Blitzkrieg: How Hitler's Lightning War Swallowed Europe and Ignited the Pacific (part II)

When the calendar marked the morning of September 1, 1939, German tanks crushed through the Polish border, officially igniting the great fire that would change the fate not only of Europe but of the entire world.

In this new and bloody phase of World War II, the old rules of war were completely thrown away. We will witness how entire countries and established armies were wiped off the map not in months, but in weeks or even days, through Hitler's unprecedented "Lightning War" (Blitzkrieg) tactic. The desperate struggles of Britain and France, the collapse of defence lines thought to be insurmountable, the fall of Paris, and that dark Nazi shadow descending upon all of Europe like a nightmare... If you are ready, let's take a closer look at how this ruthless war, which darkened the lives of millions, swallowed the European continent step by step.

The Invasion of Poland and the Declaration of War

On the night of August 29, 1939, Germany presented impossibly harsh diplomatic demands to Poland over the Danzig corridor. Following Poland's rejection of this blackmail, German armoured units (Panzers) crushed through the Polish border without a declaration of war on the morning of September 1, 1939.

Faced with this move, Britain and France had only one thing left to do at the diplomatic table. Receiving no response to their ultimatums demanding that Germany halt its military operations and withdraw, these two countries officially declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939. World War II had begun. Following the “Non-Aggression Pact,” while Germany battered Poland from the west, the Soviet Union simultaneously attacked from the east. The Polish army, pressed between two giants, was completely obliterated within a few weeks.

With the fall of Poland, the world irreversibly divided into two main camps:

• The Axis Powers (The Aggressors): Germany and Italy, previously united by the “Pact of Steel,” included Japan in 1940 and signed the “Tripartite Pact.” According to this agreement, they were practically dividing the title deed to the world: Germany and Italy would establish the “new order” in Europe and Africa, while Japan would be the absolute ruler of Asia.
• The Allied Powers (The Defenders): Initially consisting only of Britain and France, this front would eventually become a massive global force, first when Hitler broke the treaty and attacked the USSR (Operation Barbarossa), and later when the US entered the war following Japan's Pearl Harbour attack.

Blitzkrieg (Lightning War) and the Collapse of Europe

Hitler had no intention of stopping after Poland. The new target was the north, to establish bases for his submarines and secure iron ore; in April 1940, Norway and Denmark were occupied. Shortly after, on May 10, 1940, the German war machine turned its sights west, invading Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.

France relied heavily on its famous “Maginot Line”, a defensive line of underground bunkers designed with the trench warfare mentality of WWI and deemed impregnable. However, the German “Blitzkrieg” (Lightning War) tactic was so fast and ruthless that Panzers bypassed the Maginot Line by going through forested areas, trapping the French and British armies at the Belgian border. Trapped in a corner, 346,000 Allied soldiers were evacuated to Britain at the last moment from the beaches of Dunkerque (Dunkirk) with the help of a massive civilian naval fleet, narrowly escaping a total massacre.

Paris Falls and Britain Resists

Having lost its army and hope, it was the end of the road for France. On June 14, 1940, German troops marched right into Paris, and the great nation of France hoisted the white flag. While Germany directly occupied Northern France, the Vichy Government, a puppet of fascist Germany, was established in the south.

With France on its knees, only one country remained standing against Hitler on the European continent: Britain. To prepare for an invasion of Britain, the German air force (Luftwaffe) began relentlessly bombing every inch of the island, including the capital London, every single day. However, the German war machine was about to crash into the stubborn, iron-willed resistance of the British.

German army parade on Champs-Élysées in Paris, 1940.

Operation Barbarossa and the Eastern Front

The true purpose of the Non-Aggression Pact Hitler signed with the Soviet Union (USSR) in 1939 was not peace, but to prevent Germany from fighting a two-front war simultaneously. After crushing France in the West and driving the British off the continent, Hitler turned to his ultimate goal. Hoping to collapse the USSR with a swift campaign and then descend into the Middle East via the Caucasus oil fields, the German army launched Operation Barbarossa on June 22, 1941.

Finland, Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria also joined this massive invasion. Although German Panzers initially advanced across Soviet territory at an unstoppable pace, there was a deadly enemy Hitler had not accounted for: the ruthless Russian winter (Napoleon J). When winter hit, German troops began to freeze, supply lines broke, and their fighting capability melted away. The attacks in 1942, driven by the dream of reaching the Caucasus oil fields, also ended in failure, and German troops were forced to surrender in February 1943. This massive land battle of World War II became the beginning of the end for Germany. The USSR, which paid the heaviest price of the war by losing approximately 20 million people, doomed the Germans to retreat.

Elements of the German 3rd Panzer Army on the road near Pruzhany, June 1941

Desert Foxes and the Mediterranean: The North African Campaign

The fire of war had also spread to the African deserts. Italy, entering the war in 1940, launched an offensive to capture British-controlled Egypt (and the Suez Canal) but suffered a severe defeat. Wanting to save his ally, Hitler sent the famous commander Erwin Rommel to Africa. Although the Axis powers advanced close to Cairo, the legendary British resistance and the victory at El Alamein changed the course of the war. German and Italian armies were forced to retreat across the Western Desert. Italy's attack on Greece to descend into the Aegean also ended in frustration.

The Japanese Storm in the Pacific

In the Far East, Japan was destroying everything in its path with the motto “Asia for Asians.” The day that changed the fate of the war was December 7, 1941, when Japanese warplanes launched a devastating surprise attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbour in Hawaii. The aircraft carriers survived because they were not at the base at the time, but this raid officially awakened a sleeping giant.

The Japanese did not stop at Pearl Harbour; they attacked the Philippines on the very same day. Guam, Wake Island, Hong Kong, Malaya, Singapore, and Burma fell to Japanese occupation one after another. US and Philippine forces under the command of General MacArthur suffered heavy losses and retreated. Japan had established a massive Pacific empire threatening India and Australia.