Rise of the Third Reich: 1939-1942: Germany's Victories in Europe

Author: (English) Bishop
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: On September 1, 1939, Nazi Germany's army rashly invaded Poland, marking the beginning of nearly six years of World War II. After this brutal and cruel catastrophe, most of Europe was reduced to ruins. In the first three years of the war, the powerful German army seemed invincible. After swiftly conquering Poland, they quickly seized Denmark and Norway, ending the early "phony war" on the Western Front with an unexpected outcome. In May 1940, Germany launched another "blitzkrieg" on the Western Front, capturing the Netherlands and Belgium within days and driving hundreds of thousands of British Expeditionary Forces across the English Channel. Then, in just six weeks, they occupied France. These victories further reinforced the apparent superiority of the German army. In early 1941, to rescue their Italian ally trapped in the Balkans and North Africa, German forces launched a large-scale invasion of Yugoslavia and Greece. At the time, Britain was trying to teach the besieged Greeks, but once again, they were easily defeated by the Germans. Meanwhile, Rommel's famous Afrika Korps, en route to Libya, effortlessly pushed the British army back to the border of Egypt. On June 1941, Germany launched its long-planned invasion of the Soviet Union, leaving the entire world stunned. As usual, the Germans swiftly achieved one victory after another, their unstoppable armored forces sweeping across the vast Russian plains. By the harsh winter of 1941, the German advance finally halted below the walls of Moscow. In December 1941, the United States declared war, but Britain and the Soviet Union were still unable to immediately reverse their unfavorable situation: in the vast Atlantic Ocean, German U-boats continuously attacked Allied transport ships; on the Eastern Front, German forces had advanced to the banks of the Volga River and the Caucasus oil fields. The Rise of the Third Reich follows the footsteps of the Nazi army's conquest of Europe and North Africa, recreating the war of the first three years of World War II. The entire scene is grand, dramatic, and thrilling.