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After gaining incredible support among the German people, Adolf Hitler became an extremely powerful world leader. His ambitions to go to war and expand his empire became his top priority. Hitler started with the annexation of Austria and later the take over of Czechoslovakia. Then, in 1939, Hitler opened fire on a Polish fort and began the start of World War Two, also known as, Hitler's Lightning War. Germany was successful in air raiding Poland and then using tanks and troops on the ground to invade. Hitler's next step was to attempt to takeover western Europe. Hitler's plan to invade the west began with vicious attacks on both Belgium and Holland. After taking over these nations Germany was able to cross over the border in Belgium and began to attack the french. France's quick defeat was remarkable. Within ten days, the German army had France at the edge of the atlantic. Quickly, British ships had to be sent to rescue many french forces from the edge of the country. Eventually, after great defeat, the French government in Bordeaux fled. Hitler now, in 1940, successfully gained control of Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Holland, Belgium, and most of France.
the ten best articles
1. Invasion of Poland By Bradley Lightbody. Hitler believed the war would be a short one. He had no faith in the strength of his opponents. Hitler's ambitions led to the breech of the Treaty of Versailles and the Munich Agreement, although no one stood in Germany's way. On September 1, 1939, Germany opened fire on a Polish fort in the first military action of World War II. "In advance of the line of attack the Luftwaffe heavily bombed all road and rail junctions, and concentrations of Polish troops. Towns and villages were deliberately bombed to create a fleeing mass of terror-stricken civilians to block the roads and hamper the flow of reinforcements to the front."
2. The Fall of France By Dr Gary Sheffield. After Hitler's success in Poland, he was determined to also take over the western part of Europe. His final plan was to attack France from the borders of Holland and Belgium. After successfully penetrating Holland and Belgium, Germany advanced toward the French border. "It soon became clear that by advancing into the Low Countries the Allies were dancing to Hitler's tune. On 13 May, the first German forces emerged from the Ardennes near Sedan, on the River Meuse. In a two-day battle, the Panzers crossed the river, despite some surprisingly stiff resistance from the second-class French defenders, and near-suicidal attacks by Allied aircraft."
3. BLITZKRIEG (LIGHTNING WAR) In the beginning of the war Hitler used the blitzkrieg military tactic many times and all succeeded. Hitler's army was fast and well equipped. However, after some invasion in Europe, Hitler tried and failed to also invade the Soviet Union and Great Britain. “Blitzkrieg tactics required the concentration of offensive weapons (such as tanks, planes, and artillery) along a narrow front. These forces would drive a breach in enemy defenses, permitting armored tank divisions to penetrate rapidly and roam freely behind enemy lines, causing shock and disorganization among the enemy defenses”
4. Blitzkrieg The blitzkrieg was extremely well thought out military tactic. Using the blitzkrieg tactic to conquer so much of Europe was a remarkable come back from the disarmed and economically failing Germany. "The aim of German military planners in both the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich was to achieve victory by enveloping enemy armies, threatening their lines of supply and communications, and forcing them to fight in an unexpected direction."
5. Blitzkrieg By Robert T Foley. Over the last few years before 1939, the Germans spent their time carefully preparing for immense military strength and victory. Hitler's army was fast and carried out the tactics well. After nearly one year into the war, Hitler had accomplished more than any past leader of Germany had."It had taken only a few short weeks for the Wehrmacht (the German army), under his control, to crush the army of the French Third Republic . His well-trained and organised troops had also caused France's Allies, in the form of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), to beat an ignominious retreat from continental Europe. Thus between 10 May and 21 June 1940, the Wehrmacht had accomplished what the army of Kaiser Wilhelm II had not managed to do in four years of desperate fighting in World War One."
6. It Wasn’t Just Morale By Robert O. Paxton. The fall of France was not simply the heads of the french soldiers or their outlook on the situation. The french were lacking many military advancements. Most importantly, they had many of their troops in Belgium as Hitler had planned. “Morale was not the only reason for the French defeat, and perhaps not even the principal one. While French artillery and tanks were not inferior to the German, the French army had crucial defects in communications, air cover, and reaction time. The wildly overoptimistic defense plan of the French commander in chief, General Maurice Gamelin, bears perhaps the heaviest responsibility.”
