World War I was known as “A war to end all wars” – HA! If only there were such a thing – to live in perfect harmony is only a dream. World War I didn’t solve any of the initial problems that caused it, which contributed to the outbreak of World War II. Everything afterwards didn’t unfold as expected. The German empire rebuilt itself, Hitler rose as Dictator, and millions of bodies followed. It’s as if World War I was just the opening scene to a gruesome horror film. The things you have to remember about this Great War are why it happened, how it happened, and what the world sacrificed throughout those years at war.
At the Munich conference the leaders of Great Britain, France, and Italy signed away certain areas of Czechoslovakia, known …show more content…
His spies forewarned him repeatedly of Germany’s expected attack, but Stalin dismissed this as “Hitler’s bluff”. Not only did Stalin ignore the warnings, but he prohibited his people from doing anything that may appear provocative to the Germans, such as the evacuation of people living near the German border or the act of setting up defenses. (Holocaust Memorial Museum, 2015) With over three million German soldiers and a combination of 650,000 troops of its allies attacked the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941 – using the blitzkrieg strategy across a 1,800 mile front (from the Baltic Sea to the Black sea). Russian soldiers had such strong respect for their leader that when German forces started to invade they didn’t dare fight back, due to fearing Stalin’s prohibition of provocative acts more than fearing German armies. Even worse, Soviet’s largest army was located at the German-Soviet border – which was destroyed within the first hours of the attack. By July 1st, German forces had advanced 200-300 miles into Russia – conquering Riga and Dvinsk (northern cities), Minsk (central region), and Lvov (southern city). A couple days later, Stalin ordered the scorched-earth policy. Soviet soldiers quickly removed all useful supplies, destroyed roads and bridges, burned fields of crops, and demolished many factories – to prevent these resources from falling into German’s hands. Although this was extremely wasteful, it hindered Germans from advancing. On September 8th, Hitler ordered northern forces to hold their ground, encircle the city, and gradually starve the city of Leningrad to death. With less forces needed in the north, Hitler transferred several German tanks and troops to southern Russia and the Ukraine, hoping to gain the wheat fields in Ukraine, citrus farms in the Black Sea Coast, and the oil fields in Caucasus. German forces seized Ukraine and Kiev by September 19th. While German forces continued
At the Munich conference the leaders of Great Britain, France, and Italy signed away certain areas of Czechoslovakia, known …show more content…
His spies forewarned him repeatedly of Germany’s expected attack, but Stalin dismissed this as “Hitler’s bluff”. Not only did Stalin ignore the warnings, but he prohibited his people from doing anything that may appear provocative to the Germans, such as the evacuation of people living near the German border or the act of setting up defenses. (Holocaust Memorial Museum, 2015) With over three million German soldiers and a combination of 650,000 troops of its allies attacked the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941 – using the blitzkrieg strategy across a 1,800 mile front (from the Baltic Sea to the Black sea). Russian soldiers had such strong respect for their leader that when German forces started to invade they didn’t dare fight back, due to fearing Stalin’s prohibition of provocative acts more than fearing German armies. Even worse, Soviet’s largest army was located at the German-Soviet border – which was destroyed within the first hours of the attack. By July 1st, German forces had advanced 200-300 miles into Russia – conquering Riga and Dvinsk (northern cities), Minsk (central region), and Lvov (southern city). A couple days later, Stalin ordered the scorched-earth policy. Soviet soldiers quickly removed all useful supplies, destroyed roads and bridges, burned fields of crops, and demolished many factories – to prevent these resources from falling into German’s hands. Although this was extremely wasteful, it hindered Germans from advancing. On September 8th, Hitler ordered northern forces to hold their ground, encircle the city, and gradually starve the city of Leningrad to death. With less forces needed in the north, Hitler transferred several German tanks and troops to southern Russia and the Ukraine, hoping to gain the wheat fields in Ukraine, citrus farms in the Black Sea Coast, and the oil fields in Caucasus. German forces seized Ukraine and Kiev by September 19th. While German forces continued