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Austrian Anshcluss
Throughout Hitler's rein, he had sought out the unification of all German speaking people. However, since some had started to see through his fake diplomacy, they turned their backs to him and he believed that the only way to truly unite them was by force. So, Hitler threatened the Austrian government with invasion if they did not put Nazi austrians into important positions. The chancellor did it, but put unification to a democratic vote. Afraid of what would happen, Hitler sent troops. -
The Munich Crisis
Hitler has always taken more than he was given. In this case, even after Austria, he wanted the Sudentland; and area of Czechoslovakia that had a large German-speaking Population. However, nobody wanted him to have it. The Czechs strongly resisted, and France threatened to take action, which brought in Britain and the soviet union. They got together at the Munich Conference to decide Czechoslovakia's fate, and their appeasement of hitler eventually failed. Hitler ended up taking the Czech lands -
Hitler demands Danzig
Hitler treated Danzig somewhat differently. As opposed to taking it with pure force, he dragged out the process for as long as possible. He intended to use it as a catalyst for war with Poland. -
The Nazi-Soviet Pact
In April of 1939, Stalin propoesed an alliance with France and Britain against Germany, but there were several complications. Chamerlain did not like communist Russia, Poland would not allow Russian troops to enter their borders, and Stalin did not trust that France and Britain would resist against Germany. Secretky out of nowhere, Hitler made an alliance with Stalin promisiing to split Poland, but it didn't last long. Although Stalin hoped to avoid war, Hitler ended up breaking the pact in 1940 -
The invasion of Poland
Also known as the September Campaign, the invasion of Poland was a joint operation involving many parties. Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, Soviet Russia and the "Free City of Danzig" along with another small Slovak contingent took part in the siege. On September, 1, 1939, Nazi forces invaded from the north, south and west, marking the start to the Second World War. -
The Fall of France
Beginning on the 10th of May, 1940, Nazi Germany laid seige to France and the Low Countries. The Nazis pounded and pounded until the Nazis offered an armistice on June 10th, 1940, to which the new French Prime Minister agreed to. Afterwards, Germany and italy remained stationed in France in different areas, keeping it under Axis control until after the Allied landings in 1944. -
The Evacutation of Dunkirk
The evacuation of Dunkirk, also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, was the mass evacuation of Allied soldiers from from the beaches and harbors of Dunkirk, France. The once formidable French First Army fought in a battle against seven of Hitler's divisions, including 3 armored divisions, delaying their onslaught. On the first day, only some 7,500 men were evacuated from the beaches, but by the end of the eighth day, over 300,000 Allied troops were rescued. -
The Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain was the name given to the defense of the UK's land against the German onslaught that raged on in Europe. Although different countries regard different dates for these battles, there is no question that this was the largest scale battle in history fought entirely by air. By preventing the Germans from gaining air superiority, they stopped a both amphibious and airborne attack called "Operation Sea Lion" which may have lost them the war.
