe"
-draw german troops down from france, where they would later be doing a massive landing operation
-9th-10th July 1942?
When did Stalin call for partisan warfare in Russia? Where do we see this being mirrored elsewhere in the world?
-when it became clear the germans were no longer in power, people started to challenge them (even down to a civilian level)
-ordered after the battle of stalingrad
-revolts in occupied territories frequent after stalingrad
-french resistance after d-day
-romanian talks to dis-allign with germany
-italy not handing over its jews
-italians overthrowing mussolini
What is being resisted within Germany by those who resisted the Reich?
-Hitler's dictatorship
-suspension of rights and constitution after burning of Reichstag (enabling act)
-increase of army to 50,000 with storm troopers (conscription)
-increase of prosecution and reasons to prosecute
-law for the restitution of the civil service:
-political party suppression
-people didn't want another war at the start of the war, once it had started they changed their tune
Who was Stauffenberg and what was his role as a resistor to Hitler?
-Tresckow initiator , had prepared everything and Stauffenburg took everything and executed it
-tried to assassinate hitler with a bomb in his bunker
-Stauffenberg trying to get officers to turn their backs to Hitler , but they turned their backs to him
-Undertaking self-sacrifice
-was found after the failed attempt and shot as traitors
-more or less the end of resistance
What were the 3 allied choices that settled the shape of the 2nd half of WW2?
1) defeat germany first
2) begin evicting germany and her allies from north africa and the mediterranean
3) to bombard german and japanese factories and homes from the air
What was the fundamental anglo-american strategic disagreement?
-american chiefs of staff wanted to gather resources as quickly as possible for a decisive encounter with the german army
-the british wished to postpone this land battle or avoid is completely
What were the three important points agreed on at the Arcadia Conference between the US and Britain in 1941?
-continue to give priority to the european theatre, for when germany falls soon after so would japan (european war could only be won so long as the soviets kept fighting)
-agreed on the importance of strategic air attacks on germany
-anglo-american ground forces should begin a new campaign against germany in 1942
What operational orders came out of the Arcadia Conference?
-Churchill convinced Roosevelt the importance of cleaning north africa and opening the mediterranean in 1942 and tentatively outlined a plan for 1943 in which they would invade europe through the mediterranean and the balkans
-should take french north africa so the germans couldn't attack through spain and italy
-Operation Gymnast (renamed torch) came out of this
What was Eisenhower's (head of plans and operations of the US military) plan for the allies in europe? Why did it make the British unhappy?
-thought germany was the weaker than japan in terms of enemies (easier to knock out the weaker one first, then focus your attentions on japan)
-germany was at war with the soviets which made it weaker
-close proximity for attack made it an easier target than japan
-wanted to do this in 1943
-estimated an invasion would need 1,000,000 men, with most of those being made-up of the british (british were not happy; didn't think they had that many troops to spare)
-britain wanted to postpone as long as possible to the US would build up their troops, so the brits didn't have to
What were the British fears about doing a large scale landing as quickly as the US wanted?
-any landing in 1942 or 1943 was too dangerous unless the red army had defeated most of the german army
-feared the germans could bring supplies more quickly against them in defence than the brits could across the english channel
-invasion was doomed unless the germany army was defeated mostly in advance, or kept occupied elsewhere
What ultimatum did Marshall make in response to frustrations with the British?
-resented the british agreeing to give priority to the french landings, and now exploiting roosevelts wishes to act in the european theatre in 1942 (north africa) to postpone the original plan
-hated anything that might distract/delay operation bolero (build up for cross channel invasion)
-was ready to demand priority for the pacific theatre and pull support for the european one if the british insisted on an invasion of north-west africa
Was Marshall right in wanting to prioritize a cross channel invasion above all else? Why or why not?
-militarily yes
-politically no
-would have been impossible to build up that many arms in britain and remain inactive until the conditions (germany super weak) would have occurred
-russians would have been furious at the lack of an allied 2nd front opening up to relieve pressure on them
-allied public opinion was calling for action
How did Roosevelt support the british plan of delaying the cross channel invasion at the Casablanca conference?
