Hitler & the Third Reich: VIII - It's War! Quiz

Answer: An attack on a German radio transmitter.

Prior to the invasion of Poland, a German radio transmitter at Gleiwitz on the German/Polish border was, so Hitler claimed, attacked by Polish troops. In fact, the "Polish troops" were Germans dressed up in Polish uniforms. To make it look more genuine, a prisoner from a concentration camp was dressed in a Polish uniform, shot and left at the scene of the crime.

The affair is known as the Gleiwitz Incident. Several other "border incidents" took place to add more "weight" to Hitler's justification for attacking Poland.

Answer: Blitzkrieg

Blitzkrieg or "lightning war" was developed by the German general, Heinz Guderian. The basic principle was to use overwhelming force with a highly co-ordinated concentration of tanks, bombers and infantry to pierce the enemy front lines. The speed of the attack, combined with superiority of the combined forces, made the Blitzkrieg attacks so successful, at least until Operation Barbarossa.

Answer: 5 weeks.

The battle for Poland lasted from 1 September until 6 October 1939. In just five weeks the Blitzkrieg tactics had worked like clockwork and paid dividends. The Polish fought a gallant fight, but they were no match for the Germans. To makes matters worse, the Soviet Union entered the fray and attacked from the east. By the 6th of October, the Polish people were under either the brutal control of the Nazis or under the control of the Soviets. Life in Poland took a drastic turn for the worse.

Answer: All of these.

"Twilight War" was the term used by Churchill. In France it was referred to as a "joke of a war" (drôle de guerre). As a general rule historians refer to that period as the Phoney War. "Sitzkrieg" was a wordplay on the term "Blitzkrieg" and is also a commonly used term for the period. The period between September 1939 and April 1940 was a period where neither side (the Germans or the Allies) engaged in much obvious activity in Western Europe.

The British and French had declared war on Germany in support of the Polish people but they didn't do very much to provide the assistance. The Allies were no longer prepared to negotiate, nor were they prepared to launch a major offensive. Other names that the Phoney War was (less commonly) known as, can be found at this webpage: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoney_War

Answer: Denmark and Norway.

The Nazi jackboot was to march into Denmark and Norway during April 1940. Both of these countries were neutral at the time. Hitler overran Norway purely for strategic purposes. Iron ore from Sweden was supplied to Germany via the Norwegian Port of Narvik, and Hitler want to ensure that the supplies arrived without interference. As a secondary benefit, the capture of the Norwegian ports allowed the German navy to utilise them for future military operations.

Denmark had the misfortune of being in the path of Germany's attack on Norway. By late June 1940 the whole Continental coastline opposite Britain, from Biarritz to the Artic Circle was under Nazi control.

Answer: Case Yellow.

On 10 May 1940 an attack was ordered by Hitler on the western countries (the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France and Belgium). It was designated "Plan Yellow".

Case White was the code name given to the Polish invasion. Case Blue was the code name given to the German Summer offensive in Russia during 1942.

Answer: The Maginot Line.

The Maginot Line was a series of concrete fortifications that were designed to protect the borders of France from Germany. It incorporated forts, anti-tank obstacles and various other defensive installations for border protection.
Further details:
historylearningsite.co.uk/maginot_line.htm
thetunnel.free.fr/maginot-e.html

Answer: Luxembourg.

The offensive was launched on 10 May, 1940. Luxembourg fell on the first day. The Netherlands capitulated (surrendered) on 15 May and Belgium on 28 May. The Germans entered Paris on June 14, 1940. France held out till 22 June, 1940 but then capitulated.

Answer: Ardennes

The French considered the Ardennes (located in Belgium) to be impassable due to the forests and hills. Hitler was to prove them wrong and his forces rolled across the border. As a result of this manoeuvre the Germans avoided the Maginot Line and managed to outflank it. Within two days the Germans had broken through the French lines and were making their way towards the coast.

The tactic worked so well that Hitler was to use the same area a few years later in a final offensive to try and turn the outcome of the war back into his favour.

Answer: In a railway carriage in Compiègne.

On 17 June 1940 the French government had announced its intention of seeking an end to the fighting. In a symbolic act of revenge Hitler made the French government sign the surrender in the same railway carriage that was used to sign the German surrender of World War I. The railway carriage was located in the forest of Compiègne. There is famous footage of Hitler dancing a jig after the surrender of France, but that is now widely regarded as being footage that was manipulated by the Allies as part of their propaganda campaign.