Hitler assumed his air force could defeat Britain alone because it was able to do so in the Battle of France; thus, he was given a false idea of how powerful his air force was. Basing his air force's success off of the Battle of France, a battle against a nation extremely unprepared in comparison, was foolish on Hitler's part. Hitler thought the power of his Luftwaffe would cause Britain to surrender and come to him in negotiation. Also, Hitler's success using the 'Blitz' strategy in France lead him to believe his air force could do the same and easily take down Britain with the same ease and quickness.
2. What factor, in your opinion, was the most important in Britain's victory in the Battle of Britain?
In my opinion, Britain's revolutionary new warning system, the radar was the most important factor in Britain's victory over Germany in the Battle of Britain. The radar gave them a military advantage over Germany, something Germany usually had. It allowed Britain's RAF to locate the incoming enemy. The radar would show when an enemy aircraft was within 120 km. This really helped the British win the battle because it meant they didn't have to use some of the RAFs as patrol air crafts, looking for the enemy instead of fighting them. Having more planes to fight Germany gave Britain an advantage in numbers. Also, the radar system allowed them to be better prepared for an enemy attack.
3. Why did Hitler invade into the Balkans and why was this significant?
Hitler invaded the Balkans due to Mussolini's failure in do so himself. Italy was an ally to Germany and thus Germany rushed into the Balkans in order to assist their ally. Hitler's invasion into the Balkans is of high significant because in assisting Mussolini in Greece Hitler was forced to delay his attack on the USSR by a crucial six weeks. These six weeks were so crucial and ultimately decided the outcome of the war because it impacted the chances of the Germany army reaching Moscow before the harsh Russian winter arrived (which they did not and thus let the Russian army launch a counter-offensive).
4. What were Hitler's motives for attacking the USSR?
Hitler attacked the USSR in hopes of gaining more territory, or living space, for the German people. The natural resources the USSR provided, including oil, were vast and would certainly help in Hitler's dream of expanding the German race. However, Hitler's main motive for attacking the USSR was ideological. Hitler strongly wanted to destroy a country that was not only filled with people inferior in his eyes, the Slavs, but also filled with communists. Hitler believed communism was one of the greatest threats to German society and culture, and thus must be destroyed.
5. What factors slowed the initial blitzkrieg of Russia?
In the very beginning Britain's refusal to make peace with Germany slowed Hitler's plans for Russia. However, frustrated at the delay, Hitler finally decided to leave Britain undefeated. He believed Britain would not be in a strong enough position to launch a second front and the USSR would be easily defeated.
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