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The Austrian Anschluss
In late 1937, Hilter called for the unification of all German-speaking countries. He believed they could expand its territory only by "resorting(ing) to force with its attendant risks." In February of 1938, Hitler threatened Austria that he would invade unless Austrian Nazis were given important government posts. The Chancellor gave into this demand but afterwards he put the matter of unification to a democratic vote. Hitler, being feared of the outcome, sent troops on March 12, 1938. -
The Munich Conference
German wanted to claim the Sudetenland. Czechosolovakia strongly resisted and France even threatened to attack German if they continued. Britain pledged support to France but Soviet Union promised aid to Germany. On Sept. 29, 1938, Italy, France, Britain, and Germany agreed to meet in Munich to decide Czech's fate. They came up with a policy called Appeasement which limited Hitler's demands hoping war would not occur. But in March of 1939, Hitler broke the policy and divided Czechoslovakia. -
Hitler Demands Danzig
Danzig, a city that was more than 90% German, was taken away from Germany to Poland after WW1. A month after the Munich Conference, Hitler started demanding the citty back. After his new demands came out, Britain and France knew war was inevitable. on March 31, 1939 Britain announced that they along with France with aid Poland if Germany were to attack. Hitler told his troops to get ready to invade Poland as well as he told his Foreign Minister begin negotiations with the USSR. -
The Nazi-Soviet Pact
Stalin knew that if he was to sign the Pact, the USSR would be safe when Germany went to war with Britain and France. On August 23, 1939, the Pact was signed and shocked the world. What no one knew however was the treaty contained a secret deal to divide Poland between Germant and the Soviet Union. -
The Invasion of Poland
On Sept 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. 2 days later, Britain and France declared war on Germany. Poland was brave enough to resist Germany's onslaught, but Poland's army was completely outdated. Their army rode horses and carried Lances against Germany tanks. Germans also used Blitzkrieg, a new type of fast pace war. On September 27, 1939 the capital of Warsaw fell to the Germans. By October 5, 1939, Germany had defeated the Polish Military. -
The Fall of France
After the Invasion of Poland, it went quiet for a while. After World War 1, France built the Maginot Line along the German border to help protect itself against Germany. France did not want to risk attacking Germany so they settled behind the line waiting for Germany to approach. This helped Germany as they just decided to go through Belgium so Germany didn't have the line there. When Germany invaded Belgium, France and Britain sent its troops there, leaving Germany an open door to invade. -
The Evacuation of Dunkirk
Due to the invade of France by Germany, it left French and British troops trapped in Dunkirk, Belgium. They were being pushed back every day more and more towards the English channel. When they finally reached it, the deck at Dunkirk had been taken over by Germany. When Germany was ready to destroy the troops, Hilter ordered them to stop. While they stopped attacking for 3 days, Britain strengthen its navy to resure the soldiers. By those 3 days, around 338,000 troops were saved. -
The Battle of Britain
After the events that have happened, Winston Churchill became the Prime Minister of Britain. Hitler got ready to invade Britain knowing they wouldn't surrunder. but he knew Britain's airforce and navy could beat Germany's transports. Germany started bombing the ships and aircrafts and London. Though Britain was outnumbered, they had an advantage of having Radar. With radar, they were able to take down every aircraft from Germany and on October 12, 1940, Hitler called off the invasion.