Pride of man through strength of steel has won many a battle of thought. The second world war was a war on all fronts, waged from coast to coast and mountain to valley. From the icy fjords of Norway to the arid deserts of North Africa, German steel had transformed a world in dissent in to a world at war. U-boats ravaged the Atlantic, Panzers blitzed through France and Poland, and the armies of the fatherland forged an empire of such a size that it rivaled that of the ancient roman empire. The pride of a broken people, marshaled by the onslaught of hostile foreign resentment and mistreatment stemming from the first world war and impassioned through the words of one of the most infamous leaders in history, had transformed the downtrodden nation …show more content…
German engineers and scientists were producing military technology the first of its kind, including mobile radios, new weapons, and new war machines, giving the Wehrmacht a huge tactical and strategic advantages over the militaries of other European nations. As many of the European powers were still recovering from the first world war, they were not themselves expanding their military to anywhere near the extent that Germany was. The fact that countries like France, Romania, and Poland had at most only a few months warning to prepare and marshal their armies gave Germany a huge tactical advantage. The Wehrmacht were able in most cases, using Blitzkrieg, to completely overrun and outmaneuver their opponents before they had the time to react. This "lightning war" strategy was the key to the Wehrmacht's undisputed dominance in main land Europe. Only one country eluded Hitler's grasp. Great Britain's island stronghold meant that the Blitzkrieg tactics that had worked so well on mainland Europe would not work unless the Wehrmacht established a beachhead or landing zone for an invading army. To accomplish this, he ordered the Luftwaffe and the Kriegsmarine to wrest control of the skies and waters around Britain and maintain safe passage through the English channel. So in July of 1940, once the Luftwaffe had …show more content…
This was because one of the requirements of the Treaty of Versailles, Article 190, stated that the Kriegsmarine had to surrender most of their warships to the Allies and put a cap on the amount of commissioned warships the Kriegsmarine could have at any given time. The exact restrictions were that the Kriegsmarine could not have more than 6 battleships, 6 cruisers, 12 destroyers, and 12 u-boats. However on June 18, 1935, the German and British foreign ministers signed the Anglo-German Naval Agreement, which allowed for an increase in the number of commissioned ships that the Kriegsmarine could have. Still, the Kriegsmarine was in no shape to take on the British royal navy, which was considered at the time by many to be the strongest navy in the world and certainly one of the largest. This is most likely why Britain signed the agreement, putting naive confidence in their navy's ability to handle anything and everything that the Kriegsmarine could put up against them. What the naval strategists in Britain did not realize though, was that by depleting the Kriegsmarine to next to nothing, it gave German engineers and designers the opportunity and motivation to create a brand new modern fleet consisting of the types of ships that would most benefit the Kriegsmarine in a fight against Britain. Because of the resounding success of the u-boat during the first world
The carnage of world war one was the result of the clash between new technologies, but old strategies. Blitzkrieg warfare would be the first form of modern military tactics for it fully utilizes the technological advancements of that time. The term “Blitzkrieg” was not invented by the Germans, but by an English magazine that described the invasion of Poland (Showalter). While many accredit the invention of Blitzkrieg warfare to Heinz Guderian, Germany's Chief of Mobile Troops during WWII, it was actually invented far before that. In fact, it was developed right after WWI after seeing the devastating effects of trench warfare(Showalter). Ironically, the basis of Blitzkrieg warfare was also laid by German Field Marshall Alfred von Schlieffen of the famous Schlieffen plan of WWI(Showalter). The basic essence of Blitzkrieg warfare was built upon the belief that Germany was always going to be out resourced and out numbered in every war and thus in order to win it, the Germans must strike hard and fast and penetrate deep behind enemy lines(Showalter). Thus, Blitzkrieg warfare was the most effective military tactic of its time because it utilized all of the technology of its time, it not only utilized physical warfare, but also psychological warfare, and because Germany’s opponents were not prepared for this kind of warfare.
This caused tensions to build up between Britain and Germany, who were constantly competing with naval warfare. Britain dominated the naval forces, with it being massive in numbers of battleships. Problems started to appear while they were constantly competing with each other’s numbers of naval ships as a comic in PUNCH Magazine states the two countries have a conversation “‘[Kaiser] I go three dreadnoughts!’ ‘[John Bull] Well, just to show there’s no ill-feeling, I raise you three!’(Doc
Britain had RADAR which gave early warning of the approach of the German planes” (“History Learning Site-Battle of Britain”). One of the biggest advantages for Great Britain was that if they ran out of ammo they could get more, but Germany had to savor the amount they had. Great Britain's forces overpowered the Germans and won the battle.
