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End of World War 1
In 1918 defeated German generals had signed the armistice ending World War I. -
Hitler holds "The Hossbach Memoran"
On November 5, 1937, Hitler met secretly with his top military advisers. He boldly declared that to grow and prosper Germany needed the land of its neighbors. -
Germany allies with Austria
On March 12, 1938, German troops marched into Austria unopposed. A day later, Germany announced that its Anschluss, or “union,” with Austria was complete. -
Hitler starts invasion on Poland
In the spring of 1939, Hitler began his familiar routine, charging that Germans in Poland were mistreated by the Poles and needed his protection. -
Germany takes over Czechoslovakia
As dawn broke on March 15, 1939, German troops poured into what remained of Czechoslovakia. At nightfall Hitler gloated, “Czechoslovakia has ceased to exist.” -
Stalin signs a nonaggression pact with Hitler
On August 23, 1939, Stalin surprised everyone by signing a nonaggression pact with Hitler. Fascist Germany and communist Russia now committed never to attack each other. -
German terrorizes and takes over Poland
As day broke on September 1, 1939, the German Luftwaffe, or German air force, roared over Poland, raining bombs on military bases, airfields, railroads, and cities (this is known as blitzkrieg or lightning war). At the same time, German tanks raced across the Polish countryside, spreading terror and confusion. -
World War II Begins
On September 3 1939, following the terror in Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany. Major fighting was over in three weeks, long before France, Britain, and their allies could mount a defense. In the last week of fighting, the Soviet Union attacked Poland from the east, grabbing some of its territory. The portion Germany annexed in western Poland contained almost two-thirds of Poland’s population. Then, Poland had ceased to exist and World War II had begun. -
The Phony War
On April 9, 1940, Hitler launched a surprise invasion of Denmark and Norway in order “to protect [those countries’] freedom and independence.” But in truth, Hitler planned to build bases along the coasts to strike at Great Britain. Next, Hitler turned against the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, which were overrun by the end of May. The phony war had ended. -
Germany bombs Britian
The Germans began to assemble an invasion fleet along the French coast because its naval power could not compete with that of Britain, Germany also launched an air war at the same time. The Luftwaffe began making bombing runs over Britain. Its goal was to gain total control of the skies by destroying Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF). On a single day, August 15, 1940, approximately 2,000 German planes ranged over Britain. Every night for two solid months, bombers pounded London. -
Britian deters the German Invasion
On September 15, 1940, the RAF shot down over 185 German planes; at the same time, they lost only 26 aircraft. Six weeks later, Hitler called off the invasion of Britain indefinitely.
