Before World War II Britain was very unprepared. Both its armed forces and air force had no been changed since the First World War. Britain’s 300,000 strong army of convicts and fugitives was all that would defend it in case of an attack. In 1939 when Britain finally declared war on Germany, the public braced itself for what it expected to be a swift and violent conflict. These fears were aggravated when the government, fearing a gas attack began to hand out gas masks, insisting that everyone should carry one wherever they went. Although obviously fearful of the Nazi regime the British public became united in a way that had not been seen since the outbreak of war in 1914. Morris and Anderson shelters began to spring up almost everywhere. Millions upon millions of men volunteered to serve in the armed forces. Like World War I women were encouraged to work in munitions factories. Although there seemed to be so much preparation going into the war, there was virtually nothing going on militarily. Both the German and British forces seemed unsure about what to do. This era of relative calm was nicknamed the “Phoney War”. Between 1939 and 1940 the British public became literally bored, even giving World War II nicknames such as the “Bore War” and mocking the German Blitzkrieg tactic by parodying it as “Sitzkrieg”. However after Germany launched a ferocious attack on Norway on the 11th of April 1940, both the British government and public were stunned at the unstoppable pace of the German advance. In under a month on the 1st May Normandy surrendered to Germany. After his success in Normandy Hitler ordered a massive assault on Western Europe, conquering first Holland and then Belgium and France in just six weeks. The poorly trained and poorly equipped British Expeditionary Force (B.E.F.) and French army could do little to stop the relentless German onslaught. With substandard weaponry and a hugely outdated air force the allies were pushed back to the beaches at Dunkirk. Although the French commanders wished to stay and fight for the freedom of their country they risked encirclement by the numerically superior and well-equipped German army. Because of this the British commanders chose to retreat to Britain where they could take stock of their losses and regroup for the defence of Britain and hopefully the liberation of Europe. Although it was expected that the British Navy would only be capable of evacuating 50,000 troops they successfully evacuated 225,00 British troops and over 110,000 French. Even with this seemingly successful evacuation thousands of troops were left behind to be either killed or captured. Also the allies were forced to leave all their valuable equipment behind. This included; 25,000 heavy weapons, 90,000 rifles and over 64,000 vehicles. With America refusing to become involved in a European conflict following its policy of “isolationism” Britain was left to stand alone as the last free country in Europe.
The Battle of Britain was the aerial conflict between the German Lufftwaffe and the British Royal Air Force. After the successful defeat of France in 1940 Hitler issued a directive to Herman Goering, the leader of the Lufftwaffe, stating that the Lufftwaffe must “establish conditions necessary for the final conquest of Britain”. After a long and drawn out air battle the British finally gained air superiority and consequently the invasion of Britain code-named operation “Sealion” was cancelled. The Battle of Britain was in some ways both an important and an unimportant turning point. It was important in that it showed that Nazi air power was not unbeatable and that even Nazi technology could be inferior to allied equipment. It was also a huge propaganda victory for the British. After the fall of France and Holland etc. the public had been under the impression that resistance was futile against the Germans. However after they saw the huge numbers of German bombers and fighters shot down after the disastrous daylight bombing campaign that Hitler had ordered against London in retaliation for the bombing of German cities, their faith was restored. Although the Battle of Britain was a victory for the British and indirectly contributed to America’s entry into the war, it was in the scheme of things a small and mostly insignificant turning point. This is because the Battle of Britain did not contribute in a huge way to the defeat of Germany and only insured Britain’s security. It could be argued that the only reason that Britain did managed to survive is because Hitler’s attention was being held in Eastern Europe by Stalin and the Red Army. If however Britain had fallen then America would not have had a staging ground for the D-Day landings, and consequently would probably not have ever breached fortress Europe. Britain’s survival did indirectly assist in the defeat of Germany because it forced Hitler to keep valuable troops stationed on the French and Normandy coastline that could have been used in the invasion of Russia. It is difficult to judge exactly how important the Battle of Britain was as a turning point because there are so many factors to take into consideration. Overall I believe that it was not a hugely important turning point but it was indirectly responsible for several important factors that contributed to other major turning points.
