The Battle Of The Rhine River

The Battle of Stalingrad marked the end of Germany’s advances into Eastern Europe and Russia. After Germany's failure to take Stalingrad, their Eastern front army was practically destroyed and they were forced to flee outside of the Soviet Union. This became a turning point for World War Two as it put the Russians on the offensive. Consequently, this directly aided in the destruction and conquering of Germany by the Allied Forces throughout 1944 and 1945. Germany was, essentially, surrounded with the Americans and British in the West, and the Russians in the East.

On June 28th 1919, in the Versailles Palace of France, the treaty of Versailles officially ended World war one. The signers of this treaty implemented certain restrictions on Germany that were to guarantee Germany would never start another world war. This begs the question, “what did the end of one war have to do with the start of World War Two?”. The evidence shows that it was this treaty’s influence on Adolf Hitler that led to the Versailles Treaty’s ultimate failure and provoked the start of the next world war. Because of this treaty Adolf Hitler’s economic plan, proposed while he was seeking political election, was focused on rebuilding and reclaiming Germany. This went hand in hand with the nationalist ideas of the Nazi party.

He made concentration camps to hold jews captive, to torture, and kill, most didn’t survive. His idea behind this was to build a superior race called “Aryan” this meant blonde hair, blue eyes, fair skin, and German (“History.com Staff, 2009”). Hitler's idea of perfection was Aryan, even though he displayed none of these traits. Hitler did a lot of terrible things to achieve Aryan. Including murdering 40 million people (“History.com Staff, 2009”). In early 1945 Hitler realized that Germany wouldn’t win the war; he knew that he had done things that society deem intolerable. Out of fear he decided to end it, so he married his girlfriend in an underground bunker, and then he shot himself, while his wife took a Cyanide pill, they were found, and burned at a bombed out garden (“Adolf Hitler Biography”). 5 days after Hitler’s suicide Germany surrendered the war, on May 7, 1945 (“Adolf Hitler Biography”). Some however are convinced that he moved to Argentina, this theory has no hard proof, but even if he did Hitler is long dead by now. Hitler couldn’t believe that they had surrendered the first world war, imagine if he knew that they had surrendered the second one as well.

As stated in the New York Times, "...Germany today cast off the last shackles fastened upon her by the Treaty of Versailles when Adolf Hitler, as commander-in-chief of the Reich defense forces, sent his new battalions into the Rhineland’s demilitarized zone. . . ." (Document3). Hitler had challenged every condition in the Treaty of Versailles and violated every negotiation made. Territorial aggression and pushed every limit he was given, that disrupted peace. Hitler himself expresses his idea as stated "Oppressed territories are led back to the bosom of a common Reich, not by flaming protests, but by a mighty sword" (Document1). He also, rebuilt the German military and used extreme nationalism to unite Germany. A British historian, A.J.P Taylor expressed, " ...Hitler when he had come to power by constitutional means and was apparently supported by a large majority of the German people?"(Document8). Hitler had gathers supporters through his ideas and his speeches of hope. Hitler's leadership threatened the whole continent of Europe's peace. If his leadership was the ignition to the fire then state or the economy kept the fire running through the

Other than causing the liberation of France and the establishment of a new battlefront, the invasion also relieved the Soviet Union’s pressure. Before the Invasion, Germany had over two million troops fighting against the Red Army in the Eastern Front, and many of Soviet’s cities were captured. The Russians fought desperately to protect their cities. However, after the invasion, with the launch of a new major battlefront in the West, Hitler had to transport many of his forces to the West in order to defend his own country. Without as many troops to fight against, the Soviet army was able to push through Czechoslovakia, Poland and eventually penetrate into Germany; the Soviet Union’s progress greatly sped up the endof the war. (Naval History and Heritage- D-Day, the Normandy Invasion, 6 - 25 June 1944)

The river was an important avenue of approach for the Union army to reach and gain control of Vicksburg. The Loess Bluffs bordering the Mississippi River provided excellent observation positions for Confederate artillery to fire upon any enemy approaching via the river. Ships were particularly vulnerable to their fire because of an oxbow north of the city’s waterfront where ships were forced to slow down to make the treacherous turn. The river approach afforded no opportunities for cover and concealment.

