HSTR 391 Midterm #2 study guide Flashcards
what were some of the British advantages at the battle of Britain
naval power
the english mote
resources (from the empire and from america)
advanced radar
german overconfidence in their coding
homefeild advantage
why was homefeild advantage so helpful to the british in the battle of britian
longer fly times
re-use of shot down pilots
ME-109: who used it and where was it used
primary german fighter plane used at the battle of britian
compare the ME-109 to the spitfire
Spitfire was faster and more manuverable with a higher ceiling
ME had a faster dive
ME had a very short fuel range
In terms of german aircraft at the battle of britian, what was a dehibilitating factor
fuel range (only 10 min of fly time)
what are some important things to understand about the British Hawker Hurricane
workhorse of the RAF
shot down more planes than any other aircraft
tough
why was the british perfection of radar important at the battle of britian and throughout the war
could accurately plan defense in advance for incoming attacks
what was the enigma machine and why was it significant
german coding machine
the allies were able to crack it and plan for german movements
what was the miracle of sept. 7 1940 and why was it significant
Hitler shifted his focus away from strategic British airfields to British population zones
the RAF was on the brink of collapse but when the focus shifted to London, the RAF could reestablish itself
why did the miracle of sept. 7 1940 occur
the RAF had bombed civilian centers in Berlin and pissed Hitler off
it hurt the aura of German invulnerability
what was Ultra or the ultra secret and where was it located
bletchly park
center for allied intelligence
code breaking
who was alan turing and what did he do
Allied Code Breaker
broke the enigma code and developed produced intelligence that helped the allies win the war
why did the americans switch to a focus on the convoy system
sustained massive shipping losses at the hands of german U-Boats
what was the formation of US convoys
7 long 5 across
with destroyers and aircraft
why did the americans switch to a focus on the convoy system and why was it significant
sustained massive shipping losses at the hands of german U-Boats
significantly lessened US shipping losses and helped supply Britian and the allies
cut losses almost in half
what were “wolf packs” in WW2
a convoy attack strategy used by a group of German U-Boats
what aided convoy systems
use of sonar
use of codebreaking
what was operation Barbarossa
German invasion of the Soviet Union
what caused a rise in tension between the USSR and Germany
USSR wanted bases in the baltic (denmark and norway)
what were the key german miscalculations concerning the Soviet military
Russian industrial capacity
Russian supply of troops and military equipment
Russian weather in fall and winter
Assumption concerning uprising of Russian people against russian government
when did operation barbarossa begin
june 22 1941
what was the impact of russian fall and winter on operation barbarossa
rain and snow generally slowed german movements (hurt the ability for blitzkrieg)
germans were not prepared for winter war
(30-40% of soldiers developed frostbite or typhus)
what were the three divisions of operation Barbarossa and what were their goals
north division: seize lenningrad
central division: seize moscow
south division: seize kyiv and then turn south toward the black sea
why was the battle of stalingrad important
marked the end of the german advance into the soviet union
shifted the tide of the war in favor of the allies
why was stalingrad a key target
transportation and communication hub
would significantly damage soviet morale
it would serve as a starting point for germany to launch its invasion into the oil feilds of the caucusess
describe operation blue
German advance into Russia in summer of 1942
split forces (one to Stalingrad one to the oil fields of the caucuses)
what was Hitler’s key mistake with operation blue
he split his forces
what is rattlekreig? describe where and the situation surrounding it
at the battle of stalingrad, the luftwaffe decimated most of the city to rubble so the soviet forces were forced to run around in the rubble and fight (compared to rats)
who was Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov and why is he important
Russian commander in charge of defense of Stalingrad
led the counteroffensive out of Stalingrad
adopted strategies at Stalingrad that slowed German advancement (positioned his troops close to German troops to lessen the appeal for combined arms attacks)
General von Paulus
German commander at the battle of Stalingrad
who was the soviet commander at the battle of stalingrad
Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov
who was the german commander at the battle of stalingrad
General von Paulus
what was operation uranus
soviet counter offensive that won the battle of stalingrad, drove the germans out of the caucus region and encircled 200,000 german troops
General Georgi Zhukov
chief of soviet general staff
won the battle of khalkin gol
oversaw the whole of russian defense
oradur sur glan
massacre of French civilians at the hands of German SS
4 days after d-day
Lidice massacre
czech resistance killed nazi puppet governor Heydrich
in retaliation the entire village of lidice was razed with most people being killed or sent to concentration camps
what is the concept of lebensraum and how does it relate to german attrocities
those in eastern europe were to be eliminated because they were in the way of “living space”
heinrich himmler
leader in the nazi party
leader of the SS
main architect of the holocaust
Einsatzgruppen
mobile killing squads
responsible for mass murder in Germany and Eastern Europe
murdered or enslaved civilians to make room for germans
where was the final solution to the jewish problem decided on
wansee conference of 1942
Sonderkommandos
