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Austria and Czechoslovakia Fall
Hitler met in secret with his top military advisers, he declared to be able to prosper, Germany had to take the land of it's neighbors. He planned to take Austria and Czechoslovakia into the Third Reich. One of the advisers opposed it since taking over those countries could provoke war. Hitler replied with "The German Question" which means it can be solved only by means of force and it's never without a risk. -
Union with Austria
Austria was the first on Hitlers Hit list. Around 6 million people in Austria were Germans who had favored the idea of joining with Germany. March 12, 1938, German troops marched into Austria without any questions. Only a day later , Germany announced that it's union with Austria was complete. The United states and the rest of the world remained silent and did nothing. -
Bargaining the Sudetenland
Once Germany took control of Austria, Hitler turned towards Czechoslovakia.He wanted to obtain them so they'd have more living space for Germany as well as to control their natural resources. Early on, France and Great Britain promised to protect Czechoslovakia; Then when the war seemed inevitable, Hitler invited the French premier Edouard Daladier and British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain to lunch. During lunch Hitler announced Czechoslovakia would be his 'Last territorial demand'. -
The Munich Agreement
On September 30, 1938, Daladier and Chamberlain signed the Munich agreement, which gave Sudetenland over to Germany without any fighting.
Chamberlain said "My friends,there has come back from Germany peace with honor. I believe it is peace in our time." Winston Churchill, Didn't agree. He believed signing the Munich Agreement they adopted a shameful policy known as appeasement. He said "Britain and France had to choose between war and dishonor, they chose dishonor. They will have war." -
Such a Phony war.
For several months, after the fall of Poland, Britain and French troops on the Maginot line , sat staring into Germany waiting for something to happen. A few days later Germany started staring back. This was known as the 'sitting war' also known as 'The phony war'. During that time Stalin began annexing the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, then sent his army into Finland. After three months of fighting , the outnumbered Finns surrendered. -
Churchill was right.
March 15, 1939 , German troops poured into Czechoslovakia. Hitler gloated that they ceased to exist. After that, Hitler turned his eyes toward Poland. -
The Soviet Union declared Neutrality
Hitler began his routine over stating the Germans in Poland were being mistreated. Many thought he was bluffing due to attacking Poland could cause conflict between the Soviet Union and Germany. As well as France and Britain, who had both promised protection to Poland. Stalin surprised many by signing a nonaggression pact with Hitler. August 23, 1939 fascist Germany and Communist Russia committed to never attack each other. Soviet Union and Germany also made a secret pact to split Poland. -
World War 2 begun.
Once the sun came up on Sept 1, 1939, the German air force roared over Poland. They poured bombs on military bases, airfields, railroads, and cities. Tanks raced across the countryside, showering terror and confusion.This was their first test of 'blitzkrieg' which was known as a lighting war. On Sept 3, Britain and France declared war on Germany. In the last week of fighting the Soviet Union attacked Poland from the east, grabbing some of its territory. World War 2 begun. -
Phony war at an end
Randomly, on April 9, 1940 Hitler launched a surprise attack on Denmark and Norway in order to 'protect freedom and independence in those countries'. In truth, he planned to build bases along the coasts to strike at Great Britain.Afterwards, He turned against the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. They were overrun by the end of May. The Phony war ended. -
France and Britain against Germany
German troops trapped 400,000 British and French soldiers while they ran to the beaches of Dunkirk on the french side of the English channel. Makeshift fishing trawlers, tugboats, river barges, and pleasure crafts 800 in total, carried out 330,000 British, French, and Belgian troops to safety along the channel. -
France Surrenders
A few days later, Italy entered the war on Germany's side and invaded France from the South while Germany invaded Paris from the North.
The world watched while Hitler handed the French his terms of Surrender. Germans would occupy the northern part of France. Once France fell , French General Charles de Gaulle fled to England and set up a government in exile. He claimed "France has lost a battle, but France has not lost the war."