The Battle for the Atlantic was in some people’s eyes, the most ferocious battle of World War II. Although there was no actual fighting on land, a war of a different sort was waged. This war was to secure the vital “salt water highway” trade routes across the Atlantic from America that Britain so desperately needed for use in its war effort. Although these conveys were usually protected by battleships and cruisers etc. they were almost defenceless against what Hitler named his “silent hunters”, U-boats. As Churchill so memorably said “U-boats are the only thing that truly frightens me”. From 1939-45 the German U-boat fleet or “wolf pack” as they were better known, sank over 2800 merchant fleet ships. This severely damaged Britain’s ability to stand up against Nazi Germany. In the early stages of the war it seemed that Britain would not be conquered by waves of Panzer divisions, but by its newest enemy, the lack of sufficient supplies. However a new hope came to Britain’s aid in the form of a new make of ship named the “Corvette”. Unlike most of the British Navy the Corvette was not designed for surface combat with other ships. Instead it was lightly armoured enabling it to move quickly to wherever it was needed. It was also armed with all the most up-to-date anti submarine equipment, including; depth charge racks, depth charge launchers and the latest sound sensitive ASDIC equipment, allowing the Corvette to detect the position of a submarine by its sound. This made the Corvette a major threat to German U-boat wolf packs. The introduction of this new anti-U-boat ship along with other new inventions such as the “Short Sunderland” began to turn the tide of war once again in favour of the Allies, and began to cripple Germanys once-proud U-boat fleet. This sudden change can be seen in the amount of allied ships sunk by U-boats; 1939: 114
1940: 471
1941: 432
1942: 1159
1943: 463
1944: 132
1945: 56
The Battle for the Atlantic was an important turning point in that it secured supply routes from America to Britain and allowed the Allies to build up their armed forces in preparation for the D-Day landings on the Normandy beaches. However the Battle for the Atlantic seriously prolonged the war and gave Germany more time to prepare for the upcoming allied landings in Europe.
Operation Barbarossa was a major turning point of World War II. After the successful capture of half of Russia and with his Southern army charging towards the Black Sea oil fields, Hitler seemed certain of victory. However after the Red Army held off the German offensive at Stalingard and Kiev in 1941 with the Germans only 15 miles off Moscow, Stalin threw literally everything he had against the Germans. Although poorly equipped and poorly trained, the sheer number of soldiers overwhelmed the Germans and in a few months, the German 6th army starving, surrounded and outnumbered, surrendered to the Soviets. This unexpected defeat completely changed the way the war was going in Eastern Europe. After the German central army was defeated both the Northern and Southern armies were left vulnerable and eventually both were forced to withdraw, although the city of Leningrad remained under siege until1944. After this defeat all the German 6th army could manage was costly defeats and near misses as they retreated under the hammer blow of the Red Army.
Operation Barbarossa was a hugely important turning point in World War II. It finally allowed the Russian forces to build up their armed forces and prepare for a massive offensive on the German army and their subsequent capture of Berlin and the defeat of Nazi Germany. Although this is an important turning point it could be said that the Russians would have lost if, Britain and her allies had not held the German’s attention in Western Europe.
D-Day was the start of the invasion of Fortress Europe by British and American forces as they made an amphibious landing on the Normandy beaches. What followed was a huge build-up of men and machinery in preparation for the proposed liberation of Europe from the Nazi regime. The amounts of troops being sent to Normandy were as follows; First day: 60,000 men
After 1 week: 300,000 men
After 3 months 2,000,000 men and over 450,000 vehicles were stationed in Normandy compared to the Germans 600,000 men and smashed beach defences. D-Day was quite an important turning point in World War II because it facilitated the eventual defeat of Nazi Germany. Although not as important as Operation Barbarossa it did force Hitler to withdraw vital troops from his Russian campaigns to support the overwhelmed Western defence force.
Pearl Harbour was the surprise attack by the Japanese air force on the American Naval base at Pearl Harbour in Hawaii on December 7th 1941. Although war had been officially declared, the notice had not reached the proper authorities and thus the American forces were completely unprepared. Launching the aerial assault from aircraft carriers that had sneaked through the American coastal the Japanese caught the Americans at their most vulnerable. Because the Americans feared that Axis spies would attempt to sabotage U.S.A.F. planes they lined them up on the runway where they could keep watch over them. Unfortunately this made them easy prey for strafing fighter-bombers. The Japanese torpedo bombers wreaked havoc on the neatly lined up ships moored up in the harbour, sinking several ships and damaging or crippling over half of them. Fortunately for the Americans the main bulk of their fleet had been out on manoeuvres in the South Pacific and had therefore avoided the Japanese onslaught.
Pearl Harbour. This surprising and dishonourable move by the Japanese is perhaps what prompted the Americans to use their new weapon, the atom bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Both Pearl Harbour and the use of the atom bomb on civilians were major turning points of World War II. Pearl Harbour was the excuse that Roosevelt needed to convince the American public that war with Japan and its allies was necessary to secure the safety of the country. This caused the American public to agree to go to war with Germany and consequently facilitate its defeat. The atom bomb virtually shattered the Japanese belief in their own superiority to other races and caused them to surrender to the U.S. on the 11th of August 1946 destroying the remnants of the Axis alliance.
In conclusion I believe that the failure of Operation Barbarossa was the most important turning point of World War II. Although it could be argued that it was only because the British had held the Germans attention in the West, because the Russians managed to destroy over 607 divisions of German armour and infantry, permanently crippling the Nazi Eastern Empire. Overall World War II was by far the most costly conflict that the world has ever seen. Millions upon millions of men and machines were poured into a conflict of ideology and pride. Although humanitarianly expensive, the sacrifice that all the brave men and women gave, whatever their nationality, has helped to insure the peace and economic stability that we take for granted today, and we must remember the terrible events of 1939-45 so that we can insure they never happen again.
