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Hitler's Conquests
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| In early September, the Fuhrer launched all of his forces at Poland. Against the Fuhrer's mostly modernized army were the Polish cavalry, and WWI equipment. The Poles knew they couldn't win, but instead were trying to stall the Germans for a Franco British attack from the west. After four weeks the German and Russian forces had overrun all of Poland. France and Britain, the latter startling Hitler profoundly, declared war on the Germany by September 4th, but neither mobilized their troops or helped Poland at all. The Allies made no move until April 1940 when they sent a Franco-British expeditionary force then landed at Narvik in Norway, with the objective of blocking German imports of iron ore from Sweden. However, they were forestalled by 2,000 crack Austrian mountain troops under the Nazi General Dietl against 20,000 British men, while an even smaller German force siezed Oslo. Within a matter of weeks, 10,000 German troops had conquered all Norway. This remarkable capaign was largely due to the Fuhrer's inspiration.
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On May 10th, 1940, General von Bock invaded Holland and Belgium, the Dutch surrendering almost immediately. The French and British advanced into Belgium to meet the invaders with a third of their entire joint strength. However, the real main German thrust would be through the Ardennes. No one expected the Germans to attack along this front, and the surprise of this plan was due entirely to Hitler's wishes. This region was guarded by poorly equipped and trained troops who faced 50 German divisions. By May 20th, German tanks had reached the sea. The British and France's best divisions were cut off with their backs to the sea. Because of a halt order called by Hitler, 338,000 British and French soldiers were able to escape the German pincer. By this time, nearly half a million Allied troops had been either killed or captured, compared to only 25,000 German casualties. On June 10th, the Germans reached Paris, and the Italians invaded from the South. On June 22nd, Petain and Hitler signed an armistice that ended the fighting in France, at least for a while. The French army was disbanded, surrendering all weapons and munitions, and prisoners of war were to stay in German captivity until the end of the war.
With these overwhelming victories came a superiority complex for Hitler especially in military tactics. According to General Jodl, the Fuhrer's early victories gave him overweening self-confidence, because he had always refused to allow the High Command to overrule any of his decisions. |
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What to do about Britian?
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Here Napoleon and Hitler both came to a crisis about what to do with Britain. Neither of them wanted war with England, but nevertheless, they developed plans for invasion. On July 16, 1940, the Fuhrer issued Directive No. 16. "Operation Sea Lion. As England in spite of her hopeless military situation shows no sign of wishing to reach an understanding, I have decided to prepare a landing operatin against England and, if necessary, to implement it." Like Napoleon, he decided that attacking Britain accross the sea would result in resounding difficulties due to Britain's navy. When asked about what he intended to do, Hitler said, "On land I am a hero, but on water I am a coward." Instead, like Napoleon, he issued a "Continental Blockade" using his U-boats to cripple Britain. Through bullying, Hitler received the alliance of Romania, Hungary, Slovakea, Yugoslavia, and Bulgaria in 1941. The Axis had increased dramatically since they signed the Tripartite Pact of 1940. |
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The Invasion of Russia
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Hitler was confident of a lightening victory in Russia. Hitler was not the only person who thought that the Soviets were weak. The United States Intelligence services reported that Russia could last no longer than three months without help and British Intelligence estimated it at three weeks. The scary thing is they were all right. Russia was extremely weak, and if it had not been for American dollars, food, clothing, and military technology, Russia would have fallen in the allotted time. In fact, only months after the start of the invasion, Stalin was asking for peace, offering Hitler the whole of the Ukraine, but Hitler wanted more. He wanted to push to Moscow in what can only be thought of as Napoleonic ignorance and audacity. Without any winter clothes or sufficient winter tolerant guns or tanks, the Germans defended against the Russian counterattacks of '42. |
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