-
The Austrian Anschluss
On this day, Hitler called for the unification of all German speaking people. This included Austria and Czechoslovakia. He believed that Germany could expand its territory by ¨resorting to force with its attendant risks.¨ He first threatened to invade Austria unless Austrian Nazis were given important gov posts. Austria eventually agreed. -
The Munich Conference
Representatives from countries such as Britain, France, Italy, and Germany have all met in Munich to decide the fate of Czechoslovakia. Both Britain and France agreed to Hitler´s demands, that became known as appeasement. -
Hitler Demands Danzig
Hitler demanded the city of Danzig a month after the Munich Conference.It had been bart of Poland since World War I despite being more than 90 percent German. His new demands showed Britain and France that war was inevitable. -
The Nazi-Soviet Pact
Stalin agreed when German officials proposed a nonaggression pact with the Soviets. He thought turning the capitalist nations against each other was the best way to protect the USSR. Germant would go to war with Britain and France if the treaty worked, thus ensuring the USSR´s safety. The signing of this pact shocked the world. Communism and Nazism were supposed to be against each other. -
The Invasion of Poland
Two days after the invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany.Poland bravely fought the Germans, but its army was outdated. The Polish rode horces and had lances while Germany had tanks. Also, the Germans used a new type of warfare called Blitkrieg, meaning ¨lightning war.¨ This type of war used large numbers of tanks to break through and encircle enemy positions. To support the tanks, they bombed enemy positions and dropped paratroopers.The Polish army stood no chance. -
Fall of France pt.2
Belgium and Luxembourg. Britian and France both anticipated the attack. As soon as it started, British and French forces rushed north into Belgium. The Germans sent their main forces through the Ardennes Mountains of Luxembourg and Eastern Belgium, instead of sending their tanks through the countryside of Central Belgium. The French left that side open and barely guarded. Germans smashed through French lines, thus making it into France. French forces couldn't make it back in time, losing France. -
The Fall of France
Western Europe was weirdly quiet, contrasting the situation in Poland.Germans called it "sitzkrieg," meaning sitting war. British nicknamed it the "Bore War," and American newspapers dubbed it "Phony War." British sent troops to France and waited for Germany to attack. Hitler decided to go around the Maginot Line, built in France after WWI. To get around it, Germans would have to go through the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxenbourg first. They did exactly that, rolling a fleet of tanks into -
The Evacuation of Dunkirk
Germans made their way to the English Channel after trapping the Allied forces in Belgium. Hitler ordered German forces to stop just as they started to approach Dunkirk. He wanted to wait until more infantry came. His order provided the time the British needed to escape. About 850 ships of all sizes ventured to Dunkirk to aid the Allies. The British hoped tosave about 45,000 troops, but actually ended up saving and estimated 338,000 of them. -
The Battle of Britain
Knowing Britain won't retire, Hitler told his commanders to prepare to invade. Getting across the English Channel proved to be a big problem for Germany. They had a few transport ships, which Britain would sink if they tried to invade. in June, German "Luftwaffe," or air force, began to attack British shipping. Later, in August, they launched an all out air battle to destroy the Royal Air Force. This battle lasted until the fall of 1940.
