World War Two Germany
1939 - 45
Unlike previous European peace treaties, the Treaty of Versailles signed by Germany at the end of the First World War, was not negotiated but imposed by the allied powers. It was also extremely one sided and vengeful, at the time of its drafting, foreign diplomats concluded its context would surely lead to future military conflict.
Under its provisions Germany ceded all her colonies in Africa and the Pacific. Her armed forces, once the largest and most powerful in all Europe were now reduced to a strength characteristic of a third world country.
Germany was also forced to admit the entire blame for the outbreak of the war and pay an extravagant sum on monies to the victors, a clause which would bankrupt the country and keep her poor and unable to recover.
Territorial Germany was required to give up the Alsace and Lorraine regions along with the west bank of the Rhine river to France. Belgium also acquired four hundred square miles of western Germany. In the east a newly independent Poland received the German province of Poznan allowing her access to the Baltic Sea.
This concession however cut off East Prussia from that of Germany, a final straw which severely effected the German soul, mind and spirit with a deep hatred for the rest of Europe and does much to explain the popularity and rise of the Nazis and Hitler a dozen years later.
After the outbreak of war in 1939, Germany's stunning military triumphs continued where Hitlers political successes had left off. within two years Poland, Denmark, Norway and France where utterly defeated. And Great Britain pushed from the continent, was now isolated within her island nation.
As Germany's ally and encouraged by Hitlers stunning military success, on June 10th 1940, Fascist Italian dictator Benito Mussolini declared war on the allies, however by the end of the year Italian armies fighting in North Africa and Greece were on the defensive.
Although the Germans had been repulsed in the following four month air battle of Britain, July - October, the success of the German U-boat campaign against allied shipping convoys to England had enabled Hitler to turn his attention towards the Balkans.
By force or diplomacy the Balkans were brought under the German sphere of influence by the late spring of 1941. The Germans had also propped up the failing Italian positions in North Africa and had settled Italy's war with Greece by force of arms.
On June 22nd, Hitler stunned the world launching Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. Comprising the largest military force ever assembled, Nearly 4 million German soldiers, 3,000 Tanks, 7,000 Artillery pieces and 4,000 Aircraft.
Despite enormous Soviet losses numbering in the millions and German forces reaching the very gates of Moscow, the unexpected Soviet counter offensive on December 5th pushed the Germans back, saving the capital.
Although America had remained neutral, she had been steadily giving military aid to Great Britain. Only a foolish declaration of war by Hitler on December 10th following the Japanese success in the aftermath of the Pearl Harbour attack, ensured that America would fight in Europe.
In the summer of 1942 German military success in Russia followed the pattern set the previous year. The Soviets once again gave up large tracks of land and suffered immense losses in both men and war materials.
However in late November the Russians launched a major counter attack in the south, smashing Axis forces and encircling the German 6th army at Stalingrad. The Germans would hold out for the next three months but due to lack of supplies and close to starvation, they were forced to surrender on February 3rd 1943.
Although the successful counter offensive at Kharkov for a time revived German hopes for victory in the east, the major defeat at Kursk in July ended this false optimism and the long retreat was resumed.
By September 1943, German and Italian forces had been pushed out of North Africa and the Allies had landed forces on mainland Italy itself. Italian Fascist Dictator Benito Mussolini had been overthrown and deposed with the the Italians signing a peace treaty with the Allies.
The Germans quickly moved in forces and occupied Italy and in a daring commando raid freed Mussolini from the Gran Sasso hotel atop the remote mountain ranges north of Rome. Hitler then installed Mussolini as head of the Italian Social Government, effectively a German controlled puppet state in northern Italy.
By November 1943, the treat to the Atlantic supply routes to England from the United States had been defeated and after a two year struggle British and American heavy bombers were beginning to achieve important results against industrial targets within Germany.
By the time of the successful Allied invasion of France in June 1944, Germany's decline had become completely irreversible. Her losses in manpower and war materials had been immense. The failed assassination attempt of July 20th on Hitler life only confirmed the army's desire to end the war.
Many months of German defeats on three fronts would now follow. Germany's last offensive of the war in December against the Allies in the west ended in utter failure and the Russians were crushing German resistance throughout Eastern Europe.
In January 1945, Soviet forces had crossed the the border into Germany and had reached the Oder River, just 100 miles from Berlin. On March 22nd, five Allied armies crossed the Rhine River into Germany proper.
On April 25, 1945, American and Russian forces met up at the Elbe River effectively cutting Germany in two. Only the Battle of Berlin now remained as the last gasp of a dying Reich, lasting seventeen days from April 16th - May 2nd.
During which time Adolph Hitler committed suicide in his underground bunker on the the 30th. Germany would hold out another week until there official surrender on May 8th.
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