Week 4- Barbarossa
● The Nazi-Soviet War: 1941-42
● Operation Barbarossa: June 22, 1941
● Plan Blue: June 28, 1942
● 1940: What Now?
○ France and the West defeated
○ Britain weakened but resolute…
○ Churchill’s crusade against tyranny
○ Operation Dynamo: May 26-June 3
○ French (Vichy) Fleet sunk, Mers-el-Kebir, July 5
○ Battle of Britain (August to Sept)
○ Thwarting the Italians in North Africa
○ When would the Americans, since Sept. 1940 giving Lend-Lease Aid to Britain,
become a more serious problem?
○ Italy committed to Mediterranean strategy– Hitler joined in, but what was all of
this for?
○ The notion of invading Russia was in Hitler’s Mein Kampf
○ Germany had precedent of fighting Russia and winning
○ By July of 1940 the German general staff prepare more concrete plans
○ Premature?
■ Conflict with Britain = a two front war
○ Churchill was a profound imperialist so he saw the war as a christain crusade
against Nazi Germany and determined to keep the British Empire elite
○ Evacuation of British and French off the continent (Dynamo)
○ The lost of equipment was not a detriment as it’s replacements were far more
superior
○ Vichy regime became a collaborative regime after the fall of France
○ The British attack the French navy and sink it with the fears that it would land into
Nazi Germany’s hands (it was a powerful navy)
○ The British came out victorious after the Battle of Britain; the RAF was superior to
the Luftwaffe. One was meant for longer distances while the other was not
suitable for the distance flying
○ Germans had to intervene in North Africa to support its Italian allies who were
losing in their battles
○ The people of the United States did not want to enter the war but Roosevelt
wanted to support its ally Britain
○ The United States does not declare war first rather it was thrusted upon them
■ Pearl Harbor Attack
■ December 11, 1941: Germany declares war on US
○ Hitler was dragged into North Africa Campaign
■ Desert Fox- Rommel
○ He also came to Mussolini’s aid in Greece
○ Why would Hitler choose the invasion of Russia for 1941?
● The Nazi-Soviet War: 1941-42
● Operation Barbarossa: June 22, 1941
● Plan Blue: June 28, 1942
● 1940: What Now?
○ France and the West defeated
○ Britain weakened but resolute…
○ Churchill’s crusade against tyranny
○ Operation Dynamo: May 26-June 3
○ French (Vichy) Fleet sunk, Mers-el-Kebir, July 5
○ Battle of Britain (August to Sept)
○ Thwarting the Italians in North Africa
○ When would the Americans, since Sept. 1940 giving Lend-Lease Aid to Britain,
become a more serious problem?
○ Italy committed to Mediterranean strategy– Hitler joined in, but what was all of
this for?
○ The notion of invading Russia was in Hitler’s Mein Kampf
○ Germany had precedent of fighting Russia and winning
○ By July of 1940 the German general staff prepare more concrete plans
○ Premature?
■ Conflict with Britain = a two front war
○ Churchill was a profound imperialist so he saw the war as a christain crusade
against Nazi Germany and determined to keep the British Empire elite
○ Evacuation of British and French off the continent (Dynamo)
○ The lost of equipment was not a detriment as it’s replacements were far more
superior
○ Vichy regime became a collaborative regime after the fall of France
○ The British attack the French navy and sink it with the fears that it would land into
Nazi Germany’s hands (it was a powerful navy)
○ The British came out victorious after the Battle of Britain; the RAF was superior to
the Luftwaffe. One was meant for longer distances while the other was not
suitable for the distance flying
○ Germans had to intervene in North Africa to support its Italian allies who were
losing in their battles
○ The people of the United States did not want to enter the war but Roosevelt
wanted to support its ally Britain
○ The United States does not declare war first rather it was thrusted upon them
■ Pearl Harbor Attack
■ December 11, 1941: Germany declares war on US
○ Hitler was dragged into North Africa Campaign
■ Desert Fox- Rommel
○ He also came to Mussolini’s aid in Greece
○ Why would Hitler choose the invasion of Russia for 1941?
