Explain the reasons for Germany's early victories in Europe through Blitzkrieg and the points at which its advance was halted

What this dot point is asking

SEAB wants you to explain why Germany was so successful in the early years of the Second World War in Europe, conquering much of the continent between 1939 and 1941, and where its advance was eventually halted. You should be able to explain the Blitzkrieg tactics that brought rapid victory, describe the key campaigns (Poland, France, the Battle of Britain and the invasion of the Soviet Union), and explain the points at which Germany failed to win a quick victory. The task is explanation: link Germany's tactics and strengths to its early successes, and then explain why the advance stalled.

The answer

Blitzkrieg: lightning war

Germany's early victories were built on a new way of fighting called Blitzkrieg, meaning "lightning war". Instead of the slow trench warfare of the First World War, Blitzkrieg used speed, surprise and concentrated force. Fast-moving tanks, supported by motorised infantry and aircraft (especially dive-bombers), would punch through the enemy line at a chosen point, then race deep into enemy territory, cutting off and surrounding the defenders before they could organise. Aircraft attacked roads, railways and troops to spread panic. The aim was to win quickly, before the enemy could recover, and at first it worked brilliantly.

The fall of Poland and France

Blitzkrieg's first success was the conquest of Poland in September 1939, which fell within weeks, attacked by Germany from the west and the Soviet Union from the east under the Nazi-Soviet Pact. After a quiet winter, Germany struck west in 1940, quickly overrunning Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands and Belgium. The greatest shock was the fall of France in just six weeks in mid-1940. France had relied on a line of strong fortifications (the Maginot Line), but the Germans went around it through the Ardennes forest, outflanking the French and trapping the Allied armies. The British army was forced to evacuate from Dunkirk, and France surrendered. Germany now dominated most of western and central Europe.

The Battle of Britain, 1940

Britain, now standing largely alone under Winston Churchill, refused to make peace. To invade Britain, Germany first needed to defeat the Royal Air Force and control the skies. In the summer and autumn of 1940 the German air force (the Luftwaffe) and the RAF fought the Battle of Britain in the air over southern England. The RAF, helped by radar, skilled pilots and fighter aircraft such as the Spitfire, inflicted heavy losses on the Germans and was not defeated. Unable to win control of the air, Hitler called off the invasion of Britain. This was Germany's first major failure, and it showed that Blitzkrieg could be stopped.

The invasion of the Soviet Union, 1941

In June 1941 Hitler made his most fateful decision: he invaded the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa), breaking the Nazi-Soviet Pact. This was driven by his long-held aims of gaining "living space" in the east and destroying communism. At first the invasion went well, with huge German advances and vast numbers of Soviet prisoners taken. But the Soviet Union was enormous, with huge reserves of manpower and resources, and it did not collapse. The German advance slowed, then stalled outside Moscow as the harsh Russian winter set in, for which the German army was unprepared. The failure to win a quick victory turned the war in the east into a long, grinding struggle that Germany could not easily win.

Why the advance was halted

The German advance was halted for several linked reasons. In the Battle of Britain, the strength of the RAF and the difficulty of an invasion across the Channel stopped Hitler. In the Soviet Union, the sheer size of the country, the vast Soviet reserves, the harsh winter, and the over-stretching of German supply lines all combined to halt the advance. The invasion of the Soviet Union also meant Germany now faced a war on two major fronts, the very thing it had always feared. Germany's early victories had been spectacular, but by the end of 1941 its advance had stalled, and the tide would soon begin to turn.

Examples in context

Example 1. The evacuation from Dunkirk. When the German advance trapped the British and French armies in northern France in 1940, hundreds of thousands of soldiers were evacuated across the Channel from Dunkirk, many rescued by small civilian boats. Although it was a retreat, saving the army allowed Britain to fight on. Dunkirk shows both the speed of the German victory in France and the resilience that kept Britain in the war.

Example 2. The Russian winter and German overstretch. As Operation Barbarossa pushed deep into the Soviet Union in late 1941, German troops outran their supplies and were caught by the bitter winter without proper clothing or equipment, while the Soviets brought up fresh reserves. The advance stalled just short of Moscow. This shows how the size of the Soviet Union and the conditions defeated the German hope of a quick Blitzkrieg victory in the east.

Try this

Q1. What does the word "Blitzkrieg" mean? [3 marks]

• Cue. "Lightning war": a tactic of fast, concentrated attack using tanks, aircraft and infantry to defeat the enemy quickly.

Q2. Explain why France fell so quickly to Germany in 1940. [5 marks]

• Cue. Germany used Blitzkrieg and outflanked the Maginot Line through the Ardennes, trapping the Allied armies; France relied on static defences and was outmanoeuvred, surrendering within six weeks.

Q3. "Germany's early victories were due mainly to its Blitzkrieg tactics." How far do you agree? [8 marks]

• Cue. Argue Blitzkrieg was central, but weigh it against Germany's prepared, modern military and the weakness and disunity of its enemies before judging.