-shared the belief that nothing short of a sledgehammer (high decisive strike) could defeat the germans, and that they would have to be already weakened
-didn't impose any unity on his highly disjoined and unprepared american delegation, which allowed them to be easily out-maneuvered by the polished british delegation
-plans for an attack on sicily were decided (operation husky)
What was decided at the Casablanca conference?
-declared the need for unconditional surrender
-allied shipping misunderstanding came into light
-plans for an attack on sicily were made (operation husky)
What was discussed/decided at the Trident conference?
-held in 1943
-decide what to do after their coming invasion of sicily
-americans wanted to set an invasion date for spring 1944 and would tolerate operations in the mediterranean intended to get italy out of the war
-The plans for the Italian Campaign, air attacks on Nazi Germany, Pacific War and a date for invading Europe were agreed upon
What happened to Mussolini on July 25, 1943?
-overthrown by a coup by Marshal Badoglio and by other previous supporters of his fascist grand council
-thrown in jail
-indicated the awareness that times are changing
-low italian moral
What was discussed/decided at the Quadrant conference in Quebec in August 1943?
-agreed the invasion of sicily should lead to an invasion of italy, who looked weak and demoralized with the capitulation of mussolini
-brooke emphasized the benefits of drawing german troops down away from france while marshall emphasized the need to concentrate all resources on the invasion
-a definitive plan for the invasion was set and agreed upon
-no more allied forces could go into the mediterranean and africa and that US units wouldn't participate in things east of italy
-british had gotten their diversion long enough
-invasion of france was fixed for spring 1944
What was the strategic role China played in the war?
-not much.. the americans thought Chaing Kai-Shek would have been of use if they could supply him with munitions etc.. but that would have taken too many resources to do
-when japan invaded mainland china, the ability for the allies to attack japan through a stronghold in china disappeared
-now they played with new strategies that involved bypassing the mainland
What were the two strategies and their relative commanders for the capture of Japan?
-General Douglas Macarthur wanted to go along the bases of northern new guinea to recapture the phillipines and recapture japan from Luzon (northernmost phillipine island)
-Admiral Earnes J. King wanted to advance towards japan through the marshall, caroline and marinas islands
Why did Hitler not fully utilize the productive capacities of Germany prior to 1942?
-thought the first world war had been lost due to public dissatisfaction which led to them surrendering
-wanted to keep civilian standard of living as high and comfortable as possible to keep support for the war alive
-needed women to stay in the homes making babies
What was the essential german weakness exposed by the Russian resistance?
-lack of natural resources and people to supply the war effort
-not enough fuel to train pilots properly, so the luftwaffe declined
-run short on skillful, intelligent, fit young men
How did Russia deal with the economic strains of war production?
-increased number of labor days
-"reeducation" punishment for those who didn't work
-women replaced men sent into the armed forces in the workforce (3/4 of farm workers in 1943 were women)
-incentives like extra food for hard work
-succeeded in controlling the uneducated masses of russians by a few educated individuals
-lend lease from the US
-mobilized its factories eastward
What was the economic repercussions of the war in America?
-pulled them out of their depression
-unemployment almost gone
-people had more money, but less to spend it on (less luxury consumer goods like cars and washing machines)
-standards of living rose
-no shortages of labor
What was the most crippling weapon against the Japanese war production effort?
-American submarine
-japan relied on imports almost entirely, and therefore on its ships
-american unrestricted submarine warfare wrecked the japanese ships, cutting off supplies so desperately needed
-broke the japanese encryption intelligence, so they could target the ships
-70% of japanese ships sunk were done by u-boats
What was Operation Torch?
-Operation Torch (initially called Operation Gymnast) was the British-American invasion of French North Africa during the North African Campaign of the Second World War which started on 8 November 1942.
-landing crafts for 3 assaults at various points on the coast
-succeeded in taking the strategic locations they wanted, and diverting valuable german troops from the russian front
How did the allies beat the Germans and Italians at Tusnia?
