Germanexpansion

German Expansion

  • Austria and Czechoslovakia Fall

    Austria and Czechoslovakia Fall
    Hitler secretly met in Britain with his top military advisers to declare Germany needed more land in order to prosper and grow. His plan was to absorb Germany's neighbors, Austria and Czechoslovakia, and war was not a concern.
  • Union with Austria

    Union with Austria
    Majority of Austria's people favored German unification. Germany marched into Austria and later that day announced their unification.
  • Bargaining for Sudetenland

    Bargaining for Sudetenland
    Hitler met with France and Britain and declared Sudetenland would be "his last demand." Prime ministers agreed in order to avoid war and signed the Munich Agreement without a single shot fired.
  • German Offense Begins

    German Offense Begins
    German troops poured into Czechoslovakia, made it "cease to exist," and moved into Poland.
  • Soviet Union Declares Neutrality

    Soviet Union Declares Neutrality
    After the Nonaggression Act was signed by Stalin and Hitler, Germany and Russia committed to not attacking each other again. Germany and the Soviet Union agreed to split Poland.
  • Blitzkrieg in Poland

    Blitzkrieg in Poland
    German air force roared over Poland, while German tanks covered the country side. This strategy is known as lightning war, or a blitzkrieg.
  • Start of WW1

    Start of WW1
    Britain and France declared war on Germany. Germany used the blitzkrieg tactic again which worked very well. They made Poland cease to exist and World War 1 began.
  • The Phony War

    The Phony War
    Hitler launched a surprise invasion on Denmark and Norway and then turned against the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg.
  • Fall of France

    Fall of France
    Hitler handed the French officers his terms to surrender. Germans took control of North France and a Nazi controlled government would remain in South France.
  • Battle of Britain

    Battle of Britain
    Germans began to assemble an invasion fleet across the French coast. They also launched air war over Britain creating the Battle of Britain.
  • Battle of Britain

    Battle of Britain
    The RAF shot down over 185 planes, lost 26 aircraft. Germany and Britain were relentless. Finally, six weeks later Hitler called off the battle.