二战英文简介.docVIP

Introduction On 1st September 1939 Germany invaded Poland. They used a new type of warfare called ‘Blitzkrieg’ or ‘Lightening War’. This is a war when tanks and planes are used to knock out the defences so that the defending country is easier to conquer. Two days after this happened; Britain and France declared war on Germany and the other Axis powers. It wasn’t until 7th December 1941, after a surprise attack by Japan, that destroyed most of America’s navy whilst it was still at Pearl Harbour that America joined the war to help Britain and France. Also in the war was the Soviet Union under the control of Stalin. On 6th June 1944 the Allies Invaded France in a massive attack and by 2nd September 1945 the Allies had won the war. Turning Points Dunkirk The rapid defeat of the Allies in France in 1940 came as a great shock to many people, not least the British Expeditionary Force. The Germans forced the British troops out of Belgium. Most of the troops fell back onto the beaches of Dunkirk between May 29th and June 4th 1940. The Royal Navy did not have enough ships to risk a lone rescue so they called upon the British public for help. Anyone who had a vessel capable of sailing across the channel was asked to come forward to help Britain in her ‘hour of need’ There was a massive response. The Makeshift navy was called the “Skylark Navy”. All together it took 7 days to complete the evacuation. Because the operation had to be done with such speed, guns and heavy fortifications had to be left behind. This cost lots of money but saved lives. Even though the defeat in France was a disaster, the event of saving the British troops boosted moral and made people believe that the operation was a great British success. The soldiers that had been rescued from Dunkirk were bitter towards the Nazis and this proved useful during the D-Day landings. Battle of Britain Germanys invasion of Britain could not succeed if the Luftwaffe did not have supremacy in the air. On 14th August 1940 t