-attacks on their sea-borne shipping supplies by planes, surface ships and submarines
-cut off the supplies and they will wither on the vine
-decoded the axis transport signals
-established air fields in surrounding areas so they could provide effective air strikes on the convoys
-may 4th the germans fired all their ammo and then surrendered due to their lack of supplies
What was operation Husky?
-July 10, 1943
-largest sea borne assault in the war thus far
-forces moved to invade sicily after the successful defeat of Tusnia
-initial attacks quite successful except the scattering of airborne troops into the sea and across a wide area
-large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign.
-Husky began on the night of 9–10 July 1943, and ended on 17 August. Strategically, Husky achieved the goals set out for it by Allied planners. The Allies drove Axis air, land and naval forces from the island; the Mediterranean's sea lanes were opened and Italian dictator Benito Mussolini was toppled from power. It opened the way to the Allied invasion of Italy.
What was the battle for Salerno?
-allied beach landing at Salerno as part of Operation Husky (the allied invasion of sicily)
-met heavy resistance because they had not bombarded first, hoping for the element of surprise which they did not get
What was the Winter Line?
-The Winter Line was a series of German military fortifications in Italy, constructed during World War II by Organisation Todt.
-after the defeat at Salerno, the germans did a strategic retreat to this natural fortified line
What was the role of LST (landing ship tanks) in the anglo-american disputes?
-Marshall's inability to secure plans of the invasion in 1942 meant production had been geared towards surface ships, therefore by 1944 there were not enough LST's for the invasion
What what discussed/decided at the meetings at Tehran?
-big three powers spoke
-stalin inststed on a date and commander for overlord be set (didn't trust the british to follow through)
-soviets said after the defeat of germany they would attack japan
What was the point of the allied landings at Anzio (operation shingle)?
-attempt to threaten german communications within the winter line, leading to their eventual withdrawal from that position
-would lead to a further stall on the removal of LST's from the mediterranean, but was viewed as a legitimate necessity
-would eliminate the need for a head on attack on the winter line
What happened at Cassino? Why was it such a struggle?
-fortified mountainous stronghold of the germans on the Gustav line
-took months of bombardment and heavy casualties for the allies to eventually win
How did the allied invasion of Italy help the landing in france?
-diverted german troops and resources away from the russian front and from the western front (france)
-weakened germany's ally (italy)
-led to the capitulation of the balkan countries
-campaign was a success in this respect
What is Operation Anvil (Operation Dragoon)?
-Operation Dragoon was the Allied invasion of southern France on 15 August 1944, during World War II. The invasion was initiated via a parachute drop by the 1st Airborne Task Force, followed by an amphibious assault by elements of the U.S. Seventh Army, followed a day later by a force made up primarily of the French First Army.[6] The landing caused the German Army Group G to abandon southern France and to retreat under constant Allied attacks to the Vosges Mountains. Despite being a large and complex military operation with a well-executed amphibious and airborne component, Operation Dragoon is not well known; it came in the later stages of the war and was overshadowed by the earlier and larger Operation Overlord.
-During planning stages, the operation was known as "Anvil", to complement Operation Sledgehammer, at that time the code name for the invasion of Normandy.
What was the stupid order that General Mark Clark, Commander of the US 5th Army, gave which resulted in the Germany army being able to retreat?
-was supposed to round up the germans during their retreat after the Anzio landings, which would bring their whole german force in as prisoners
-shifted the main effort from Valmontone to Rome (despite being just 24 hours away from their original target)
-permitted the escape of the German 10th army
-wanted the glory of liberating rome (wasn't any because people were hiding inside)
What were the British vs. American thoughts on Operation Anvil (invasion of the south of france)? Were they justified in their arguments?
-British wanted more italian landings to support operation overlord: it is true this would have diverted german troops in the short term
-Americans wanted to secure the port towns in the south of france so they could effectively and securely bring in reinforcements for the overlord mission, which was also a correct thought
When was D-Day?
June 6, 1944