The European Theater (1942-43)

• 4 primary areas of focus
  • Russian Front
  • North Africa into Italy
  • Battle of the Atlantic
  • Strategic bombing campaign
• Russian Front
  • 1942 witnesses another fast-paced conquest of Soviet territory with little resistance
  • Nazis are also faced with an oil shortage
    • Lack the sufficient reserves to fight on all four fronts
  • Their strategy entails acquiring oil fields
    • Nazi drive aims at the Caucuses and the Soviet oil fields
  • The gateway to southern Russia demands control of the last bridges across Southern Volga, which is at Stalingrad
  • The German 6th army with 600K men is assigned the task to open the gateway to the Caucuses, while the Germans send out another 1.5 million men
  • From Aug 1942 to Feb 1943 is the prolonged Battle of Stalingrad
    • Street fighting
    • Verdun of WW2
  • German army gets cut off by a winter Soviet offensive in Dec 1942
    • Targets the Italian and Romanian forces, 100 miles north and south of Stalingrad
      • Routed and Soviets completely encircle the 6th army
      • Hitler refuses to allow them to retreat
  • By early Feb, 90K Germans finally surrender, only 5K of which return home
  • High point for the Nazis, who attempt another offensive in June 1943 at the Battle of Kursk
    • Germans are defeated and are in constant retreat from the summer of 1943 until their surrender in May 1945
  • During this entire gargantuan struggle, Stalin pleads for the opening of a 2nd front through the Cross Channel Invasion
• North African Front
  • In 1941, the Italians invade and are driven out of Egypt by British forces under Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery
  • Nazis send a Panzer Army to North Africa under Field Marshal Erwin Rommel
  • Rommel drives the Brits and dominion forces back into Egypt and he threatens the Suez Canal before he is defeated outside of Cairo in October 1942 in the Battle of El Alamein
  • In Nov 1942, US forces arrive in "Europe" in Africa in Operation Torch
    • They land in Morocco and Algeria with cooperation from Free and Vichy French forces under General Charles DeGaulles
  • Rommel is caught in between and rushes back to Tunisia
    • Reinforced up to half a million men, but is too late because German forces in Tunisia surrender in early 1943
  • Allied leaders (except Stalin) will meet in early 1943 at the Casablanca Conference
    • Cross Channel Invasion in 1943
    • Unconditional surrender of the Axis - no Treaty of Versailles
    • Churchill and FDR decide, without telling the Soviets, to attack what Churchill calls the "soft underbelly of Europe," going into Sicily and Italy
      • Practice amphibious landings and hoping to knock Italy out of the war, and also use Italy as a base with which to bomb south and east Germany, as well as threaten to liberate the Balkans
  • In summer of 1943, Mussolini is forced from power by Italians (Marshall Badoglio) and in Oct 1943, Italy switches sides
  • Allies slowly advance up the Italian peninsula and finally capture Rome in June 1944 and stop at Florence
  • Famous Battle of Monte Cassino
• Battle of the Atlantic
  • Commercial ships from the Americas are trying to supply Europe vs the new and advanced German U-boats
  • Thousands of merchant ships are sunk until eventually the Allies will employ the convoy system
  • German navy counters with the tactics of Admiral Doenitz, who employs the wolf pack tactics, which are effective, but the U-boat campaign of WW2 is not as serious as WW1
  • US shipping routes are always plagued by U-boats
    • Two main routes for Lend-Lease to Soviets
      • Murmansk
• The War's Progress
  • Russia
    • In 1942-43 the Nazis need oil and are repulsed at Stalingrad and Kursk, thereafter they are in constant retreat
  • North Africa
    • becomes a focus for war when Rommel threatens the Suez Canal, but he is driven out of Africa by British and American forces. After Casablanca Germans were pursued into Italy. He surrenders, ousts Mussolini, and changes sides.
    • The changing of sides is called volte face. Italy becomes a base from which to bomb Southern Eastern Germany.
  • The Battle of Atlantic
    • Seaborne commerce is popular. American production fuels the war against Axis Powers. Lend-lease keeps the Soviets and British afloat. Lend-lease avenues to Soviets are critically important at Murmansk via Iran/Persia. Germans did get a few surface vessels into open seas.
    • In 1935 Bismarck (the ship) sinks 5 British ships. Y Boat production steadly decreases after 1943.
    • Sonar depth changes and Convoy tactics minimize danger
  • Strategic Bombing
    • 2nd Front
      • Great Britain and Italy provide bases from which to strategically bomb German industry and production. Also they extended to demoralize civilian population.
      • The British went at night and US during the day.
      • Strategic Bombing was presented to Soviets as the "2nd Front" in lieu of the Cross Channel invasion.
      • Bombing campaign definitely tied up German resources and impinged on their production. German war production peaks in December 1944 due to lack of natural resources (oil).
    • Allied Superiority and new devleopments
      • Air was over Germany does result in Allied Air superiority by mid 1944 outside German borders and facilitates D-day landings.
      • The US developed a new type of bomber called the Flying Fortress B-17. They also fly in overlapping fire formations, which were very dangerous.
      • German pilots had very high quality aircrafts, they just couldn't produce enough planes. In late 1944, the Germans will introduce the first Jet Fighter called the Messenchmfidt 262, which was mainly made out of wood.
      • Americans developed a long range fighter escorted US Bombers all the way to Germany called the p-51 Mustang. German civilian losses were of little psychological effect.
