Chap 6 the end of ww2 Flashcards
What was the strategy of blitzkrieg about? Why is it useful?
It was a swift and focused attack using mobile forces like tanks and air support.
1) tanks and armoured vehicles
2) Junkers 52 transport planes which carried paratroopers. Used to capture key bridges.
3) Modern ground attack aircrafts like stuka which damaged infrastructures.
4) modern and powerful field radios for communication.
It is useful as
1) Germany lacked resources like copper and oil and could not support long drawn war. Thus reduces death toll .
Why did Germany invade ussr?
And how did Stalin prevented Germany take over?
In 1939: signing of nazi-soviet non aggression pact (no conflicts and war)
However Hitler wanted:
1) destroy communism
2) Expand territory into Ussr and eastern Europe.
3) wants access to Ussr vast resources like oil.
Thus Germany invaded ussr using operation Barbarossa in 1941.
In order to defeat Germany:
1) Stalin reorganise the soviet war effort
2)used resources provided by us land lease scheme.
Thus, helped to resist against Germany (90% death toll of Germany troops at eastern front.)
What was operation overload? And why was it successful?
Operation overload(D-Day) in 1944 brought together the land, air and sea forces of the allied forced to France Normandy region.
Why was it successful?
1)Italy signed an armistice with allies in September 1943 so Germany was fighting alone.
2) Combination of overwhelming resources and effective planning and leadership
-130000 troops by sea, 23000 troops by air
3) 13000 aircraft vs 400 german aircraft. They attacked rail links and bridges which cut off reinforces for Germany.
When did ww2 end in europe?
1945, 8 may.
What convinced usa to enter ww2?
Pearl harbour attack 1941
Japanese’s forces surprised attack American forced, killing 2000 American personnel and destroying 18 ships inlcuding 5 battle ships.
Usa recovered quickly as its aircraft carrier were not destroyed. US president rallied the country. United and organised to declare war on Japan.
What happened during battle of midway and the dropping of atomic bomb?
Battle of midway 1942.
1) Naval and air defense weakened. Japanese lost 4 of their carriers and nearly 3/4 of their experienced pilots.
2) output does not match usa shipyards and factories.
Atomic bomb and Trumans hesitation
1) Atomic bomb would cause huge casualties but would shorten the war.
2) Should he warn Japanese or arrange a demonstration of the bomb on a unpopulated area.
In the end,
1) dropped 2 bombs to convince Japanese that usa have large weapons supply.
- Hiroshima and Nagasaki suffered from cancer and heavy demages.
When did ww2 in asia pacific end?
14 august 1945
why is strength of USA important in both war in Europe and Asia pacific?
Usa strength
1) vast economic resources
a)mobilise people, factories in the war effort.
b)rebuild fleet, training troops and produing weapons quickly.
c)Production of Axis powers does not match allies. (by 1944, usa was producing almost half of the weapons being made globally which is more than twice of the production of Germany and Japan combined.)
d)Usa supplied allies with food, raw materials, weapons and ammunication. to sustain in war.
2) Battle of Atlantic (1939-1945)
-Control of shipping routes across the Atlantic to Britain and ussr.
- land lease aid: sent 1.1 billion of resources to Britain and ussr via merchant ships.
- British intelligience cracked the u boats code which allowed supplies to be shipped safely.
3) island hopping strategy in Asia pacific
- Invloving air attacks and submarines to isolate Japanese held areas.
-target poorly defended islands and use them to cut off ships that supplied well defended areas. ( food amunication and other essentials.)
- lesser casualties and advance quicker.
4) atomic bomb
-allowed Japanese to surrender.
Strength of Britain in defeat of germany
1) great colonial power
- access to manpower from colonies
-provide troops from new Zeeland, Australia and Africa (12000) and india(2.5 million and 80% of their wealth)
2) modern technology
- radar to detect and locate incoming enemy aircraft .
-tapped large reserves of spare parts for repait wokr and using less fuel for war production as they are fighting over home ground.
3) Military base
-troops from all over empire stationed there.
-Provided base for massive us army presence which made d day landing and allied bombing campaigns possible.
What was the strength of ussr which ended ww2?
1) reorganisation by Stalin.
- effective new weapons such as t-34 tanks which was produced in large numbers
-specialist units created to disrupt german radio signals. Disrupted 2/3 of germans radio messages.
-created specialist tank armies and air forces.
2) resources and production
-production of small range of reliable weapons in vast quantities which surpassed german production.
-1and a half times of german aircraft and twice as much tanks
-shifted major industrial complex to urals, Siberia and Kazakhstan.
-25 million workers forced to migrate east.
-forced labour
weakness of german military command structure?
1) Hitlers mistake
- forced commanders to report to him in order to be consulted of all war decisions.
-lack war experience
-siege of Stalingrad in 1942: Hitler refused to withdraw from Stalingrad which killed hundreds of thousands of troops.
- declaring war on united states 4 days after pearl habour
-had to fight against usa with biggest industrial power
2) fighting 2 front war.
- invading ussr placed Germany in war with ussr and Britain.
- cannot concentrate efforts and resources on a single front.
- resources worn down by allied forces.
How did Germany’ s poor planning contribute to their defeat
naval warfare planning:
1) placed too much resources into building giant battleships such as Bismarck and tirpitz and failed to build aircraft carriers.
Air power:
1)Germans did not develop heavy bombers which could demage towns and cities.
Instead, their bombers are too mslal and could not carry enough bombs.
Modern technology:
1) did not invest in radar and lacked resources.
How did Japan military weakness lead to their defeat?
1) Interservice rivalry
-competition between armyn and navy due to different ideologies.
-lack of collaboration during war. Did not share resources and military intelligience.
- In 1942, army refused to provide troop support to navy during invasion of Australia.
-could not agree on setting up of defensive perimeter
2) overstretch empire
-poor rail and road connections which was difficult to transport supplies and communication.
-had to transport by sea while Germany could only transport by land.
3) poor planning
- failed to realise importance of air carriers
-failed to destroy all carriers at pearl harbour allowing usa to recover quickly.
4) lack of local support
- colonies are resistant as Japanese are brutal and looted their resouirces.
-abused local and forced thousands into slaved labour causing millions of death.
-guerilla warfare against jap in Vietnam led by ho chi minh.
-other resistance movement like malayan people anti jap army.
