29 August 2010

So just posted up my essay, going into the final stages of drafting. really happy with it. cut down a lot of words with a draft with my dad, so now its about 2000 words which is great :)

CONCLUSION

Adolf Hitler’s role as Commander in Chief of the Wehrmacht throughout the Second World War was initially successful and effective, but deteriorated as the war progressed. Within a few years after becoming Commander in Chief, Hitler managed to occupy most of Central Europe with limited bloodshed, and this continued into the war itself through using the blitzkrieg tactics which enabled him to dominate countries such as Poland and Denmark. However, as the war continued and the Allied nations began to learn the blitzkrieg tactics, Germany began to suffer defeats, with the turning point being regarded as the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942. It was evident by the latter stages of the war that Hitler was no longer worthy of the role as Commander in Chief as he lost touch with the reality of the situation and refused to listen to advice from any of his military personnel, which was especially evident at the Battle of Stalingrad when he forbade Germany to surrender even after it was clear that the battle had been lost. Thus, Hitler’s leadership as Commander in Chief was initially successful but then to collapsed along with Germany’s power in the later years of the Second World War.

FOURTH PARAGRAPH

By late 1944, the Wehrmacht had suffered many losses and with Hitler’s mental stability suffering, the power of Germany began to rapidly decline. Between 1944 and 1945 Hitler continued to attempt to defeat the opposition with, “one single and decisive blow” , with the last German offensive attack being the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes. Still convinced blitzkrieg would be successful, Hitler ordered his army to conduct a surprise attack on the United States’ forces on 16 December 1944, “in hope [it] might turn the tide on the western front” . Initially, the attack was successful but, “with a combination of speedier tanks and overwhelming air superiority” , the US forces were able to force Germany back to where it had begun the assault, in a last attempt to commit his military forces to defeat a superior opponent. Thus, the Battle of the Bulge in 1944 and 1945 showed that Hitler had lost all sense of reality as he was still using clearly outdated techniques which led to the defeat of the German Wehrmacht. By March 1945, “all German military resistance was completely broken” , and in the days that followed, a large majority of the troops across Europe surrendered. Defeat was looming but he continued to order his troops to fight. Hitler had decided that he would take his own life rather than surrender, and on 30 April 1945, Adolf Hitler shot himself whilst simultaneously consuming a cyanide tablet. Germany surrendered on 7 May 1945. Thus, towards the end of Hitler’s life, it was evident that he had completely lost touch with reality which led to the defeat of the Wehrmacht in 1945.

THIRD PARAGRAPH

The Blitzkrieg offensive tactics which were, “originally startling and bewildering to their opponents, had now become inflexible and predictable” , and this was clear at the Battle of Stalingrad which many historians believe to be, “the most crucial turning point in the Second World War” , and the event which sparked the rapid downfall of the Wehrmacht. It was the battle which highlighted Hitler’s leadership faults and his unrealistic views towards the war and Germany’s situation. The Wehrmacht entered Stalingrad in late August 1942 and conquered the majority of it within weeks, and, at this stage of the battle, Hitler was confident, and stated to an assembly of war veterans in November of that year that, “I prefer to reach my objectives by limited assaults. Time is of no importance” . However Zhukov, commander of the Soviet Red Army, had been building up forces to the north and south of the city preparing to attack the Germans at their weakest points. On 22 November 1942, Zhukov had completely encircled the German troops as well as, “decimat[ing] a whole Italian army” , and for the first time Hitler and his army, “had been completely outmanoeuvred by the superior tactics of the enemy” . By January 1943, it was clear that the Battle of Stalingrad was lost for the Germans with the Commander of the German Sixth Army, von Paulus, stating on the tenth anniversary of Hitler coming into power on 30 January that the, “collapse could not be delayed” . Hitler’s idealistic views are exposed when he promoted von Paulus to field marshal, with the belief that, “no German soldier of that rank had ever been taken prisoner” , and ordered the Sixth Army to not retreat or surrender even though the battle was clearly lost. Historians such as Alan Bullock believe that Hitler, “was ready to destroy Germany rather than surrender...or admit defeat” . Moreover, the battle may not have been needed as the Wehrmacht were far advanced into the Caucasus and did not need to attack the city, although strategically this would have placed the Wehrmacht at a major disadvantage, instead many historians state that Hitler only attacked the city through his hatred of Joseph Stalin after whom the city was named, which, ironically, was the same reason that Stalin ordered the Red Army to defend it so furiously. Thus, the Battle of Stalingrad saw the beginning of the collapse for the Wehrmacht during the Second World War.

