Prior to the Second World War, Germany was limited to the production and other limitations from the treaty of Versailles, so having another war of attrition against nearly all of Europe would be imposable. In order to overcome this the way war was waged had to be revolutionized, instead of slow drawn out battles they needed to attack before the enemy had a chance to prepare, Nazi Germany created the tactic "Blitzkrieg" meaning lightning warfare. Through the use of this new strategy, efficiency and how it revolutionized the way war was fought easily shows that Blitzkrieg was a greater strength then weakness. Leading up to the Second World War and during it, Germany made many advancements in their military, making great strides to overcome …show more content…
Under the pretence of living space, Germany 's invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939 after swiftly breaking through Poland 's defences and proceeding to encircle and bombard Warsaw, they surrendered with Germany gaining nearly half of Poland by September 27 of the same year. Another example is operation Weserubung, on April 20, 1940 German forces invaded Denmark, fearing the potential repercussions of opposing Germany, Denmark ordered its troops to stand down and not engage the rapidly advancing invading forces, overall the invasion lasted only six hours, the shortest campaign in the war. However not all of the military campaigns under Nazi Germany were successes, their most infamous failure being operation Barbarossa, also known as the invasion of Russia. With Germany and Russia 's political views being polar opposite, it was only a matter of time when their fragile alliance would crumble, and having one betray the other. On June 22nd 1941, Germany invaded Russia with roughly 3.5 million troops, consisting of German, Finland, and Romanian soldiers. With the invading forces entering and pushing through the disorganized Russian army, it was initially a great success, over half a million Russian casualties and pushed 200 miles pushed into enemy territory. The plan began to fall apart in December when the Russian winter began to surface, as German soldiers weren 't prepared for the harsh winter they were going to face. With the winter setting in, the attackers were ill equipped to fight the Russians and their advance came to a halt, losing their momentum and effectiveness, giving the Russian forces the opportunity to stage a counter attack to push back the invading army. With the Russian counter attack German forces began to lose ground and was being pushed back away from Moscow. Being unable to take the countries capital and with the loss
...onger. But a generation later, the game was on once again; the war aims were much the same. Germany felt it must defend its way of life and stand up for progress. Britain wanted to defend the status quo but it used the excuse of the invasion of another country as the immediate pretext for entry: first Belgium, later Poland. In both world wars, Germany was the innovator, morally and technologically. Britain and France were fighting previous wars while Germany led the way in technology, techniques and tactics.
Throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, many European nations began to increase their military spending. Between 1910 and 1914, “France increased her defence expenditure by 10%, Britain by 13%, Russia by 39%, and Germany was the most militaristic as she increased by 73%” (World). Europe industrialized throughout the eighteenth century, which allowed them to develop and produce large volumes of new and deadly weaponry. Many Europeans also increasingly began to use military strength as a way to prove nationalism, which is why there was such a large increase in military spending during this period. In Germany and the Next Great War, which was written in 1911, Friedrich von Bernhardi stated that the Germany “must secure to German nationality and German spirit throughout the globe that high esteem which is due them” (Bernhardi). Bernhardi was a strong supporter of the German military, as he saw it as a way to assert German nationalism and prove that Germany was a dominant force. He, along with other Germans, thought that increasing the German military would enable Germany to become a powerful nation. Brandon Brown, the author of the textbook Causes of World War I (The Great War), stated that these European nations quickly found a “reason to use their militaries against each other in an attempt to prove who is superior” (Brown). European nations used military power as a way to assert global power throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This resulted in growing tensions throughout Europe, which contributed to World War
action to prove to the rest of the world that Germany was more powerful than all. In
been ahead in the case of technology for most of the war. They had the
Tactical changes within both main armies fighting on the Western Front would eventually lead to battlefield success for both sides while leading to an impending victory by the Allies. The Germans on one hand developed the use of combined arms, Stormtroopers. These soldiers while extremely successful also led to a destruction of the German moral and reserves due to high casualty rates. On the other side, the Allies stymied their original failures in tactics by maintaining moral and developing their own tactics. These new tactics included the creeping barrage, difeme en profondeur, and bite and hold. By combing these with a genuine strategy the allies overcame the weakened German Army.
Germany was economically frail subsequent to World War I. The Treaty of Versailles had held them accountable for the cause, and the Great Depression further deteriorated their condition. Germany was ambitious for power and resources. Envisioning world domination, Adolf Hitler, dictator of Nazi Germany, led his Nazi Party to invade Poland in 1939. France and Britain guaranteed to offer military support if Poland were to become attacked; they declared war, initiating World War II.
More than any previous war, World War II involved the commitment of nations' entire human and economic resources, the blurring of the distinction between combatant and noncombatant, and the expansion of the battlefield to include all of the enemy's territory. The most important determinants of its outcome were industrial capacity and personnel. In the last stages of the war, two radically new weapons were introduced: the long-range rocket and the atomic bomb. In the main, however, the war was fought with the same or improved weapons of the types used in World War I. The greatest advances were in aircraft and tanks.
