Total War

Summary

Mass war was all about military might, while the citizens usually were left undisturbed. This also meant that when there was a victory, there was a deal made and that was it. There was no downfall of a government, no taking over of a country. Total war, on the other hand, was completely different. The whole country was dragged into it and all of a sudden it wasn't just about military, but also about economy and allies. Allies were important because they supplied each other with resources the other didn't have. If you make a useless ally, they could potentially end up hurting you rather than helping, like how Italy slowed Germany down when Germany was trying to invade Russia. Total war also meant total victory. There were countries taken, governments overthrown, and all the civilians were heavily affected.

WWII in Europe Continued

I agree with this statement because although there were definitely mistakes on Germany's part, the Allies were able to amp up their game in order to defeat the Germans

The Soviets made many reforms to their military. They updated their equipment, like putting radios into tanks so they could communicate much faster. Stalin also backed off a bit and allowed his officers more freedom, which allowed the military to make more intelligent moves. The support of the Soviet people were also very important. Before, they did not think much of the war, but once Germany started invading, they realized what the potential harm of Germany taking over would be, and they started supporting the government in fighting back. The Allies supplied the Soviets with raw material, food, and supplies.

The Allies finally invaded France in June 6, 1944. This took a lot of resources, but when the Allies combined together they were able to pull it off. They effectively cut off supplies for Germany.

Overall, Hitler underestimated the potential of the Allies. He saw them as how they were before World War Two. Although the Allies were weak at first, they learned fast and developed many new gadgets and tactics to face Germany with.

Battle of Britain

Why did Hitler assume his air force could defeat Britain alone? 

He thought that the British wouldn't be able to defend the navy against his Luftwaffes, and that he would be able to easily break the British morale. Overall he simply didn't anticipate all the new technology Britain would have, such as the radar. 

What factor was the most important to Britain's victory? 

Their new technology was definitely the greatest factor. With the radar, they were able to locate where the enemies were and therefore were able to anticipate them. The German planes were also very limited when away from their home country. They only had a certain amount of bombs and fuel. 

Why did Hitler invade the Balkans and why is it significant? 

Hitler invaded the Balkans because Italy needed help there. This caused the British great distress because their troops were forced to focus on Greece rather than North Africa. However, it also affected Germany because they were delayed in their invasion of Russia, which caused them to invade as the cold winter set in. 

What were Hitler's motives for attacking the USSR? 

He wanted more living space for the German people and he wanted to take the Russians down because they were communist. Also Stalin was a Jew. 

What factors slowed the initial blitzkrieg of Russia? 

The weather was a huge factor because the Germans weren't use to living in Russia. The rains of October turned everything into mud. The harsh winters of Russia killed off many men or made them disabled. They were unable to take over Stalingrad because the Red Army had surrounded them, cutting off all their supplies. 

Timeline

Failure of Collective Security

Thesis: Collective Security was unsuccessful in keeping peace because of the League of Nation's disorganized way of making choices, the selfishness of each individual country, and the exclusion of many countries.

TS: While the League of Nations was suppose to be equally ran by all the countries involved, there was no leader, causing a lot of conflict in decision making. 

• No major power (USA) caused them to have little economic support
• Without US, LoN seemed exclusively European
• The LoN overall didn't implement any of the consequences they said would happen because none of the countries could agree upon what to do.  
• Manchuria Crisis, Abyssinian Crisis, Rhine Land 

TS: Although the League of Nations was suppose to be about helping each other, all the countries involved were far too busy worrying about themselves to actually be able to work together effectively 

• When Japan invaded Manchuria, the only countries who were actually capable of defeating them were England and the US, but neither country was willing to sacrifice their troops for something that hardly affects them
• The Great Depression caused a lot of countries to be too occupied with their own problems. The militaries of each country were heavily affected. German people were even more desperate because of Great Depression. People of other countries weren't ready for war because they were all suffering financially 
• During the Ruhr Crisis, France wanted to stop Germany, but the other countries didn't believe they were a large enough threat to worry about

TS: Because Germany and Russia were excluded, the League of Nations seemed like a "victors" club, causing them to seem elitist and unwilling to help smaller countries

• Germany was still a power after WW1, so excluding them caused the LoN to a) lose a potentially valuable ally and b) make the Germans angry 
• Soviets saw the LoN as a club for capitalists, so they were upset with being excluded as well. Thought the LoN wanted to keep all the winnings from the Treaty of Versaille to themselves