SECOND PARAGRAPH

In 1940 in the Battle of Britain the first signs of poor leadership from Hitler emerged, which surfaced more strongly during Operation Barbarossa. Hitler planned to attack Britain and understood that, “the invasion should be postponed until the British air force had been destroyed” , so Hitler placed Hermann Göring, commander of the Luftwaffe, whose planes outnumbered the Royal Air Force four to one, in charge. The attack began on 12 August 1940 when German bombers began an assault on the, “British radar stations, aircraft factories and fighter airfields” . The battle continued for many days with the climax coming on 30/31 August when the Luftwaffe, under the direction of Göring , altered their tactics from targeting factories and airfields to cities and civilians. With airfields and radar stations being spared, the RAF was unable to be defeated. This resulted in retaliation through, “a bombing attack on Berlin” , which showed that Göring was incapable of organising a battle of such magnitude. Hitler’s idealistic and over confident views were shown again in May 1941, when he ordered his troops to invade the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa, which he thought, “would give the German Army enough time to take control of the country before the harsh Soviet winter set in” . Initially, the Wehrmacht was successful but as the Soviet winter approached, the supply lines became longer meaning that it was harder to transport goods and appropriate clothing, but he was persistent on continuing the battle. Thus, the Battle of Britain and Operation Barbarossa highlighted the fragile leadership of Hitler.

FIRST PARAGRAPH

Under Hitler’s command, an offensive attack method was developed which was termed blitzkrieg, meaning lighting war, as Hitler believed that, “wars were won by the side that could achieve the swift advance, not by great armies facing each other along deadlocked front fighting a war of attrition” , as in the First World War. The blitzkrieg followed a pattern, with the initial surprise attack coming from the Luftwaffe, then a Panzer attack with the infantry closely behind. This method of attack was successful for the Germans from 1939 to 1940, where Germany was able to conquer most of Central Europe which strengthened Germany economically as well as providing them with a consolidated geographical situation. In Hitler’s first years as the Commander in Chief, he was successful in reoccupying the Rhineland, which had been taken away from Germany under Treaty of Versailles, as well as obtaining the German areas of Czechoslovakia through the Munich Agreement of September 1938 by use of ultimatums. However, the Führer had dreams of economic expansion for Germany or Lebensraum, meaning living space, as he had described it in his political testament, Mein Kampf. Hitler intended to, “isolate Poland and to defeat it in a rapid campaign” , fully knowing that Britain and France would defend Poland if Germany invaded. Not intimidated by their possible interference, Hitler ordered the invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939, before which he stated to his military commanders, “close your hearts to pity. Act brutally. Eighty million people must obtain what is their right” . After the invasion of Poland and the declaration of war, Hitler, “ordered the full conversion of the economy to war” , realising that in order to be successful against the powers of France and Britain, a strong economy would have to support the Wehrmacht’s war efforts. In the early years of the war, Hitler was never prepared to take a defensive position and always believed in quickly and efficiently defeating the enemy, although he knew, “the idea of getting out cheaply is dangerous. There is no such possibility” . It was this mindset and his dominant personality that meant that the Wehrmacht’s initial attacks during the Second World War were highly successful. Thus, “by the summer of 1940 Hitler had achieved domination of the continent” , as a result of the Wehrmacht’s blitzkrieg approach and Hitler’s efficient and optimistic leadership as Commander in Chief.

