Battles Socials 11 Lesson 2

Blitzkrieg: 1939 - 1945

• Is a military tactic that was used by german troops in the second world war
• The term Blitzkrieg refers to “lightening war” which was designed to create disarray amongst
enemy forces through firepower
The Phony War: September 1939 - April 1940 Germany
• The Phoney War was a duration of time in the Second World War when no major battles
took place and there was little fighting
• During this period, Great Britain launched “bombing raids” over Germany. In these raids,
flyers of truth were used instead of bombs to inform Germans of the evil behind Nazi
Germany as well as to threaten German leaders by proving how vulnerable their country
was to bombing raids
Battle and Evacuation of Dunkirk: May 25, 1940 - June 4, 1940 Near Dunkirk Northern Coast
of France
• Germany’s blitzkrieg attack from Poland on the British, French and Canadian troops caused
troops to retreat to the northern coast of France, near Dunkirk, where they were stranded
• There was a rescue plan set in place known as Operation Dynamo; this helped halt
Germany’s further advances
• Around 933 ships participated in the evacuation. Almost a quarter of these ships were lost in
the process.
Battle of Britain: July 10, 1940 - October 31, 1940 Southern England
• The Battle of Britain was fought between the Luftwaffe, a Germany military, and the RAF, an
independent branch of British armed forces
• The Battle of Britain was the first battle of the Second World War and was fought mainly in
the air; it marked the first time Hitler took use of the Blitzkrieg tactic
• It was fought over the possession of Southern England
• The battle was initiated by Germany’s attacks on England, with Germany bombing over
sixteen British cities. This claimed thousands of lives and took millions of homes away from
civilians forcing them to evacuate.
• Despite the attacks, England managed to sustain a stable economy and refused to
surrender, forcing Hitler to abandon his plans which led him to operation Barbarossa on
Russia
Operation Barbarossa: June 22, 1941 - December 5, 1941 Eastern and Northern Europe
• Operation Barbarossa took place in Eastern and Northern Europe
• Adolf Hitler was the mind behind Operation Barbarossa, Germany’s invasion on the Soviet
Union in Russia
• The attack was led by Germany’s army Group North, army Group Centre and army Group
South. In retaliation, Russia fought back with four army units.
• The Germans used millions of soldiers and thousands of artillery guns and planes in the
attack
• In the end, the Nazis failed to capture Moscow, Hitler’s primary target
The Dieppe Raid: August 19, 1942 Dieppe, French Coast
• The Allies of Great Britain, France and the United States launched a major raid on Dieppe, a
small post on the french coast that was occupied by Nazi Germany
• The raid was done mainly to test the new technology and techniques of the Allied Powers
over occupied England (the parts of England that were under the control of Hitler)
• German troops had been alerted of the planned attack which led the Allies, particularly the
Canadian troops, to face heavy fire upon reaching Dieppe
Battle of Stalingrad: July 17, 1942 - February 2, 1943 Southern Russia
• The battle of Stalingrad was fought between Nazi Germany and Russia’s Soviet Union for
control of the city of Stalingrad in Southern Russia
• The battle was initiated by German bombs on the soviet city of Stalingrad. Soon the city
turned to nothing but rubble, yet the soviet military remained strong. Meanwhile, the Nazi
Army weakened as winter set in, eventually surrendering.
• This was the first major battle that Germany had lost
• The battle was significant because it marked the end of Germany’s attacks in Eastern
Europe and Russia.

Allied Invasion of Sicily: July 10, 1943 - July 17, 1943 Italy
• American forces and British forces invaded and took Sicily in Italy
• Allied forces chose Italy to invade in hopes of eliminating the Italian government from the
war and securing control over the Mediterranean
• The invasion was referred to as Operation Husky with troops raiding with parachutes and
boats
• In the end, the Allied forces successfully conquered the island of Sicily from the Axis powers
of Italy and Nazi Germany

Battle of El Alamein: July 1, 1942 - November 5th, 1942 Egypt

• The battle of El Alamein was fought in Egypt between the Allied forces of Britain, South
Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the Axis forces of Germany and Italy
• The battle was initiated by the German Afrika Corps to weaken the Allied forces defence
near El Alamain
• The Allied forces fought back and eventually conquered the Afrika Corps. The Africa Corps
were outnumbered and had less supplies for battle.
• This battle was important for the Allied forces because it secured their hold over North
Africa, enabling them a route to Asia

Operation Overlord: June 6, 1944 - Late August, 1944 Northern France Normandy
• Code name for the Battle of Normandy. which took place in Northern France on the beaches
of Normandy
• The battle was fought between Nazi Germany and the Netherlands, New Zealand, France,
Kingdom of Greece
• After a massive battle, the Allied forces successfully conquered Western Europe from Nazi
Germany’s control; they did so by tricking Germany with a deception campaign, misleading
their location of target
• This victory paved the way for the Allied Powers further victories in Europe

Battle of the Bulge: December 16, 1944 - January 16, 1945 Ardennes Mountains of Belgium
Luxembourg and France
• The battle of Bulge was the largest battle fought on the Western Front in Europe during
WWII
• The battle began when Nazi Germany attacked the Allied forces (United States, United
Kingdom, Canada) in the Ardennes Mountains of Belgium, Luxembourg and France along
the French and German border
• Hitler had wished to split the Allied armies with this surprise blitzkrieg attack, but in the end,
Germany lost the battle retreating back across the Rhine with heavy losses
Liberation of Holland: September 1944 to April 1945 Holland, Netherlands
• The liberation of Holland was an advance made by the Allied armies, from France and
Belgium, to invade the Netherlands which was occupied by Nazi Germany
• The allied armies entered with parachutes in attempt to capture bridges and they were
successful in their efforts all except landing near the Rhine Bridge where they were
destroyed by the strong German forces
• In retaliation, the Germans allowed for the flooding of seawater on their attackers forcing
them to retreat
• After a long battle that was spent drenched in water, the Canadian troops received the help
of Italy, and Germany’s resistance soon collapsed from the lack of civilian soldiers and war
supplies

Battle of Berlin 1945: April 16, 1945 - May 2, 1945 Berlin, Germany
• The Battle of Berlin was the last major battle fought In Europe during World War II
• The Battle was primarily fought between the Nazi German army and the Soviet Army of
Russia
• It was initiated when the Soviet Army attacked the Oder River near Berlin, defeating the
German forces and advancing in on the city
• The soviet army outnumbered and out supplied the German army - with many German
soldiers being hungry, sick and wounded
• The battle resulted in the surrender of the Germany army at the hands of Russia and the
Allies and the suicide of Adolf Hitler and his wife
• Both sides suffered tremendous losses, with the city of Berlin turning to nothing but rubble

Bibliography
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-britain
https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Britain-European-history-1940
http://www.iwm.org.uk/history/8-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-battle-of-britain
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/battle-britain/
http://www.annefrankguide.net/en-GB/bronnenbank.asp?oid=19248
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/blitzkrieg
https://www.phactual.com/11-facts-about-operation-dynamo-the-dunkirk-evacuation/
http://www.ducksters.com/history/world_war_ii/battle_of_britain.php
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/dieppe-raid/
http://www.historyinanhour.com/2011/06/22/operation-barbarossa-summary/
https://www.britannica.com/event/Operation-Barbarossa
http://www.historyinanhour.com/2012/02/02/battle-of-stalingrad-summary/
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-stalingrad
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/invasion-of-sicily
http://www.ducksters.com/history/world_war_ii/battle_of_berlin.php
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-el-alamein
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day
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http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/liberation-of-holland/