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1935 Hitler
In 1935, Hitler began ignoring the Treaty of Versaillles. He tested their strength and then he started to build up the Military in Germany. -
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WWII Time Period
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Anschluss
This was the annexation of Austria and Germany by Hitler. This was in contrast with the Anschluss movement, which had been attempted since as early as 1918 when the Republic of German-Austria attempted union with Germany but was forbidden by the Treaty of Saint Germain and Treaty of Versailles peace treaties. -
Czechoslovakia
HItler took a part of Czechoslovakia which became known as the Sudetenland. Hitler wanted to have this land because it was mostly german land. The land was very important because it was a very industrial area for WWII. -
Munich Conference
Was the settlement that allowed Nazi Germany to annexation of portions of Czechoslovakia. The decision was made in Munich, which is why the name became Munich Conference. Hitler promised no further aggression by Germany this was unsuccessful. -
Nazi-Soviet Pact
An agreement that Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union would not attack eachother. Germany signing this meant that they didn't have to fight a two-front war. The pact was broken once Nazi Germany attacked them two years later on June 22, 1941. -
Poland Fell
The German army launched assault across the polish border. The campaign ended on 6 October 1939 with Germany and the Soviet Union dividing and annexing the whole of Poland. -
Poland, Britain, France
Germany invaded Poland with nearly 1.5 million troops. Two days later Poland declared war. This was the start of WWII. -
Blitzkrieg
It was called the "Lightning War". It required movable weapons to better their war efforts such as tanks and different planes. It was the start of World War II in Europe and Germany wanted a series of short wars. -
Phony and Boer War
The Phoney War refers to what happened in Western Europe between September 1939 and the spring of 1940. To assume that nothing was going on in Europe would be wrong as Poland was in the process of being occupied with all that brought for the Polish people. In Western Europe very little of military importance did take place. So little occurred that many of the children who had been evacuated at the start of the war, had returned to their families. -
Danzig
This was when Germany annexed Danzig after the defeat of Poland. Danzig was not controlled by the French and Danzig had little to to with Communism. It also had nothing to do with resources. Danzig was important to Germany because it provided access to the Baltic Sea for transportation. -
Evacuation of Dunkirk
It gave the British and their Allies time to regroup, retrain, re-arm and go back and win the war. If the Germans had captured all the troops at Dunkirk, most the British Army would have been there and we possibly might not have won the war. -
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain prevented the Germans from invading. The strength of the Royal Navy was another factor, and even if the Germans had landed in Britain it was by no means a foregone conclusion that they would succeed in invading. -
French Surrender
The Armistice is signed on June 22. Under its terms, two thirds of France is to be occupied by the Germans. The French army is to be disbanded. In addition, France must bear the cost of the German invasion. -
Invasion of France
France formally surrendered to Germany and Italy. The Maginot Line dominated French military thinking in the inter-war years. The Maginot Line was a vast fortification that spread along the French/German border but became a military liability when the Germans attacked France in the spring of 1940 using blitzkrieg.