INTRODUCTION

Many historians perceive Adolf Hitler’s leadership of the Nazi Party to be a, “fundamental influence on the course and nature of the [Second World] war” , especially after 1938 when he appointed himself as the Commander in Chief, a position he held until 1945 when he committed suicide in a Berlin bunker. Hitler appointed himself to this position after being disappointed with the efforts of the previous commander, Blomberg, and with Hitler’s new title and power, he was, “totally responsible for the conduct of the war; a powerful and organised nation was at the mercy of one man’s will” . He became known as Führer, and his, “image [was seen] as the saviour of Germany” . In the first years in this new position, Hitler gained many supporters throughout Germany and the military as he managed to release the strict rules that had been placed on Germany in the Treaty of Versailles. Moreover, with the failing leadership of the existing Weimar Republic, Hitler’s following increased even further. Ian Kershaw states that, “in his public portrayal, he was a man of the people...he embodied the triumph of true Germanic virtues” . The widespread support for Hitler began to increase with his successes in Central Europe between 1939 and 1940, however as Richard Overy stated, “the rise of Hitler was neither inevitable nor irresistible. Initially, Hitler’s ideas, including the blitzkrieg method of attack, were highly successful for Germany with the Wehrmacht conquering numerous Central European countries including Poland, Norway, France and Denmark between 1939 and 1940. As the Wehrmacht conquered Central Europe, Hitler was viewed by the majority of the German people as heroic, and as a result, many German men registered for the Wehrmacht to fight. However, Hitler and the power of Germany began to crumble in 1942 and 1943 beginning with the Battle of Stalingrad which saw the first major defeat of the Heer, which was a result of Hitler, “avoid[ing] all contact with reality” , and making judgements and decisions based on idealistic views. Although there were signs of Hitler’s failing leadership of Germany in the Battle of Britain in 1940. Furthermore, as the war progressed and Germany began to suffer numerous defeats, the heroic image of Hitler was destroyed and many people, including the military personnel on the Front Line, striving to take unrealistic objectives and forced to endure horrendous conditions, became impatient as they could see no progress was being made and they wanted to surrender to the Allies. Thus, initially Hitler was portrayed to the German people as the saviour of Germany, but in the latter stages of the war his image was tarnished with many people losing faith in his ability to lead the nation in a positive manner, especially in the role as Commander in Chief.

27 August 2010

Met with mr stewart today and tried to cut down some words, still need to work on it...
getting nervous!!

Last weeks

Just been going over and over it, adding some stuff taking some stuff out :) so general editing. Booked a meeting with Mr Stewart on Friday at lunch time to talk about the word count and everything else that I have added in. Looking good though :)

10 August 2010

Drafted the essay with Dad, he said it was good :) (quite a compliment from my dad! haha)

August 10 2010

Worked on the first 2 paragraphs, moulding them into one. And adding information about the Battle of Britain and Operation Barbarossa. Word count is still abit of an issue....

9th August 2010

Got final draft back from Mr Stewart, was better than i thought. Fixed some of the grammatical errors.

QUESTION

To what extent was Hitler a success as the C in C when he took over the active direction of World War 2?

6 August 2010

Just handed up the essay! yay!

6 August 2010

final checkpoint today! the essay is ready!
really hoping it is ok. but i have a feeling mr stewart will tear it to shreds!! oh well!!

4th August 2010

Just sent off the first full draft to Mr Stewart, hopefully will get it back tomorrow so I can correct it before the checkpoint on Friday.

Feeling good but nervous about the whole thing.

4th August 2010

Just finished the third paragraph and fixed the introduction again. Going to try and complete the other two paragraphs tonight to hand in for drafting before Friday. Got most of the other paragraphs written just need to finish and polish! Still a bit stressed so much due this Friday! but one step at a time I guess.

But I love this topic, I sat down with my father and we spoke about my grandfather (his dad) and my grandmothers roles in the second world war, turns out my grandad was probably at the Battle of the Bulge, one of the battles I am studying. It just gave me more motivation to know my own family fought in it and against Hitler.

2nd August 2010

Fixed the changes from the drafting by mr stewart and just continuing writing to get it done by Friday. Am happy with where I am, with some hard work going to get it done. Just confidence on writing essays has decreased a bit with my last couple of marks but will use mr stewarts pointers to make this one better.

21st July 2010

Forgot to post this, got my work drafted by mr stewart.