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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. The tradition of the German General Staff dated back to the leadership of what nation?

2. Where did Rommel believe the Allies would make their major amphibious invasion?

3. Which of the following does NOT correctly describe the Waffen-SS?

4. Guderian compared Hitler to what other famous historical leader?

5. What did von Kluge attempt to do to Guderian?

Short Essay Questions

1. How well did Himmler fare as the leader of Army Group Vistula?

2. According to Guderian, how did Hitler come to power?

3. Describe the political structure of Germany during the war, according to Guderian.

4. Why was Guderian relieved from his command after the failed attack on the fortress?

5. What problem limited production in Germany in 1943?

6. What defensive mistakes did Hitler constantly make during the allied advances in Europe?

7. What major attack did Hitler order for Army Group Vistula during the events of Chapter 12?

8. What special authority did Guderian seek from general Schmundt?

9. What factors caused the German General Staff to adopt strategies for motorized and tank warfare?

10. What happened when the Russians invaded German-allied Romania?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The allied landing at Normandy was the largest amphibious invasion in history. The allies took great care to conceal the final location of their attack and to prepare the French coastline for their invasion. For their part, the Germans made many mistakes in assessing the allied invasion and suffered serious setbacks when the allies achieved air superiority.

1) Describe the German plan for the defense of occupied France. Who was in charge of this defense? Was this general well-suited for his task? What special preparations did he make?

2) Explain how allied air superiority affected the German plans for defense of the coastline.

3) Discuss the German response to the invasion. What mistakes were made in this response? Why did Rommel believe the real attack would come elsewhere? Why were German armored units unable to respond and attack the allied beachhead?

Essay Topic 2

In general, Hitler executed brilliant strategies for the invasion of multiple nations in Europe and achieved military successes almost unrivaled in history. However, he eventually became a victim of his own ambition and failed to adapt to a changing environment in the war. His unrealistic strategic goals in Russia led to the defeat of the German army and the eventual collapse of the Third Reich.

1) Describe the strategic goals in the invasion of Poland and the tactical means employed in order to accomplish them.

2) Explain the final plan that was developed for the invasion of France. Discuss how the channel ports were seized and why they were important strategic goals as well as explaining how the French army was encircled and defeated.

3) Discuss Hitler's plan for the invasion of Russia and list and explain the specific strategic goals of the invasion. Discuss the importance of the decision to attack Kiev instead of Moscow.

Essay Topic 3

The German high command considered the invasion of France carefully, discussing several possible plans of attack. The final plan proved to be phenomenally effective and resulted in the quick routing of French and allied forces and the eventual annexation of most of France.

1) Discuss the major plans considered by the German high command for the invasion of France.

2) Explain Guderian's suggestions for the planning of this invasion, and discuss why these suggestions were unorthodox but effective.

3) Summarize the course of the German invasion of France, including a discussion of Guderian's personal involvement.

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This section contains 909 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample