2. German advances: the fall of Poland, the Low Countries and France Flashcards
The Fall of Poland:
when?
September/October 1939
The Fall of Poland:
tactic?
Blitzkrieg (“lightning war”), allowed for a war of movement and accounted for the German’s success in Poland
The Fall of Poland:
what does Lindell Hart state?
“Poland was all too well suited for a demonstration of Blitzkrieg”
The Fall of Poland:
what was the polish forces no match of?
for invading Wehrmacht
The Fall of Poland:
statistics of troops?
Polish outnumbered, with Poland troops of 370 000 and German troops of 1.25 million
The Fall of Poland:
what else was inferior with Poland?
their inferior anti-aircraft defences and weaponry could not compete with that of the Germany army
The Fall of Poland:
what also added extra pressure on polish army?
Furthermore, the Soviet advance into Poland on 17th of September
The Fall of Poland:
what happened by 28th of sept?
Warsaw had fallen with more than 350 000 civilians and soldiers killed.
The Fall of Poland:
what wasn’t it with Soviet involvement?
the Polish campaign was not real test of German strategy
The Fall of Poland:
according to secret clauses in Soviet Pact, what happened to POland?
Germany and the Soviet Union divided Poland between them
The Fall of Poland:
hence, what did tactic of blitzkrieg allow for?
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
The Fall of Low Countries and France:
what happened following fall of Poland?
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
The Fall of Low Countries and France:
when did this defensive continue as?
Soviet Union attacked Finland and as Hitler occupied Norway and Denmark in April 1940 through Operation Weserubung
The Fall of Low Countries and France:
when did phoney war end?
Britain launched poorly planned attack on German forces in Norway, instigated by Churchill -> the attack failed
The Fall of Low Countries and France:
when did churchill become PM?
10 May
The Fall of Low Countries and France:
what happened when churchill became pm?
German forces attacked Low Countries – Belgium and Netherlands – as part of Operation Fall Gelb
The Fall of Low Countries and France:
why did Germany succeed?
speed of German attack led to a quick victory, Netherlands surrendering within days
The Fall of Low Countries and France:
Barry states?
“…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”
The Fall of Low Countries and France:
when did Belgian army surrender?
surrendered in late May, two weeks after France had been overrun
The Fall of Low Countries and France:
what did Britain and French commanders believe German attack of France would take form of?
take similar form to the Schlieffen Plan of 1914.
The Fall of Low Countries and France:
what did they believe that ensured Germany’s failure from their mindset?
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
The Fall of Low Countries and France:
what overpowered their allied opponents though?
Hitler’s blitzkrieg tactics and his generals’ skill
The Fall of Low Countries and France:
tactic and positive of Germany army?
More organised, used panzers in massed forces, Luftwaffe support ground forces efficiently and quickly establish control of air.
The Fall of Low Countries and France:
Battle for France was an?
eleven day campaign