7. INVASION OF POLAND, FALL 1939 After portraying to the world that he was no longer interested in territory, Adolf Hitler planned an attack on Poland. This invasion would only be the beginning of his ambitions for Germany in Europe. With a very powerful military tactic, it did not take Hitler long to begin the German invasion of Europe by taking complete control of Poland. “On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. The Polish army was defeated within weeks of the invasion. From East Prussia and Germany in the north and Silesia and Slovakia in the south, German units, with more than 2,000 tanks and over 1,000 planes, broke through Polish defenses along the border and advanced on Warsaw in a massive encirclement attack.”
8. Hitler’s Europe: Conquest, Collaboration, and Resistance, 1939-1942. Hitler's big tactical plan was speed. The quicker the better. Hitler originally planned for a short war and a short conquer. The Blitzkrieg tactic required quick, strong troops which in the beginning of the war, Hitler had. “Despite Germany’s attempts at self-sufficiency, they needed resources for a prolonged war. So they had to act quickly, SPEED. Hitler planned to act quickly and with overwhelming force to conquer his objectives, then to steal their resources. He did not solve Germany’s long term production problems but merely side stepped them. In 1939 Germany did not switch to a war economy. Allied control of the seas allowed them exclusive access to American "cash and carry" arms and meant that if they could withstand the first German attacks they would just have to wait out a long economic blockade of Germany. Emotionally no one wanted a war. Both sides populations were terrified at the thought of more bombing of cities and poison gas attacks.”
9. The Fall of France By Bruce Robinson. Remarkably, Hitler's troops were able conquer numerous European countries in less than a year. Quickly, the Nazi's moved from Poland and Czechoslovakia to Switzerland, Holland, Belgium, Holland, and France. “For reasons still not clear, Hitler demanded a pause in the fighting, which gave the Allies enough opportunity to evacuate around 340,000 troops from Dunkirk and a further 220,000 from other French ports. By late 1940 he had developed his strategy - it was simply a matter of time, as far as he was concerned, before the Allied powers were defeated.”
10. Mysteries of a Nazi Photo Album by David W. Dunlap. Although at the beginning of the war the germans were the conquering force, they too suffered the struggles of war. Here, it depicts the cruelty of the first invasions. Out of nearly nowhere Hitler and the germans raided nations and robbed people of their lives and children of their childhoods. "Its creator was able — apparently within weeks — to photograph Hitler as he warred on Russia and also to photograph some of the earliest victims of that brutal campaign, known as Operation Barbarossa, which began 70 years ago Wednesday. Two pages in this album, on the Eastern Front in 1941, are devoted to prisoners. Some are dressed in rags, some dressed in uniforms of the Red Army, some wearing jackets with Star of David patches. They stand before what might be freshly dug graves. (Their own? Their landsmen?) In six almost intimate pictures, verging on portraiture, men gaze hollowly or defiantly at the camera."
2. The Fall of France By Dr Gary Sheffield. After Hitler's success in Poland, he was determined to also take over the western part of Europe. His final plan was to attack France from the borders of Holland and Belgium. After successfully penetrating Holland and Belgium, Germany advanced toward the French border. "It soon became clear that by advancing into the Low Countries the Allies were dancing to Hitler's tune. On 13 May, the first German forces emerged from the Ardennes near Sedan, on the River Meuse. In a two-day battle, the Panzers crossed the river, despite some surprisingly stiff resistance from the second-class French defenders, and near-suicidal attacks by Allied aircraft."
3. BLITZKRIEG (LIGHTNING WAR) In the beginning of the war Hitler used the blitzkrieg military tactic many times and all succeeded. Hitler's army was fast and well equipped. However, after some invasion in Europe, Hitler tried and failed to also invade the Soviet Union and Great Britain. “Blitzkrieg tactics required the concentration of offensive weapons (such as tanks, planes, and artillery) along a narrow front. These forces would drive a breach in enemy defenses, permitting armored tank divisions to penetrate rapidly and roam freely behind enemy lines, causing shock and disorganization among the enemy defenses”
4. Blitzkrieg The blitzkrieg was extremely well thought out military tactic. Using the blitzkrieg tactic to conquer so much of Europe was a remarkable come back from the disarmed and economically failing Germany. "The aim of German military planners in both the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich was to achieve victory by enveloping enemy armies, threatening their lines of supply and communications, and forcing them to fight in an unexpected direction."
