andy+klingler

=Turning Points Project=

Operation Barbarossa
Hitler had been planning since the beginning to eventually turn on the Soviet Union and Bring it under control. He rose to power off the promise to dispel communism and developed hate and contempt for it. On June 21 1941 the axis powers amounted a large armada of 4.5 million troops to carry out the operation. Hitler launched offensive in three major areas with the third aimed at the Moscow. Soviet troops were in disbelieved and didn't mount an effective initial defense for a number of reasons. First Stalin had purged the army years earlier which left the officers unwilling to make moves without orders from Stalin. Secondly Stalin, even after receiving a lot intelligence on the matter, still was in denial that Hitler would turn on him. Quickly axis forces rolled over much of western Europe inflicting huge amounts of casualties on both sides. As Germany pressed forward threatening the capital Stalin finally took a stance and assumed complete control over the country.

One of the first moves he made was to split his army into three divisions. This allowed for more control over the often poorly organized Russian troops. Hitler in response began to focus the bulk of his force on taking Moscow. He figured that the Russians would realize this and focus the bulk of their troops on defending it and Hitler could destroy the entire army in one battle. The weather however prevented the axis advance with downpours that left roads muddy and impassible. This delayed the German forces greatly. The immense amount of territory that the Germans had seized was beginning to turn on them. Supply lines thinned and the task of guarding them was nearly impossible. Guerrilla troops constantly attacked and cut German soldiers off from vital necessities. When winter set in the ill prepared German troops were victims of the harsh environment. When it was clear that they could move no further Hitler ordered them to dig in and hold their ground. The Soviets took their chance and encircled the dying army destroying them.

Operation Barbarossa was a huge turning point in the war. It marked some of Hitler's first defeats and wiped out millions of Nazi troops. Not only did Hitler lose an important ally it also opened up a new eastern front which would make it doubly as hard for Hitler to control Europe. The extent of German cruelty toward the Soviet people during the occupation fueled much hate for the Nazis and made it easier for Russia to recruit new troops. It also left Russia with a more organized experienced army. Finally it had a huge effect on German moral

Invasion of Poland.
On September 1st 1939 the first shots of World War two were fired. Germans shelled polish fortifications from land and sea positions. After showing weakness during the Munich agreement which annexed Czechoslovakia for Germany, wanting to avoid a war, France and Britain fully backed Poland against any German offensive. This came using the tactic Blitzkrieg as German armored divisions steamrolled over Poland. He used the encircling movement to quickly defeat the Polish army forcing them to surrender on September 28. The Soviet Hitler expecting the Western leaders to opt for peace, was caught off guard when the two countries declared war. The German economy was still slow recovering from WWI and their rearmament had just began and was not at full steam yet.

The invasion of Poland was a major turning point in WWII. Most significantly it marked the start of the war but also had underlying effects on all who were involved that would impact later events. To start off, the invasion gained the trust of the Soviet Union when Germany honored their agreement and allowed Russian forces to occupy parts east Poland. This trust caused the Soviet defense to be slowed later during Operation Barbarossa and almost lost them and consequently the Allies the entire war. The invasion also gave the world the first look superior German technology, showing them how fast and effortlessly Germany could take control of large amounts of land. Thirdly it gave Germany a strategic position to move around the Maginot Line through the Ardennes Forest and parts of Belgium which aided Germany in the invasion of France.

[] This Primary Source document is Hitler addressing the public about his eventual invasion of Poland. He is claiming that the Polish are mistreating the German people that live in the country and it is his duty to put an end to it. He is taking a nationalist perspective on the matter to justify his plans.

Dropping of the Bombs
In 1942 Japan held a Pacific Empire that vastly greater than that of Hitler's in Europe. The small island, however, would soon find out that it did not have the means to defend it. In the battle of the Coral Sea Japan made an offensive in an attempt to take New Guinea. This was halted by a combined Australian American Defensive which sunk an important Japanese Carrier and many of their Aircraft. Later that year a victory at Midway cost Japan four vital carriers and signaled the down turn of their Pacific power. The years that followed were the real turning points of Pacific war and they weren't fought on the oceans they were fought in the factories.

The United States turned out thousands of Aircraft and built battle ships and carriers. Japan on the other hand didn't efficiently produce aircraft and didn't train enough pilots to fill them. By 1945 the U.S. had the overwhelming military power and had taken back most of the Japanese expanses and the Japanese home islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. By this point in the war Japan had littler industrial power and was not producing enough aircraft, experience pilots or munitions to carry on the war. With the capture of the Marina Islands U.S. could freely carry out air missions over the main island of Japan hitting military and civilian targets with little or no resistance. Additionally U.S. submarines had sunk hundreds of merchant ships that Japan relied on to get fuel and raw materials not only to sustain an army but to sustain their civilian population. On August 6, 1945 President Truman gave the go ahead for the U.S. Military to drop the newly designed highly experimental nuclear bomb on Hiroshima.

By the end of the war Japan had lost a lot of the land they had gained plus home islands. They had little military power left, and were unable to keep B-29s from flying over their major cities at will. The resources from other parts of Asia that the people relied on for fuel and raw materials had been cut off by U.S. submarines. The Soviet Union, Britain, and French forces had just defeated Germany and were making plans to move into positions to wipe out the few remaining Japanese positions; the entire world would be turned on the failing Empire. Even with all of these variables and the simple option to blockade the island and starve them out, the President still thought it necessary to drop a bomb the likes of which had never seen before with effects that were unknown on Japanese cities. Although the bombs were attributed with ending the war they were not turning points in WWII. Japan would have lost the war promptly with or without the dropping of the nukes. Two of the three major allies of the Axis powers had been defeated Japan had no friends and no support. Not only could they no continue a war with U.S. non the less the world, with their ports cut off they wouldn't be able to support their population. The dropping of the little boy on Hiroshima and the fat man on Nagasaki brought what was coming eventually any was simply an excuse to test out the power on real civilian targets and move the U.S. to the position of top military power in the world coming into the cold war.

[] In this primary source Ralph Bard is describing alternative means to end the war without the dropping of atomic bombs on civilians. He didn't think we should give vague warnings like raining ruin from the skies but tell Japan what will happen and what power we have so they can evacuate civilians. He thought that if we demonstrated the power the atomic bomb has and informed them that the Soviet Union was ready to turn on them a peaceful settlement could be found.



Timeline
[]


 * Bibliography**

"The Avalon Project : Proclamation by Adolf Hitler - September 1,1939.." //Avalon Project - Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy//. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2010. <[]>.

Long, Doug. "Ralph Bard's Alternative to A-bombing Japan." //Hiroshima: Was It Necessary? The Atomic Bombing of Japan//. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2010. <[]>.

"Operation Barbarossa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2010. .

"Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2010. .