2. German advances: the fall of Poland, the Low Countries and France

Question 1

The Fall of Poland:

when?

Answer 1

September/October 1939

Question 2

The Fall of Poland:

tactic?

Answer 2

Blitzkrieg (“lightning war”), allowed for a war of movement and accounted for the German’s success in Poland

Question 3

The Fall of Poland:

what does Lindell Hart state?

Answer 3

“Poland was all too well suited for a demonstration of Blitzkrieg”

Question 4

The Fall of Poland:

what was the polish forces no match of?

Answer 4

for invading Wehrmacht

Question 5

The Fall of Poland:

statistics of troops?

Answer 5

Polish outnumbered, with Poland troops of 370 000 and German troops of 1.25 million

Question 6

The Fall of Poland:

what else was inferior with Poland?

Answer 6

their inferior anti-aircraft defences and weaponry could not compete with that of the Germany army

Question 7

The Fall of Poland:

what also added extra pressure on polish army?

Answer 7

Furthermore, the Soviet advance into Poland on 17th of September

Question 8

The Fall of Poland:

what happened by 28th of sept?

Answer 8

Warsaw had fallen with more than 350 000 civilians and soldiers killed.

Question 9

The Fall of Poland:

what wasn’t it with Soviet involvement?

Answer 9

the Polish campaign was not real test of German strategy

Question 10

The Fall of Poland:

according to secret clauses in Soviet Pact, what happened to POland?

Answer 10

Germany and the Soviet Union divided Poland between them

Question 11

The Fall of Poland:

hence, what did tactic of blitzkrieg allow for?

Answer 11

Germany to temporarily avoid a two-front war, analogous to Hitler’s aims, thus highlighting the initial success of German strategies in the invasion of Poland

Question 12

The Fall of Low Countries and France:

what happened following fall of Poland?

Answer 12

the Maginot mentality (defensive- believe future wars be fought like WW1 with fortification) of Britain and France continued and the war became known as the ‘phoney war’/’sitzkrieg’ – sitting war

Question 13

The Fall of Low Countries and France:

when did this defensive continue as?

Answer 13

Soviet Union attacked Finland and as Hitler occupied Norway and Denmark in April 1940 through Operation Weserubung

Question 14

The Fall of Low Countries and France:

when did phoney war end?

Answer 14

Britain launched poorly planned attack on German forces in Norway, instigated by Churchill -> the attack failed

Question 15

The Fall of Low Countries and France:

when did churchill become PM?

Answer 15

10 May

Question 16

The Fall of Low Countries and France:

what happened when churchill became pm?

Answer 16

German forces attacked Low Countries – Belgium and Netherlands – as part of Operation Fall Gelb

Question 17

The Fall of Low Countries and France:

why did Germany succeed?

Answer 17

speed of German attack led to a quick victory, Netherlands surrendering within days

Question 18

The Fall of Low Countries and France:

Barry states?

Answer 18

“…The Germans staked everything on the success of the methods which had brought them victory in Poland – a concentrated blow at a single point followed by deep, highly mobile exploitation by massed armour with close air support”

Question 19

The Fall of Low Countries and France:

when did Belgian army surrender?

Answer 19

surrendered in late May, two weeks after France had been overrun

Question 20

The Fall of Low Countries and France:

what did Britain and French commanders believe German attack of France would take form of?

Answer 20

take similar form to the Schlieffen Plan of 1914.

Question 21

The Fall of Low Countries and France:

what did they believe that ensured Germany’s failure from their mindset?

Answer 21

Believed no rapid German mechanised advance could penetrate the Ardennes region and that Maginot Line (on France’s common border with Germany) was too strong to be breached

Question 22

The Fall of Low Countries and France:

what overpowered their allied opponents though?

Answer 22

Hitler’s blitzkrieg tactics and his generals’ skill

Question 23

The Fall of Low Countries and France:

tactic and positive of Germany army?

Answer 23

More organised, used panzers in massed forces, Luftwaffe support ground forces efficiently and quickly establish control of air.

Question 24

The Fall of Low Countries and France:

Battle for France was an?

Answer 24

eleven day campaign

Question 25

The Fall of Low Countries and France:

who and what did the general call the thrust into france plan?

Answer 25

General von Rundstedt’s thrust into France was so dramatic and so decisive that he called his plan ‘sichelschnitt’ (sickle cut)

Question 26

The Fall of Low Countries and France:

with success of Germany, what were allied doing?

Answer 26

focusing on rescuing the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk.
Operation Dynamo - 338 000 members of Allied troops evacuated

Question 27

The Fall of Low Countries and France:

what did such rescue become known as and why was is it possible?

Answer 27

o Was amazing achievement, calling it the ‘Dunkirk spirit’ today
o Such rescue was only possible as Hitler decided not to destroy allied troops with hope that peace terms with Britain could be discussed after war – believed racial affinity between Germans and British

Question 28

The Fall of Low Countries and France:

with french resistance crumbling, Mussolini?

Answer 28

raced to help the winner, entering war on Germany’s side on 10 June, 1940

Question 29

The Fall of Low Countries and France:

when did German enter Paris?

Answer 29

14 June

Question 30

The Fall of Low Countries and France:

france’s war officially over on?

Answer 30

25 June

Question 31

The Fall of Low Countries and France:

Goutard criticises French military leaders conduct during events leading to the fall of France :

Answer 31

“command to cling to a doctrine which was out of date…allow itself to be constantly outmanoeuvred by the enemy without attempting the least counter-stroke.”

Question 32

The Fall of Low Countries and France:

Despite France defeat, Britain remained defiant, Churchill stating?

Answer 32

“It was made plain that the British War Cabinet feared nothing and would stop at nothing. This was true.”