-
Period: to
Before and During WW2
-
Third Reich
Hitler first met with his top military advisers. Hitler thought the only way Germany can grow was to take the land of the surrounding countries especially those that spoke German. This belief was called Anshiuss. That made him want to make Austria and Czechoslovakia into the Third Reich. -
Austria
Hitler marched into Austria and took it over. Austria did not fight back. The League of Nations did nothing. -
The Munich Agreement
Hitler, Édouard Daladier (French leader), and Neville Chamberlain (Britain leader) signed the Munich Agreement. The Munich Agreement allowed Germany to take over Sudetenland without a fight. Not everybody liked this agreement. Winston Churchill called it an appeasement or a way of giving up principles to pacify an aggressor. -
Czechoslovakia
Germany took over the rest of Czechoslovakia. -
Nonaggression Pact
Germany and the Soviet Union signed a Nonaggression Pact. The Nonaggression Pact stated that Germany and the Soviet Union would never fight each other. It also divided Poland in half, each country taking half of it. -
Poland
Germany started to bomb Poland with their air force or Luftwaffe. They used a strategy called blitzkrieg or lightning way. This strategy was meant to catch an enemy by surprise. -
War
Britain and France declared war on Germany. This was called a “Phony War” or sitzkrieg because no fighting happened. Troops just sat on the Maginot Line. -
Denmark and Norway
Germany launched a surprise attack on Denmark and Norway. He planned to build bases on these new territories. -
France
France surrendered to Germany. Charles de Gaulle, a French general, fled to England to set up a “Government in exile”. -
Germany vs Britain
Britain was being bombed by Germany every single night for two months. Germany was hoping to get rid of Britain’s Royal Air Force. Germany used about 2,000 airplanes every night. -
Britain v Germany
Britain was able to fight back Germany. On this specific day they shot down 185 German planes and only lost 26 planes.