• Holocaust
  • The Holocaust really wasn't sudden at all; it was an incremental increase of systematic terrorization and eventual extermination of the Jews in E. Europe.
  • Wannsee Conference January 1942
    • Wannsee is a suburb of Berlin. Leaders from across the spectrum of Nazi Germany convene to discuss the "Jewish Problem."
    • Conference is led by Heinrich Himmler of the SS's right hand man, Reinhard Heydrich. He dies in 1942 and Adolf Eichmann takes over.
    • Nazi Germany is suffering labor shortages, so they round up able-bodied Jews to be put to work in SS run labor camps.
    • The labor was then parceled out to individual Nazi-led Districts called gau's. The leader of a gau is called a "gauleiter"
    • The Nazis begin to expropriate labour from Eastern Europe, which is both voluntary and forced.
    • POWs, political prisoners, and the racially inferior are organized by SS. Furthermore, for eastern European Jewish populations deemed unfit for strenuous labor.
    • The Final Solution solves the "Jewish Population" is settled.
    • The Final Solution entails the establishment of new "death camps" to assemble, divide for suitability, and systematically exterminate and dispose of millions of Jews from Poland, Russia, Baltics, Hungary, and the rest of Eastern Europe.
    • Peace of final solution accelerates with downturn of Nazi fortunes in Russia.
    • Hitler's "Legacy"
• Conferences in the War
  • Cairo Conference in November 1943
    • FDR, Churchill, and Chaing Kai-Shek, but not Stalin attend.
    • Stalin has a neutrality pact with Japan.
    • Cairo was intended to establish postwar parameters for Asia/Japan:
      • Unconditional Surrender
      • Return all territories expropriated from China since 1905
      • Japan has to return all Pacific Islands gained since 1914
      • Eventual Independence of Korea
  • Tehran/Teheran Conference
    • Happens 3 days after Cairo, and this time Stalin joins the fun. Chaing Kai-Shek is not here.
    • Stalin is not informed of Cairo decisions.
    • At Tehran the Big 3 (FDR, Churchill, and Stalin) mutually agree that Iran has been "used" overmuch for Lend-lease. They determine to allow Iran to develop political independence.
    • Other main points are
      • FDR and Churchill finally set the date for Cross channel Invasion for May 1, 1944
      • Yugoslavia has strong partisan activity against Nazi occupation of the country, led by Josef Tito.
        • The West will stop supporting the Chetniks (Pro-Western partisans not under Tito) who were secretly Pro-Nazi.
        • The West should support Tito and allow the Soviets to liberate the Balkans, not the Allies from Italy
      • Turkey agree to join the Allies in 1944, which paves the war for eventual Turkish presence. These alliances are precursors for NATO.
• The Cross Channel Invasion
  • June 6th, 1944: D-day or Operation Overlord
    • Allied forces land on the Cherbourg Peninsula in Normandy, France. The troops include the US, GBR, and Canadian with token French and Polish.
    • Hitler was convinced that D-Day was a ruse, and that the primary site was Pas de Calais.
    • We land on 5 beaches along a 40 mile front: Utah and Omaha. Its a narrow peninsula and the troops are bottled up for 6 weeks until the breakout at St. Lô, lead by Patton.
    • By August the Germans are in full retreat, Paris and most of France is liberated, but by late October the Allies are stopped on the Rhine by a shortage of supplies. The winter of 1944-45 is the coldest on record in Europe.
  • The Winter of 1944-45
    • Hitler thinks the US is soft and tries to knock us out of the war. While the US forces await spring to renew offensive, Hitler gathers his last reserves fro an assault on US forces in Ardennes, trying to reach the Channel coast and cut off Allies in Low Countries (Schlieffen Part 3).
    • This is called the Battle of the Bulge: the Germans are utterly defeated, and then they strip the West to defend the East.
• The Eastern Front
  • There are two Soviet Army Groups: one in the Balkans, and one aiming directly at Berlin.
  • By early October Zhukov's Soviet forces are outside of Warsaw. The Soviets contact the Polish Resistance to coordinate their attack on Warsaw with an insurrection inside the city.
  • The Polish Home Army is directed and controlled by the Polish Government-in-exile based in London, which is pro-West and democratic.
  • Zhukov gives the signal for uprising in Warsaw, but the Soviet Army stands pat for two months. The Warsaw uprising is brutally suppressed by the Nazis, and Poland's Home Army is decimated. Moreover Nazis will raze Warsaw.
  • The Soviets then establish an alternative Polish, communist government in Lublin.
  • The question of legitimacy arises. London or Lublin government the spokesman for Poland.
• Stalin and Churchill convene in October 1944 in Moscow
  • They come to reach the Percentage Agreement, also called the Dirty Little Paper. They determine the postwar fate of Eastern Europe.
  • Russia wants 90% control of Rumania, and GBR can have 10%.
  • Greece is 10% under Russian control and 90% British.
  • Control of Yugoslavia is split 50% 50%.
  • Bulgaria is 75% Russian and 25% British.
  • The percentage of control is kind of a cynical notion of a Sphere of Influence.
• Poland
  • British view
    • British had an alliance with and got to war over Polish freedom. They think it its a "Matter of Honor"
    • British demand self determination and claim not to care what system of government they adopt, as long as it is chosen by free elections.
  • USSR
    • Buffer state. USSR was invaded via Poland previously,
    • A friendly Poland was a necessity for Russian security