By Emily Banks Wooten
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“Before we talk about the turning points, let’s talk about the starting point. A simplistic view of the beginning of World War II in Europe would be that it began on September 1, 1939 with the German invasion of Poland. In reality, the roots of World War II go back at least as far as the Treaty of Versailles ending World War I. That treaty was punitive in nature. Germany was stripped of much of its territory, it was demilitarized, and it was forced to pay war reparations. Post-war conditions in Germany were harsh, and the German people were resentful. The time was ripe for a strong man to come to power. Adolph Hitler and his Nazi party fit the bill almost perfectly,” Roth said.
“Here are the turning points, based on P.M.H. Bell’s book of the same title. My commentary is from various sources, including some of my own conclusions,” Roth said.
1. The Collapse of France, May-June, 1940
“Britain and France were not prepared for Blitzkrieg. Although they had pioneered tank warfare in World War I, they were still mired in the thinking of 1918. The French imagined that the Germans could be stopped by the fortified Maginot Line. The British were ready to dig into a trench line. But the Germans had developed a new form of warfare, using aircraft and fast-moving tank columns to cut through enemy lines.
“The war was utterly changed, and the world was changed.
2. The Battle of Britain, July-September, 1940
“Hitler’s relentless bombing campaign of England prior to America’s entrance into World War II is generally referred to as ‘The Battle of Britain.’ English cities, particularly London and Coventry, were reduced to rubble. Hitler knew that an amphibious invasion across the English Channel would be almost impossible. His real goal was to bomb the English into submission and thus gain favorable terms in peace negotiations. But the English refused to back down.
“There was no formal end to the Battle of Britain, but there was a gradual lessening of intensity. It eventually became clear that there would be no invasion of England, as Hitler began turning his attention and resources to invading Russia.
3. The German Attack on the Soviet Union, 1941
“What was Hitler thinking? His obsessions included a view of Bolshevism/Communism as being an enemy, his desire for ‘living space’ for the German people, and a belief that the Slavs as well as the Jews were subhuman. Four years after Hitler’s invasion, the Russian armies were rolling westward toward Berlin.
“Churchill gave the best explanation for why the Western democracies never made terms with Hitler. ‘If Hitler invaded hell, I would make at least a favorable reference to the devil in the House of Commons.’
4. Pearl Harbor,December 1941
“What were the Japanese thinking? The Japanese never intended to invade the mainland of the United States. With a preemptive strike, the Japanese hoped to create a fortified defensive perimeter and bring the United States to the negotiating table.
Pearl Harbor, as disastrous as it was, could have been worse. The repair facilities were untouched, as were the oil storage facilities. And the aircraft carriers were out at sea.
5. The Battle of
Midway, June 4, 1942
“By May 1942 U.S. Navy Codebreakers had gotten so good at breaking Japan’s main operational code that they were able to intercept, decrypt and translate Japanese radio messages within hours of when they were sent. With this information, Admiral Chester Nimitz was able to plot a strategy that would take the Japanese by surprise. He committed all three of his existing aircraft carriers to a point north of Midway Island in an ambush position.
“The Allies took the initiative in the Pacific for the first time.
6. The Battle ofStalingrad, July, 1942-February, 1943
“On January 30, the German command post was overrun, and 91,000 freezing and hungry survivors were captured. As the Germans were marched away, a Soviet colonel pointed to the rubble of Stalingrad and shouted, ‘That’s how Berlin is going to look!’ Two entire German armies were wiped out, including their reserves. Some 300,000 trained men had been lost; they were irreplaceable. The battle had been a bloodbath. In the last stages alone, 147,200 Germans and 46,700 Russians had been killed.
7. The Battle of the Atlantic
“The Battle of the Atlantic refers to the efforts of Allied shipping to bring much-needed food and supplies to England and the Soviet Union while facing the German U-Boat menace. If they had failed, the British people would have faced starvation and could not have continued the war.
8. The Battle of the Factories
“Churchill, in his war memoirs, stated that all that was needed was ‘the proper application of overwhelming force.’ Stalin has a similar observation: ‘Modern war is a war of motors. The war will be won by whichever side produces the most motors.’
“By 1943, the three powers of the Grand Alliance had established massive superiority in the output of war materials and weaponry.
9. The Tehran Conference, November 28-December 1, 1943
“The Big Three (Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin) met under the same roof for the first time. The ultimate agreement was for a cross-channel invasion of France and a Russian offensive timed to support it by distracting the Germans. Roosevelt and Churchill also agreed that they would launch an invasion of southern France as a supplement to the Normandy invasion. Stalin committed to the USSR joining the struggle against Japan after the defeat of Germany.
10. D-Day and the Battle of Normandy, June-July, 1944
“The massive Normandy landings required optimal weather conditions. That wasn’t the case on June 5, the date originally chosen for the attack. A British meteorologist, Captain James Stagg, forecasted a temporary break in the weather conditions for June 6. Eisenhower placed his faith in his forecasters and gave the go-ahead for D-Day. The weather cleared and Stagg’s forecast was validated. The Germans were caught by surprise.
11. The Yalta Conference, February 4-11, 1945
“The Big Three met again at Yalta in February 1945. The problems of Poland came to dominate the conference. In the end, Churchill and Roosevelt agreed to arrangements for the government of Poland that accepted key Soviet demands. There was a price to be paid for unity, mainly by the Poles.
12. The Defeat of Japan and the Atomic Bombs, 1945
“The use of atomic bombs against Japan at the end of World War II was a necessary and correct decision. But the use of atomic bombs alone did not force Japan to surrender. Less than three days after the bombing of Hiroshima, the Soviet Union invaded Japanese-held Manchuria. Without the Soviet entry into the war, the Japanese would have continued to fight.
“Conclusion: What lessons can be learned from World War II? Perhaps the most appropriate lesson is that of the impermanence of coalitions and of power. As stated in the last lines of the movie Patton: ‘All glory is fleeting.’”
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