Nearing the end of World War II and after the successful D-Day invasion by Allied Forces, Adolf Hitler would personally plan a counteroffensive he believed would turn the tied of the war in his favor and prevent his unconditional surrender. Historically known as the Battle of the Bulge, the Ardennes Counteroffensive, from 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945, would showcase the power of a full-scale German offensive while highlighting the ingenuity and heart of the United States Army as they encountered a seemingly undefeatable foe.

The Battle of the Bulge started in the winter December 16th 1944 – 1945 towards the

This investigation will explore the question: Was Hitler’s greatest reason for starting World War II to create a Master Race or to regain Germany’s lost territory? From years 1889 to 1945 will be the focus of this investigation, to allow for an analysis of Hitler’s greatest reason to start World War I.

Hitler had a rough childhood. His father was stern and his mother was the same. They both died when Hitler was young and impressionable. He aspired to be an artist, but when he applied to the art institute, he was rejected. Later on, he tried again, but to no avail, he had failed again. Since his dreams of being a artist were crushed he enlisted in the German army. He had been injured twice, once in the eyes. When he was on leave for his second injury, Germany submitted their surrender. Hitler thought of this as betrayal after all he had fought for. Also he considered this a sign that the strong Germany he knew was gone.

The Eastern Front during World War II was a brutal contest between two of the world’s biggest super powers of the 1940s: Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. The Nazi War machine invaded Russia and the operation was codenamed Operation Barbarossa. The invasion was launched in the summer of 1941 with the intention of knocking the Russians out with the same speed and efficiency that Blitzkrieg had defeated Poland and France. However, after initial victories for Germany, the Red Army was able to stop the German war machine in its tracks and launched a counteroffensive taking back their land and eventually Berlin in 1945.

The rise and subsequent take-over of power in Germany by Hitler and the Nazi Party in the early 1930s was the culmination and continuation not of Enlightenment thought from the 18th and 19th century but the logical conclusion of unstable and cultural conditions that pre-existed in Germany. Hitler’s Nazi Party’s clear manipulation of the weak state of the Weimar Republic through its continued failure economically and socially, plus its undermining of popular support through the signing the Treaty of Versailles all lead to the creation of a Nazi dictatorship under the cult of personality of Hitler. This clear take-over of power and subsequent destruction of any

On May 8th, 1945, Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel surrendered the German armed forces to the allies in Berlin, thus ending the war for Germany. The German people were then confronted by a situation never before experienced. All of Germany was occupied by foreign armies, their cities and infrastructure lay in ruins, and millions were homeless and starving. Following the unilateral surrender by Germany, the country was divided into four zones, governed by each of the allied powers: Britain, France, the U.S. and the Soviet Union. As diplomacy between the West and the Soviet Union began to deteriorate, each zone became more self-sufficient and independent of the others. Tensions between the West and the Soviet Union also began to rise as it became apparent that the two super powers, the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. would vie for dominance throughout the world, each seeking to spread its ideology and stop the spread of the other’s. The first real exacerbation of this conflict came when the Soviet Union blockaded the divided city of Berlin, which lay in is zone of control. The U.S.S.R. wanted to test the Western resolve to hold Berlin and maintain control. The response the U.S. chose was to keep Berlin supplied by air, through constant resupply by aircraft, a feat never before accomplished. The airlift lasted for nearly eleven months and kept the Western controlled sectors of Berlin adequately supplied, and showed the Soviet Union the U.S.’s resolve to hold out against the spread of

“Hitler began building weapons, training pilots for war, and allied with Austria. He also left an International Disarmament Conference and the League of Nations.” (Chomsky, 2009) Racial theories and goals were at the center of Hitler’s thoughts. He wanted to make Germany a formidable military power.

Adolf Hitler’s military tactics, poor leadership skills, and actions caused him to lose World War II. Hitler’s objective was to gain world power. He was willing to risk everything for Germany to become the most powerful country. According to Richard Overy, a British historian, “If the German people are not prepared to engage in its own survival, so be it: then it must disappear!” (538). Hitler was also willing to sacrifice Germany to attain world control and victory during World War II. The idea of losing WWII never came across Hitler’s mind because he was confident that Germany would become victorious during the war.