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Germany's Union with Austria
Hitler's first target was the small nation of Austria. The treaties of peace following World War I created Austria from a section of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but it was filled with a German speaking majority that supported unification with Germany. In March of 1938 Germany marched its troops into Austrian land unopposed and with only a wait of a single day declared Germany and Austria to have unionized under the German flag. Not a single country worldwide had an official reaction. -
Bargaining for the Sudetenland
Hitler's next target was the Sudetenland, an area governmend by the country of Czechoslovakia but filled with German speaking citizens. The Sudetenland was a mountainous region full of important strategic resources, and it also served as a barrier between Germany and Czechoslovakia. Although both France and Great Britain promised Czechoslovakia protection, they backed down in a deal with Germany where Hitler promised that the Sudetenland would be his last territorial demand. 'The Munich Agreemen -
The Soviet Union Declares Neutrality
Similar to both Czechoslovakia and Austria, Germany's neighbor Poland also was home to many German speakers. Hitler, now with his sights set for Poland, began accusing the Polish of abusing the German speakers of their country. Many more defensive strategists in Germany saw flaws in Hitler's plans, and advised against invading Poland, seeing as how Germany would be forced into a war on two fronts with Russia, France, and Great Britain. Unfortunately for Poland, Stalin signed an NAP with Germ -
Blitzkrieg in Poland
Germany raided Poland on September 1, 1939 bombing their military bases, airfields, railroads, and cities. They also invaded the countryside causing lots of turmoil. The blitzkrieg was Germany’s newest military strategy which was to take the enemy by surprise and quickly crush them with overwhelming force. These tactics turned out to be very successful. -
The Phony War
French and British troops sat on along the Maginot Line staring at the Germans who also sat along the Siegfried Line because there hadn’t been much to defend. The Germans had called it the sitting war but others referred to it as the phony war. It started in September 1939. Each side basically sat there anticipating the enemies’ next move. By the end of May, the phony war had ended. -
The Fall of France
Days after 330,000 British, French, and Belgian soldiers were shipped off to safety, Italy entered the war and France was invaded by Germany. On June 22nd, Hitler surrendered. As France fell, the Northern part was taken over by Germans and the southern part was under Nazi Government control. -
The Battle of Britain
In the summer of 1940 Germans began to invade the French Coast, assembling an air war as well. Every night consisted of bombings all over Britain. On September 15, Britain began to fire back and wiped out over 185 German planes. Hitler called off the invasion of Britain just weeks later.
