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FidlerHistoryPaperHow did Britain manage to repel Germany after all of Europe fell?During the World War II era, Britain was a world power. They had a powerful army and navy and were relatively isolated in comparison to other European countries. This gave Britain an advantage because any attack on the country would have to be made by first crossing over the English Channel. This made access to Britain both complicated and difficult for Germany, resulting in its exclusion from Germany's original strategy. Germany's original plan during World War II was to first invade Poland, then invade and conquer France via Paris before Russia had a chance to mobilize. From there, Germany would deal with Russia while making a brisk sweep across Europe, taking over countries as it went. Britain was never a part of this picture. Furthermore, after Britain's many losses in battle, weakening army, and deteriorating hope after Germany had single-handedly taken control over Europe, Germany was expecting a surrender. One thing that kept Britain alive in World War II was the fact that they didn't surrender. Even at Dunkirk, when the German forces where closing in and British and French troops were trapped, Britain managed not to surrender. Another way that Britain repelled Germany after it had taken over most of Europe was because of the alliance that it had formed with the United States. Before, the U.S. entered the war, it was supplying ammunition and weapons to Britain. When the U.S. was attacked at Pearl Harbor and forced to enter the war, they became the hope that Britain needed and helped them out of many situations, such as Dunkirk. Without Britain's alliance with the United States, Britain would have had a very difficult time repelling Germany and would have eventually fallen like the rest of Europe. Finally, along with Britain's refusal to ever surrender, Britain put up a good fight. Unlike other European countries that were easily conquered by Germany, Britain wasn't going down without a fight. In the Battle of Britain, England was being bombarded by German planes for 57 long nights in preparation for Germany's invasion of England called “Operation Sea Lion”. Despite it's persistence, Germany lost the battle and retreated due to it's heavy loss of 1,733 aircrafts. Therefore, Britain was able to repel Germany after all of Europe fell due to it's geographical location and status as a World Power, its alliance with the United States, and it's persistence in battle and refusal to surrender. What is Operation Barbarossa? Was it successful and why?Operation Barbarossa was the codename given to Germany's initial attack on Russia on June 22, 1941. This carefully planned and executed attack was considered to be the military attack in World War II history and would result in Russia's complete annihilation and downfall. The planning for Operation Barbarossa began in August of 1940, and included a full attack on Moscow, it's primary target, as well as simultaneous secondary attacks on Kiev and the cities bordering the Baltic Sea. The second version of the plan involved a similar primary attack on Moscow as well as a major attack on Leningrad. Hitler's plan,(which was to be the final plan), was to focus most of his attention on Leningrad and Moscow in northern Russia, and then work on the conquering of Ukraine and the areas west of Kiev. On June 22, 1941, the day of the attack, Germany invaded Russia with such a brutal force that it left them stunned. Germany attacked with an outstanding army of 3 million soldiers, 3,580 tanks, 7,184 artillery guns, 1,830 planes and 750,000 horses. As the attack progressed, the number of Russian soldiers captured increased to 300,000 by day 17 and over 2,500 tanks and 1,400 artillery guns were either captured or destroyed by the German army in that time. After Germany's initial attack, any hope for Russia looked dismal. Then, Hitler's plan to further his attack as the winter months approached led the German army into trouble. As the cold weather overcame the unprepared German troops, many men died of sickness and cold. In fact, more casualties were lost due to the inclement weather than in battle. This blow to the German army made Operation Barbarossa less successful than planned, and although Germany gained territory in Russia and had a huge impact on the Russian army, Germany suffered many casualties due to the cold weather and therefore, did not achieve the results that they were hoping for. |