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The Austrian Anschuluss
Hitler threatened to invade German-speaking Austria unless Austrian Nazis were given important government posts. Austria's chancellor gave in to this demand, but then tried to put the matter of unification with Germany to a democratic vote. Lastly, Hitler sent troops into Austria in March and announced the Anschluss, or unification of Austria and Germany, -
The Munich Conferance
Hitler announced German claims to the Sudetenland, an area of Czechoslovakia. Czechs resisted the demand. Threats came from France if Germany attacked Czechoslovakia Representatives from Britain, France, Italy, and Germany came together at the Munich Conference to discuss it's fate. To avoid war, they gave into Hitler's demands. This was called appeasement, which quickly failed to preserve the fragile peace. Germany sent troops into Czechoslovakia and divided the country. -
Hitler Demands Danzig
Once again, Hitler has a demand. He has demanded that the city of Danzig be returned to Germany from Poland. He also requested a highway and railroad across the Polish Corridor. With all these demands, Britain and France figured out that war was inevitable. The two countries announced that if Poland went to war, they would come to their aid. This announcement encouraged Poland not to fall into Hitler's demands. Hitler ordered the German army to prepare for the invasion of Poland. -
The Nazi-Soviet Pact
To keep the USSR safe, the nonagreesion pact signed by Germany and the USSR shocked the world. However, leaders in Britian and France understood that Hitler made the deal to free himself for war against the countries and Poland. They did not know the treaty also contained a secret deal to divide Poland between Germany and the Soviet Union. -
The Invasion Of Poland
On September 1st, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. Just as Britian and France said, they came to Poland's aid. They had declared war on Germany. WWII had begun. -
The Fall Of France
After the declaration of war, Britain and France waited for battle. The French waited behind the Maginot Line for the Germans to approach, but Hitler went around the Maginot Line which protected France's border with Germany but not France's border with Belgium. As soon as the German attack began, Britain and France forces raced north into Belgium. The Germans sent their main forces through the Ardennes Mountains of Luxembourg and Eastern Europe. Germans smashed through the French Lines. -
The Evacuation of Dunkirk
Britian and France now had to figure out how to evacuate their surviving troops. As Germans forces closed in on Dunkirk, Hitler ordered them to stop. It's still unknown for this order, but this gave a three day delay. This gave time for Britian to strengthen their lines and begin evacuation. this had saved 338,000 troops. -
The Battle Of Britian
The German air force, called the Luftwaffe, began to attack British shipping in the English Channel. In mid-August, the Luftwaffe launched an all out air battle to destroy the Royal Air force.
