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The Austrian Anschluss
The Austrian Anschluss is when Hitler tried to unify all German-speaking countries. Hitler originally threatened in February to invade Austria unless the Austrian Nazis were given important government posts. Germany and Austria were forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles to be unified, but Hitler went through it anyway. Austria's new chancellor tried to co-operate with Hitler as much as possible after the invasion. -
The Munich Conference
After unifying Austria and Germany, Hitler now announced claims to Sudetenland. Sudetenland, known as present day Czechoslovakia had a large German-speaking population. France and their ally Britain threatened to step in if Germany were to attack Czechoslovakia. The Soviet Union also promised to help in the event that an attack did occur. At the conference, everyone agreed to Hitler's terms in hopes to prevent another world war from occurring. -
Hitler Demands Danzig
Months after the Munich Conference, Hitler demanded that Danzig, a city that had belonged to Poland since WWI, return to German forces. At this point, French and British forces realized that war was coming. Britain then announced that if Poland were to go to war, Britain and France would step in and help Poland. Hitler then made an agreement with the Soviets so that he didn't have to fight them as well. -
The Nazi-Soviet Pact
Hitler proposed a treaty of nonaggression between Germany and the Soviets. Stalin agrees to the treaty under the terms that they would be safe from war and that Poland, once invaded by the Germans, would be split between Germany and the USSR. Most people are shocked by the news of the treaty because Nazism and communism usually do not get along with each other. Poland, France and Britain now must prepare for war now that this treaty between 2 very strong nations is formed. -
The Invasion of Poland
As predicted, Germany invaded Poland, which then lead to Britain and France declaring war on Germany 2 days later. Germany's army was way too much for the Polish to handle, and they end up losing to the Germans on September 27th. Germany used the new "blitzkrieg" technique against Poland. This technique consists of a large number of tanks pushing through enemy lines, making them fall apart and more vulnerable. -
The Fall of France
During the invasion of Poland, the British had sent forces to France where they waited at the Maginot Line for the Germans. This tactic backfired for the French and British because the Germans went around the Maginot Line. Not only did the Maginot Line fail, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg were all invaded in the same way, by the Germans going around. The French and British ultimately got stuck in Belgium and France began to fall dramatically. -
The Evacuation of Dunkirk
After all the invasions, all Allied forces were pushed towards the English channel. The only escape was through port of Dunkirk, the only port not captured by the Germans. Hitler could've easily captured the last port, but changed his mind in order to peacefully resolve the conflict. The catch was, the forces had to leave all equipment at the port, which put the allied forces at a huge disadvantage. 338,000 troops were sent home and the French later surrendered. -
The Battle of Britain
Winston Churchill delivered his famous speech saying that Britain will never surrender. Not only was this to get his country mentally prepared for what was ahead, but it was to alert the US about the issue and that they needed help. After this Germany knew it was time to invade Britain, but they knew they couldn't simply invade on land, they had to destroy their air force. Although the Germans outnumbered the British and also had bombs, the British had radars which worked in their favor.
