In this lecture, Dr. Totten argues German blitzkrieg out-maneuvered and out-fought the Allies in the early days of the war. While British forces managed to evacuate at Dunkirk, much of western Europe fell within a few months in the face of the Nazi onslaught. However, in the Battle of Britain, the Royal Air Force, aided by a few thousand radio operators and ground crews, held off the Nazis as they battled in the skies above the British Isles. Winston Churchill was right when he said this was Britain's finest hour, and showcases the power of people who come together and sacrifice for the common defense. After this failure, Hitler turned his attention East and launched Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. This would be his greatest miscalculation of the war. Army Group North soon surrounded Leningrad, modern day St. Petersburg, and fought the longest and most destructive siege in human history. Army Group Center moved towards Moscow, but the Russian winter ground the offensive to a halt, before Soviet forces counter attacked and saved the capital of Holy Mother Russia. Finally, Army Group South attacked Stalingrad, which soon became bogged down in the ruins of the city. After a counter-offensive, German forces were surrounded and forced to surrender against Hitler's orders, marking this as the single most important turning point of the Second World War.

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