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Germany Invades Czechoslovakia
This invasion violated what Hitler had promised. Previously, Hitler had reassured all the other countries at the Treaty of Munich, that he after he was given a large portion of Czechoslovakia (the sudetenland) he would not ask for anything else. However, he kept on invading czechoslovakia and soon took over the whole country. After this happened, Britain, France and Poland made a pact that stated if Polan was attacked, they would delcare war on Germany. -
Nazi-Soviet Pact
The Nazi-Soviet pact was an agreement signed by Russia and Germany saying that there would be no warfare between the two countries and if either party was attacked by a third party, the other would step in. It also stated that neither country would join a group that was aimed at the other. Also, within the pact there were secret protocols that stated that the two countries would divide up Poland. This pact allowed Germany to invade Poland without fearing that the Russians would attack them. -
Invasion of Poland
On September 1, 1939, the German army invaded Poland, defeating their army within weeks. Because the Soviet-Nazi pact was made, Germany didn't have to worry about the Soviet Union intervening in their attack. The German army was equiped with 2,000 tanks, and over 1,000 planes and they advanced toward Warsaw in an encirclement attack. Warsaw quickly surrendered to Germany.This attack was the first of many attacks to come in the war. -
Canada Enters War
Canada remained netural in the war for the first bit. However, about one week after Britain declared war on Germany, Canada followed suit. 730,000 men and women served in the army, 260,000 served in the air force and 115 000 served in the navy. Canada distinguished themselves in many aspects of the war, and did well defending their ally. -
Phoney War
This war, was considered the Phoney war because in September everyone declared war on eachother, but until May 1940, nothing really significant happened. No one attacked anyone, but in May Germany attacked belgium and holland. -
Invasion of Norway and Denmark
Norway was allowing German cargo to go through Norway on its way to Germany and they were keeping it safe to keep on Hitler's good side. However, when Norway allowed a British destroyer to board a German transport, Hitler decided he needed to invade and acted quickly once hearing Britain had the same idea. Once Norway was invaded, Germany decided that they wanted control of the North Sea and began to attack Denmark. -
The Invasion of France
The German's wanted to control Europe, so they proceeeded to attack France whom they were at war with. To do this, the German forces had to invade the "low countries" to get around the Maginot line. -
The Fall of France
Once the German's got into Paris, the main city in France, the French surrendered right away. They began retreating with the British and Canadian forces towards Dunkirk, in whic the Miracle at Dunkirk happened. -
Invasion of Holland and Belgium
The invasion of Holland and Belgium occured on Germany's way to attacking France on that very same day. Because France had forts lined up on the Maginot line, Germany had to find another way of getting into France. To do this, he went through Holland and Belgium, completely taking over their countries. This led them straight to France and the invasion. -
The Miracle at Dunkirk
As the French surrendered and began backing off with their allied forces toward Dunkirk, the Germans kept follwing them and trying to make more attacks. As the German's crept forward, a large fleet of ships filled with escaping soldiers came towards Dunkirk and helped 130,000 allied soldiers leave France. Hitler thought that he was overextending his armies, and so he was afraid that they were going to get counterattacked. Thus, he hatled his armies. -
The Battle of Britain
This battle was all in the air. Initially Germany was winning the battle of Britain because they were bombing the British airfields. Soon, Germany started bombing the cities, giving the British time to rebuild their airfields. Because the airforce was Britains strongest part of their defence, once it was up and running again Britain was able to defeat Germany. If Britain hadn't of won this war, it would have given Germany complete takeover. -
Operation Barbarossa
This was the code name for the German invasion of the Soviet Union. The Germans invaded all the way to Moscow, but Hitler felt that he would win the invasion within 4 months, but the Russians fought back harder than he thought, and stopped him in Decemeber. The German armies then had to stay in Russia over the winter which they were unable to handle without the proper equipment. -
Attack on Pearl Harbour
The Attack on Pearl Harbour was an attack made by German's allies, the Japanese. The Japanese planned to attack pearl harbour and aim for the US carriers fleet. However, when they reached Pearl Harbour, these ships were not there. The Japanese did sink some ships, but not the ones they were aiming for, and because of this the Americans delcared war on the Japaneses and Germany. -
Nazi Occupation of Europe and the Mediterranean in 1942