Jewish concentration camp workers tasked with disposing of dead bodies
what were the main killing concentration camps
Auschwitz-Birkenaw,
Treblinka,
Sobibor,
Maidenek
what were the main killing concentration camps (4)
Auschwitz-Birkenaw,
Treblinka,
Sobibor,
Maidenek
what was the name of the gas used in the gas chambers
zyklon b
“Arbeit Macht Frei”
work will set you free
slogan at the concentration camps
camp members held on to desperate hope they might be freed if they obeyed
alfred rosenburg
key nazi theorist that would encourage extermination of the jews
skip
first battle of the western desert campaign (operation compass)
victory for the British against the Italians in northern Africa
erwin rommel
german commander of the afrika korps
the desert fox
what was the afrika korps and what was their main goal
the afrika korps was the german army division in northern africa tasked with retaking northern africa and the suez cannal after the Italians had been defeated by the British
what were the four key factors that led to British success at the battle of el-alamaine
Italian morale issues
Rommels supply lines were exceedingly long
the british navy had a strong presence in the mediterainian and kept sinking rommels supply ships
hitler saw North Africa as a sideshow and did not emphasize the north africa front
who was “monty” and what did he do
after british forces were pushed back to El-Alamain, he regrouped them with a strong focus on morale
he won the battle of El-Alamain and forced Rommel to retreat
eventually won northern africa for the allies
where was the british 8th army, who was their commander, and why are they important
North Africa
Monty
won the battle of El-Alamain and northern africa
what was the name of the joint Anglo-US north africa invasion, what were the goals, who led the invasion, and what were the three landing points
operation torch landings
what was the goal of operation torch landing
totally control northern africa to then utilize the soft underbelly strategy
what were the three landing points of operation torch landing
oran
cassablanca
algiers
what were german 88s
the most effective anti tank and anti aircraft weapons of the entire war
why was victory at el-alemain crucial
prevent german takeover of the suez canal
led the offensive that would take over northern africa, an important part in the soft underbelly strategy
Mareth Line
a defensive line in northern africa created by the vichy french forces in tunsia
Kasserine Pass
where the americans first tasted loss at the hands of Erwin Rommel
demonstrated the strategic genius of rommel
what were the four main factors that led to anti semitism in Europe
jewish people were more involved in commerce compared to the average person (were originally not trusted to grow or prepare food)
law of kosher kept jewish people cleaner and less susceptible to the black death
jews were considered christ killers
jewish people looked different
what was operation husky
allied invasion of sicily
why was sicily attacked
it was a stepping stone to reach mainland italy
what was a key factor aiding in allied victory at Sicily
the axis forces thought the allies were attacking elsewhere
in terms of the italian government, what happened during and after the successful allied invasion of sicily
benito mussoulini was overthrown and the Italians began to sue for peace
(the germans would still stay and fight in italy)
messina
the target city that marked the conquest of sicily
patton and monty raced to get there
what was the gustav line and describe its geographic location
the stongest line of german defenses in italy market with turrets, fortresses, cannons, trenches etc etc
it stretched from coast to coast along the mountains with monte cassino in the center and the strongest point of fortification
why did the allies land at anzio
failure to breach the gustav line
what was the battle of anzio and what was the goal
amphibious landing by the allies behind the gustav line with the goal to reach rome
how did the battle of anzio play out
caught the germans by suprise
resulted in a stalemate
eventually allies prevailed and met up with troops from the south that had broken through the gustav line
what happened in rome june 4th 1944
allies captured rome unopposed
gothic line
the final line of german fortifications north of rome
when was the beginning of operation Barbarossa
June 22, 1941
Pearl Harbor date
Dec 7, 1941
what was eagle day
the beginning of concentrated attacks on british airfeilds
eagle day date
August 13, 1940
what day did the germans shift their air attack to focus on london
Sept. 7, 1940
Doolittle raid date
Apr. 18, 1942
what was the doolittle raid and why was it significant
B-25 bombers were modified to be able to be launched off aircraft carriers
bomb strikes on industrial centers in japan including tokoyo
date of final resistance at stalingrad
Feb. 2, 1943
date of torch landings
nov 8 1942
12 day Battle of El Alamein
Begins
Oct. 23, 1942
what were the 4 reasons the allies adopted the soft underbelly strategy
italy would be a much easier route compared to france (italians more easily defeated)
the atlantic coast is heavily defended
british need to remain in control of oil in iraq and iran
the british need to remain in control of the suez canal
what were the driving factors to join resistance groups in occupied europe
patriotism
anti-occupier sentiment
humanitarian beliefs
why did the japanese attack pearl harbor
wanted to knock out americas pacific fleet
the japanese were pissed that the americans banned japanese immigration
despite the loss of life, why was the attack on pearl harbor not as successful as it may seem (3)
missed the dry docks (boats could be rapidly repaired)
missed the 4 aircraft carriers
missed the oil
what were the four outcomes of pearl harbor
the sinking of battle ships made way for an emphasis on naval aviation
stimulated american production
hitler immediately declared war on the us
created mass support for the american war effort