1. Germany was prepared to launch the First World War in order to become a great power.
The result of World War II was affected by many different factors. One major factor which affected the war was the weapons and artillery used during the war. Since the beginnings of time, weapons have always been around. From swords and knives to nuclear weapons and missiles, weapons have evolved greatly throughout the years. The weapons and artillery used in World War II basically were evolved types of weaponry that were used during World War I (Military History 1).
World War II was one of the deadliest military conflicts in history. There were many different battles that took place within this war; some more important than others. World War II began once Germany’s new dictator, Adolf Hitler, decided that he wanted to gain power for Germany and for himself. One of Hitler’s first moves in power was invading Poland on September 1, 1939. Many other countries became involved in this war because of the alliance system. The two sides during this war were the Allies and Axis powers. German, Italy and Japan were on the Axis powers; France, Britain, and the United States were on the Allies. Germany first began with the Blitzkrieg tactic meaning “lightning war”. This tactic is based on speed, surprise and was the most popular tactic. It is set up with military forces based around tanks which are supported by planes and infantry. The Blitzkrieg tactic lead to air wars with airplanes between countries. All of the countries were allowed to participate in the air wars but the four main countries were United States, Japan, Britain, and Germany. During the 1920’s and 1930’s airplanes grew in size and structure giving them more power, and making planes more effective. Planes made it easier to drop bombs, or plan attacks. All of these countries fought over air superiority. Air superiority is the position in which the air force has control over all of the air warfare and air power of the opposing forces. Germany began with air superiority but they lost it when Britain defeated them at the Battle of Britain. Gaining control over the air is a very big advantage because it is easier to plan an attack on an opposing country. All of the countries relied on their aircrafts during this war. The issue about the use of...
During the late summer of 1942, Germany’s position in the Soviet Union appeared to be dominant. The Russian winter offensive in front of Moscow had succeeded in relieving the pressure on the capital but had failed to make any substantial gains beyond a few miles of breathing space. The Germans had managed to stabilize the situation, inflicting severe casualties on the Russians before opening their own offensive in southern Russia in the spring and summer of 1942. This offensive, like the initial attack on the Soviet Union, caught the Russians (who expected a second assault on Moscow) completely off guard. Germany’s success was immense, and by the end of July the Wehrmacht had reached the Caucasus Mountains and the Volga River, with the oil-rich cities of Astrakhan, Grozny, and Baku in its sights.
In the spring of 1940 Europe was enveloped in war. The German military machine had already conquered Poland, Denmark, and Norway. However, not content with northern and eastern expansion, Adolf Hitler wanted to control the western countries in Europe. Hitler had long been obsessed with attacking and controlling France. After their defeat in World War I, the German people, government, and military were humiliated by the enormous post war sanctions leveraged against them from the Treaty of Versailles. Hitler wanted to defeat and humiliate the French people in the same way that his country had to experience. For him, revenge was necessary. The German plan was to swing into France using a new tactic know as Blitzkrieg or “Lightning War”. Blitzkrieg used speed and surprise along with highly concentrated tank corps, supported by mechanized infantry and airplanes.
During the early stages of the war, most of Germany’s victories were because of the success of blitzkrieg, or lightening war. Blitzkrieg tactics emphasised mobility and the concentrated use of armour and air power to overwhelm an enemy. Blitzkrieg was especially successful in flat, open countryside and was supremely suited for the Polish campaign in 1939. It was with blitzkrieg, as well as Germany’s superior tactics, effective use of armour, airpower and modern equipment, plus with the support of the USSR that the Germans used to overwhelm Poland in only 5 weeks. Two days after the German troops entered Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany. Hitler did not want this because it was a distraction from his main aim, to attack the USSR.
In the war between countries, technology has played a huge part in the outcome; this is especially evident during the time of World War II. Technology in warfare consisted of weapons, vehicles, aircrafts, and chemical reactants. Technology during World War I was lacking and countries knew when World War II began that in order for them to be victorious they must have the most technologically advanced weapons and other devices or systems that would benefit the nation. The Allies were victorious in WW2 because they made better use of the available technologies than the Germans, advancing in communication/detection systems such as sonar and the radio, as well as, weapons including the atomic bomb, and bomber aircrafts.
...rounded in Europe with the British and the U.S. pressing in from the west, and the Russians coming in from the east killing about half the German army in the war. Since Hitler committed suicide on April 30th, 1945 Germany was falling apart and didn’t have a powerful leader to guide them. So, Germany decided to invade Russia, and they were horribly equipped for winter warfare, and had summer equipment when they invaded. This was because Hitler anticipated they would have beaten Russia before winter. Russia kept the German army occupies while the other allies liberated France. On January 12th, 1945 the Soviet Union invaded Berlin, Germany at the Battle of Berlin and succeeded. In late April and early May of 1945 Germany surrendered to the Allies and World War Two came to an end. As General Eisenhower said in 1945, “The world must know what happened, and never forget”.