1940
- 10 July-October 31: Battle of Britain
- 3-19 August: Italy occupies British Somaliland
- 25 August: RAF bombs Berlin
- 7 September- May 1942: The Blitz
- 13 September: Italy invades Egypt
- 15 September: massive air raid strikes on London and other British towns
- 27 September: Tripartite (Axis) Pact between Germany, Italy, and Japan
- 28 October: Italy invades Greece
- 8-9 December: British counteroffensive in North Africa
Some of these dates should be familiar as we have covered them in previous classes. We tend to break down sections of history, especially wars, by dates and battles as if that's the only thing going on at the moment. We have mainly focused on German and British movements, but this was a world war-- or by the end of the year, 1941, would be. While Germany was preparing to move east toward Russia in their territorial advancement, Italy, led by Benito Mussolini, cast a roving eye on its neighboring territories. The British and French colonies of North Africa seemed prime for the taking since Britain was ensconced in a relentless German aerial attack and France had fallen to Germany.
WWII in HD Colour: The Mediterranean and North Africa. In class, we watched from the beginning to 5:30.
But why Africa? And why fight over the desert of all places?
1) Resources, like we saw in John Green's Crash Course History last week, and specifically oil, because right next door is Iraq and Iran. Which brings us to the second reason of why Africa...
2) The Suez Canal. Whoever controls the canal, controls the resources. Built in the late 1800s by the British and the French, the canal cut off some 6,000 miles for traders between Western Europe and Asia. The Suez Canal has always been problematic. Even though a pact was made to require it to always be ope to anyone whether at war or during peace time, those were just platitudes-- whoever owns it can decide who can use it. War broke out in 1956 between Britain, France, Israel, and Egypt (who rightly felt they should control it seen out is was their country).
So Italy deemed that colonial North Africa and the Mediterranean at large, were up for grabs. Italy invaded Egypt, but couldn't seal the deal. Italy invaded Greece, but couldn't seal the deal. Germany stepped in on both cases, further spreading the German Wehrmacht, and stressing Hitler's efforts in his quest for Lebensraum.
1941
- 12 February: Rommel arrives in Tripoli
- 14 February: first Afrika Corps units arrive in North Africa
- 7 March: British forces land in Greece
- 6 April: Germany invades Yugoslavia and Greece
- 22 June: Operation Barbarossa
- 20 August- 18 January 1944: Siege of Leningrad
- 2 October- 7 January 1942: Operation Typhoon
- 7 December: Pearl Harbor attacked by Japan
- 8 December: United States and Britain declare war on Japan
- 11 December: Hitler declares war on the US
One of the most famous German military leaders was Field Marshall Erwin Rommel, the 'Desert Fox.'
The fight for Africa is a literal tug of war, gaining ground and losing that ground before gaining it back again.
The British generals in Africa were Harold Alexander and Bernard Montgomery. The attacks and counterattacks between Rommel and Montgomery would become legendary and a large subject in the area of military history.
Last week, we went over the invasion and conquest of Yugoslavia and Greece by Germany as Hitler moved the eastern front closer to Russia (or USSR-- I tend to interchanged those frequently which will horrify some and others, not so much). We've spoken at length of Hitler, Mussolini, and Churchill, but as we moved into class notes on the Eastern Front, we've not said much about Joseph Stalin up to now. So here is a brief synopsis of the man who arguably is the worst dictator in modern history. The World Wars: Joseph Stalin The Red Army that met the German invasion was ill prepared from Stalin's purges and the instability of the Bolshevik Revolution. WWII Factions: The Red Army.
On 8 September, 1941, the Siege of Leningrad was underway. The siege lasted 872 days, ending 18 January 1944.
We did not get to view the next link, but it is an important part in understanding the devastation of the Russian winters and survival under siege. Leningrad, World War II documentary, Timeline The times pertinent to the class are from 23:09 to 30:28.
Operation Typhoon began 2 October, 1941- the goal: Moscow. I mentioned last week that Hitler waited too long to make his way to Moscow, the capital city of the USSR, and the Wehrmacht was quickly caught up in the fall rains and a record breaking cold, early winter. The Wehrmacht swooped in quickly like every other blitzkrieg invasion of other fallen countries of Europe, but conditions stalled them for the first time.
Perfect Storms: Hitler's Frozen Army; minutes 29:46- 36:00. In this documentary the academic information is interspersed with two personal accounts of the events of Operation Typhoon-- a Red Army soldier and a soldier of the Wehrmacht.
The transfer of fresh troops from Siberia mentioned in the last clip was made on the the information of Russian spies in Japan. The fear for Russia was that Japan would invade their eastern side while the Germans were invading from the west.The spies told Stalin that Japan would not and did not have plans for a Russian invasion. This was in November 1941. Stalin moved troops from the west to the German invaded east. A few weeks later, Japan attacked at Pearl Harbor, on December 7, 1941.
"With each defeat Hitler listened to his generals less and less, and became obsessed with his crusade to wipe out the Jews and Slavs." World War Two: A Very Peculiar History by Jim Pipe, page 90.
Interesting aside (I'm trying to find a replacement for "fun fact" because that's an awkward thing to say in regards to most history), "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition" was a 1942 response to Pearl Harbor by American Frank Loesser.
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