Early Events of World War 2

  • The Austrian Anschluss

    The Austrian Anschluss
    -First in 1937 hitler wanted all german speaking people tobecome united even in other countries.
    -This leto him threatening to invade austria in february 1938 so the chancellor would give in to his demands
    -The chancellor gave in, but then decided to let the country vote on the matter
    -Hitler feared it would backfire, so he sent his troops in and announced the unification of Austria and Germany
  • The Munich Conference

    The Munich Conference
    -This was a settlement permitting Nazi Germany's annexation of portions of Czechoslovakia along the country's borders mainly inhabited by German speakers
    -Representatives from Germany, France, United Kingdom, and Italy came together to discuss and sign
  • Hitler Demands Danzig

    Hitler Demands Danzig
    -A month after the Munich Conference, Hitler demanded to get control of Danzig, a primarily German speaking country, be returned to Germany after being Poland territory since World War One
    -These demands that Hitler gave to France and Britain made the concept of war inevitable
    -Britain announced that them and France would aid Poland when they go to war for their land
    -In May 1939, Hitler announced that Germany was to invade Poland
  • The Nazi-Soviet Pact

    The Nazi-Soviet Pact
    -Germany proposes treaty with the Soviets
    -Stalin agrees with the hope that capitalist nations will turn on each other
    -Germany and the USSR signed the treaty in August 1939 and the entire world was shocked
    -It was thought Hitler did this deal so he would be freed from war with Britain and France
    -This treaty secretly agreed to divide Poland between Germany and the USSR
  • The Invasion of Poland

    The Invasion of Poland
    -On this date Germany invaded Poland
    -On the third, two days later, France and Britain declared war on Germany
    -Poland attempted to resist and fight Germany but they were no match to Germany’s army and tools including a new type of warfare “blitzkrieg”
    -This type of fighting used tanks to run right through the opposing army
    -In addition to that the Germans also used aircrafts to drop paratroopers on the line of Poland’s army
    -The capital of Poland, Warsaw, fell to Germany on September 27
  • The Fall of France

    The Fall of France
    -As Poland was being invaded, France sat waiting for Germany to come, along with American troops
    -They were being more defensive and this lead to Germany being able to plan an attack and they decided to go around the Maginot Line, a wall built along the French and German border
    -Germany went around by entering through the French and Belgium border
    -Germany attacked on May 10, using blitzkrieg and parachuters
    -France and Britain went to retreat but were closed in, trapped in Belgium
  • The Evacuation of Dunkirk

    The Evacuation of Dunkirk
    -After Germany had the allied forces trapped, they started to force them toward the English Channel
    -By water was the only way for France and Britain to escape
    -However Hitler had all the ports captured except for Dunkirk
    -They started to evacuate and were expecting to only have 45,000 troops survive but in total 338,000 troops survived
    - The evacuation was a success but all of Britains and Frances equipment was left at Dunkirk
    -This led to the surrender of France to Germany three weeks later
  • The Battle of Britain

    The Battle of Britain
    -In August Germany accidentally bombed London the capital of Britain which enraged British civilians
    -As a surprise to Hitler, as nobody had ever bombed his capital, Britain dropped bombs on Berlin
    -Germany responded by bombing London again in a plan to have the British people surrender
    - Britain had advanced technology that helped them be prepared
    -They used radars to see when Germany was flying in
    -After going back and forth with bombs, Hitler canceled the invasion on October 12, 1940