5. Blitzkrieg By Robert T Foley. Over the last few years before 1939, the Germans spent their time carefully preparing for immense military strength and victory. Hitler's army was fast and carried out the tactics well. After nearly one year into the war, Hitler had accomplished more than any past leader of Germany had."It had taken only a few short weeks for the Wehrmacht (the German army), under his control, to crush the army of the French Third Republic . His well-trained and organised troops had also caused France's Allies, in the form of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), to beat an ignominious retreat from continental Europe. Thus between 10 May and 21 June 1940, the Wehrmacht had accomplished what the army of Kaiser Wilhelm II had not managed to do in four years of desperate fighting in World War One."
6. It Wasn’t Just Morale By Robert O. Paxton. The fall of France was not simply the heads of the french soldiers or their outlook on the situation. The french were lacking many military advancements. Most importantly, they had many of their troops in Belgium as Hitler had planned. “Morale was not the only reason for the French defeat, and perhaps not even the principal one. While French artillery and tanks were not inferior to the German, the French army had crucial defects in communications, air cover, and reaction time. The wildly overoptimistic defense plan of the French commander in chief, General Maurice Gamelin, bears perhaps the heaviest responsibility.”
7. INVASION OF POLAND, FALL 1939 After portraying to the world that he was no longer interested in territory, Adolf Hitler planned an attack on Poland. This invasion would only be the beginning of his ambitions for Germany in Europe. With a very powerful military tactic, it did not take Hitler long to begin the German invasion of Europe by taking complete control of Poland. “On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. The Polish army was defeated within weeks of the invasion. From East Prussia and Germany in the north and Silesia and Slovakia in the south, German units, with more than 2,000 tanks and over 1,000 planes, broke through Polish defenses along the border and advanced on Warsaw in a massive encirclement attack.”
8. Hitler’s Europe: Conquest, Collaboration, and Resistance, 1939-1942. Hitler's big tactical plan was speed. The quicker the better. Hitler originally planned for a short war and a short conquer. The Blitzkrieg tactic required quick, strong troops which in the beginning of the war, Hitler had. “Despite Germany’s attempts at self-sufficiency, they needed resources for a prolonged war. So they had to act quickly, SPEED. Hitler planned to act quickly and with overwhelming force to conquer his objectives, then to steal their resources. He did not solve Germany’s long term production problems but merely side stepped them. In 1939 Germany did not switch to a war economy. Allied control of the seas allowed them exclusive access to American "cash and carry" arms and meant that if they could withstand the first German attacks they would just have to wait out a long economic blockade of Germany. Emotionally no one wanted a war. Both sides populations were terrified at the thought of more bombing of cities and poison gas attacks.”
9. The Fall of France By Bruce Robinson. Remarkably, Hitler's troops were able conquer numerous European countries in less than a year. Quickly, the Nazi's moved from Poland and Czechoslovakia to Switzerland, Holland, Belgium, Holland, and France. “For reasons still not clear, Hitler demanded a pause in the fighting, which gave the Allies enough opportunity to evacuate around 340,000 troops from Dunkirk and a further 220,000 from other French ports. By late 1940 he had developed his strategy - it was simply a matter of time, as far as he was concerned, before the Allied powers were defeated.”
10. Mysteries of a Nazi Photo Album by David W. Dunlap. Although at the beginning of the war the germans were the conquering force, they too suffered the struggles of war. Here, it depicts the cruelty of the first invasions. Out of nearly nowhere Hitler and the germans raided nations and robbed people of their lives and children of their childhoods. "Its creator was able — apparently within weeks — to photograph Hitler as he warred on Russia and also to photograph some of the earliest victims of that brutal campaign, known as Operation Barbarossa, which began 70 years ago Wednesday. Two pages in this album, on the Eastern Front in 1941, are devoted to prisoners. Some are dressed in rags, some dressed in uniforms of the Red Army, some wearing jackets with Star of David patches. They stand before what might be freshly dug graves. (Their own? Their landsmen?) In six almost intimate pictures, verging on portraiture, men gaze hollowly or defiantly at the camera."
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Voices of Dunkirk: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/dunkirk_audio_03.shtml