The navy expanded during the war in order to respond to increasing threat of the German U boats*
Why Britain Won the Battle of Britain After taking France in addition to his list of captured countries on mainland Europe, Adolf Hitler set his sights on Britain. After the success of Blitzkrieg, the evacuation of Dunkirk and the surrender of France, Britain was by herself. However, before Hitler could contemplate undertaking an invasion he was advised by his generals that Germany had to destroy the Fighter Command of the Royal Air Force in order to gain superiority in the air. This would in turn enable him to gain control of the English Channel in order to transfer the 160,000 German troops on the 2000 invasion barges, which had been assembled in German, French and Belgian harbors, over the
In the first phase of World War II in Europe, Germany sought to avoid a long war. Germany's strategy was to defeat its opponents in a series of short campaigns. Germany quickly overran much of Europe and was victorious for more than two years by relying on a new military tactic called the "Blitzkrieg" (lightning war). Blitzkrieg tactics required the concentration of offensive weapons (such as tanks, planes, and artillery) along a narrow front. These forces would drive a breach in enemy defenses, permitting armored tank divisions to penetrate rapidly and roam freely behind enemy lines, causing shock and
During the early stages of the war, most of Germany’s victories were because of the success of blitzkrieg, or lightening war. Blitzkrieg tactics
The Battle of Britain in 1940 In the summer of 1940, the German Luftwaffe attempted to win air superiority over southern Britain and the English Channel by destroying the Royal Air Force and the British aircraft industry. This attempt came to be known as the Battle of Britain, and victory over the RAF was seen by the Germans as absolutely essential if they were eventually to mount an invasion of the British Isles. The Germans had overrun Belgium, the Netherlands and northern France in May 1940, using the Blitzkrieg ('Lightning War') technique that relied, among other things, on close coordination between ground troops and the air force.
There are many different factors attributed to Germany’s early success during the Second World War. While some factors were more significant to the German’s success, there is no debating that all of them contributed to the German’s attacking and conquering of Europe. It took quite a while for the Germans to begin to have trouble winning battles. The early success of Germany from 1939 to 1941 was due to Western Europe being afraid to have another World War, America’s lack of initial intervention, the Blitzkrieg, and Adolf Hitler’s intelligent militaristic strategy.
“The Tragedy of war is that it uses man’s best to do man’s worst” wise words from Henry Fosdick. When it comes down to the time where an individual hits rock bottom, a man either do its best or do its worst. Although, Man can do its best and do its worst at the same time. There are many reasons how man’s best can result to man’s worst. Henry Fosdick statement is both true and false.
During WWII Germany took over a lot of Europe. German soldiers used the Blitz Krieg Tactic to get the other troops to surrender. In this order, the German's invaded or conquered Poland, Norway and Denmark, Western Europe, Yugoslavia, and Greece, the Soviet Union, the Volga, Stalingrad, and France.
Militarism was one of the key major factors of the war. Soon after Britain created their battleship, Germany revealed their 60 ships from a man named Alfred Von Tirpitz . A naval battle arose between the two and their relationship weakened immensely. Both Germany and Britain wanted to have the better army, and taking up naval weapons was the beginning of the hate and jealousy each country had for one another. Germany’s past ideology that they should not anger Britain because Britain was dangerous was an ideology that was now put aside. Part of being a powerful empire meant having strong, effective military willing to go to battle at any time for their people. In a book written by Ruth Henig titled The Origins of the First World War, Henig says, “The Kaiser and
During the Battle of Britain, Germany wanted to achieve air superiority but ultimately failed to defeat the Royal Air Force (RAF). Hitler ordered the Lufwaffe to destroy the RAF in preparation for Operation Sealion which was Germany’s invasion plan for Britain. Although numerous factors contributed to Hitler’s decision to attack Britain, in keeping with his “one front at a time” war methodology, Hitler wanted to secure the Western Front prior to invading the Soviet Union. Initially, directed by Hermann Goering (commander-in-chief of the Lufwaffe) Germany targeted Britain’s coastal areas and convoys, airports, and vital British air warning and radar
<br>During the early stages of the war, most of Germany's victories were because of the success of blitzkrieg, or lightening war. Blitzkrieg
The other aspect of Germany's Weltpolitik that caused anxiety was their wish for a strong German navy. The Kaiser believed the fleet was necessary in order to support German interests across the globe. However this fleet was also aimed at negating the naval power of Britain. Admiral von Tirpitz designed the German naval fleet in order to have enough battleships to be able to substantially weaken Britain enough that Britain would no longer have an adequate fleet if the two powers came ever came to battle. Mark McAndrew argues that the whole basis of German naval policy was to intimidate Britain with little regard for the international tension it would create. In fact as early as 1896, members of the German government recognised that by developing their navy they would antagonize Britain and risk a major war. This knowledge did not restrain the Kaiser, nor Tirpitz. In a letter to the Kaiser's brother, Admiral Georg von Muller wrote "Either we harness the total strength of the nation, ruthlessly, even if it means accepting the risk of a major war, or we limit ourselves to continental power alone." The British quickly realised the implications of Germany's new naval policy and a naval arms race broke out between the two countries each trying to build more dreadnaughts (the most advanced type of