Pages 146-149 WWII in Europe

1. Why did Hitler assume that his airforce could defeat Britain alone?
1.  There was the perceived idea that Germany had better aircraft that would prove more successful and dominate the Royal Air force; however, this was a misjudgement - the planes were excellent fighters but had limited fuel. Plus, his main goal was to get some form of peace agreement in the first place, so he possibly had the intention of just getting them tired enough to give in and make a deal.
2. What factor, in your opinion, was the most important in Britain's victory in the Battle of Britain?
1. The most important factor was the strategic errors made by Hitler. His choice to move his attention away the airfields and into the city not only allowed them time to prepare, repair, and bounce back, as the reading says, but also magnified the weaknesses of the fuel usage by the Germany fleet. In turn, it helped emphasize how they were impaired by using bases in their newly conquered territories instead of their home bases that had long been adapted to the needed usage.
3. Why did Hitler invade into the Balkans and why was this significant?
1. Hitler joined the Italian invasion into the Balkans because Mussolini was not going to succeed in his aims due to Allie involvement. When Hitler entered into the area, it impaired the Allie efforts (especially since it also weakened North Africa for Rommel to continue moving). With that said, it also served as an impairment to Germany for how it postponed the attack on the USSR.
4. What were Hitler's motives for attacking the USSR?
1. He viewed the nation as being inferior to the German people (ie. Salvs) and adopted the international hatred for the Communist ideology. In fact, the whole idea of Communism is what Hitler perceived as the biggest threat to his burgeoning German culture and ideal. Due to this, it had been his intent of the war the entire time; he just had to deal with France and Britain first to avoid unforeseen conflicts that would impair his plans.
5. What factors slowed the initial blitzkrieg of Russia?
1. The factors that impaired the initial Blitzkrieg of Russia were numerous. For one, Great Britain would not forfeit into a peace agreement as Hitler had hoped; instead they had to endure the long Battle of Britain. Likewise, the failure of Mussolini in the Balkans and Egypt meant that Hitler had to support his Allie and pushed back plans even further. With that said, these events that slowed down the initial attack from occurring meant that the time window was smaller and allowed for the USSR to be slightly more prepared than they would have been (not because they listened to warnings, but because they were slowly rebuilding their military status in general).