Total War Concept Map

Total War

     The reason that the world began to evolve towards total war was because Europe began to realize that the only way to truly win the war was to have total victory. The only way to achieve total victory was to fight a total war. In order to fight a total war, the government has to put a vast amount of resources and propaganda towards the war. The war became a war of attrition. Whichever side could hang in the longest and fire the most punches would come out the victor. Communities were brought together to support the concept of total war. As this fighting progressed across the land, it destroyed everything in its path. Mass bombing was one technique of total war where cities were carpeted with bombs from the air and burned to the ground. The concept of total war has literally put humankind minutes away from extinction at any moment.

WWII in Europe Continued

     Overy makes a decent argument on behalf of the Allies. One of the most influential reasons for Germany's loss was the massive modernization of communication within the Soviet Army. All communication was now centralized around the radio. Radios were installed in most of the tanks and aircrafts allowing for much easier communication between all of the units. With this new source of communication, it became much easier for the Soviet army to work together and coordinate their attacks against the German army while informing each other of the enemy's plans.

     Another addition that helped the allies was the fact that they were able to learn from their past mistakes and use their economic strength to their advantage. They were able to improve the quantity and quality of their military, while putting an emphasis on support personal. By putting a bigger emphasis on support personal and equipment, they were able to keep their army's supplied. Japan only had one back up personal for every soldier while the U.S. had 18 for every one soldier. Meanwhile, Germany focused on strategy and tactics. 

     Thirdly, strategic decisions made by the allies proved to be incredibly influential in the outcome of the war. They decided that the only way to end the war was to attack the main opponent, which in this case was Germany, so the allies focused the brute of their forces on taking out Germany. Astonishingly, 85% of U.S. war efforts was directed at Germany. The allies also spent a lot of money on strategic bombing which effected Germany's ability to fight. Finally, the allies were willing to fight and saw the war efforts as a just cause. everyone was willing to jump in and support their country!

World War II and Total War

Why did Hitler assume that his airforce could defeat Britain alone?     Hitler believed that the Luftwaffe would be able to destroy the Royal Air Force. Once the air force was out of the way, they would be able to attack the Royal Navy unopposed and expose Britain to an invasion.

What factor, in your opinion, was the most important in Britain's victory in the Battle of Britain?
   I believe Hitler's failure to focus his attacks on the RAF airfields was the most important factor in the Battle of Britain. By not concentrating on the airfields, Britain was able to build it's air power up and with fighters such as the Spitfires and Hurricanes being produced, the German's bombers were vulnerable.

Why did Hitler invade into the Balkans and why was this significant?
   Because of Italy's failures in the Balkans and their status as an ally to France, Hitler had to jump in to help them out. Had Italy not failed with their campaigns down in North Africa or had they not even tried to invade, the German army wouldn't have had to delay their attack on the U.S.S.R by 6 weeks, avoiding the brutal winter.

What were Hitler's motives for attacking the USSR?
    One of Hitler's main goal in attacking the USSR was to accomplish his aim of Lebensraum which basically meant the expansion of living space for the German people. The USSR provided a vast amount of land and resources. On top of that, Hitler hated communists and saw communism as a gigantic threat causing him to want to eradicate the communist nation.

What factors slowed the initial blitzkrieg of Russia?
     The biggest factor that slowed the blitzkrieg was the October rains which caused the terrain to become extremely muddy. This caused the German army to slow down and be pulled into the harsh Russian winters which they were not prepared for. With frostbite all around and weapons freezing, the Germans were at a disadvantage.

WWII Timeline: 1939 - 1941

Here's the link to my WWII 1939-1941 Timeline!

Failure of Collective Security

Thesis: Collective Security failed to keep the peace between 1920 and 1935 due to the lack of unification in the League of Nations, the catastrophic consequences due to the depression, and the League's failure to act in times of conflict.

Topic Sentence 1: The lack of unification in the League of Nations lead to conflicts within the league, destroying the structure from the inside.
     CD: When Germany attempted to Anschluss in 1934, none of the countries in the League of Nations came to Italy's aid.
     CM: When Italy saw that the League of Nations wasn't going to act and help them out, Italy began to suspect that the League wasn't wiling or capable to maintain collective security.
     CD: In 1935, Germany and Britain created an agreement which allowed Germany to legally increase their naval construction.
     CM: Neither France nor Italy were notified of the treaty that was created between Britain and Germany which made it completely evident that their was a lack of unification between the major powers inside the League of Nations.

Topic Sentence 2: The consequences of the depression lead to declining economies around the world which had a huge effect on the effectiveness of the League of Nations.
     CD: Due to the Great Depression, The United States National Income dropped by 50 percent.
     CM: Since the United States was the globally dominant economic power, many of the countries around the world were connected to it's economy and when it's economy dropped, so did many of the economies around the world.
     CD: Many countries blamed their governments for the depression, creating tensions and uprisings in the countries.
     CM: Due to the governments being blamed for the depression, many countries had rebel groups that rose up creating internal conflicts which caused many nations to focus on their own problems instead of the problems of collective security.

Topic Sentence 3: The League of Nation's failure to act in times of conflict lead to the degradation of how countries viewed them as a means of maintaining peace.
     CD: In 1931, the League of Nations failed to effectively step in and solve the conflict that arose in the Manchurian Dispute.
     CM: Due to the failure, Japan left the league and created a lot of tension and conflict between Japan and the members of the League which arose later in the war.
     CD: In 1935, the League of Nations didn't step in to stop Italy from obtaining Abssyinia which created the Abssyinian Crisis.
     CM: Due to the Abssynian Crisis, many countries lost all respect for the League of Nations due to the fact that they didn't step in to secure peace in the area.
   

Pregnant With War

Keegan stated that the European Civilization was "pregnant with war" going into the twentieth century. With Europe's industrial revolution in the nineteenth century creating a massive influx of wealth, energy, and population, the world was changing into a new era. With the industry growing, communication expanding, agriculture exploding, and infrastructure rising, the armies grew to their largest and most destructive state. Keegan later states that, "The enormous enlargement of European economies was meanwhile creating the tax base by which the new armies of conscripted recruits were supported" (Keegan, John. The Second World War. New York: Penguin, 1989), meaning that the world was transforming into a state where the economy of many countries were able to support more powerful armies. With nations now being able to build up stronger armies, the fight for power became a lot more lethal. With the mass surplus created by the industrial revolution, mass armies were more easily able to be transported and supplied around the battlefield. Overall, with the products of the industrial revolution strengthening economies around the world, the European Civilization was being thrust into a world "pregnant with war" due to the hostilities that were rising and the armies that were growing in size and power.