Early WWII

Hitler

Jan 1, 1935

Hitler starts to disobay the treaty of versailles. He started to build a new air force and start a military draft. European leaders decided to try to negotiate with hitler instead of enforce the treaty. European leaders had many reasons for believeing that a deal could be made with hitler.

Anschluss

Mar 12, 1938

Germany threatened to invade Austria. Austria gave up and the unification of Austria and Germany came known as the Anschluss

Munich conferance

Sep 29, 1938

Representatives of Britain, France, Germany and Italy decided to meet in Munich to decide Czechoslovakia’s fate.
Agreed to Hitler’s demands Appeasement = make concessions, Thought he had a few limited reasonable demands, Trying to avoid war and Czechoslovakia told to give up the Sudetenland

Czechoslovakia

Jan 1, 1939

Hitler next claimed an area of Czechoslovakia which had a large number of German-speaking people. France, USSR, and Great Britian all said they would declare war on Germany if they claimed Czechoslovakia

Danzig

Mar 31, 1939

Hitler demanded the city of Danzig needed to be returned to German control it had been given to Poland after WW 1 Also requested a highway and railroad across the Polish Corridor. This convince Britain and France that war was inevitable.

Nazi-Soviet Pact

Aug 23, 1939

Stalin agreed; Best way to protect the USSR was to let capitalist countries tear each other apart. Secret deal to divide Poland. World surprised because Hitler hated communists

Blitzkrieg

Sep 1, 1939

Massed tanks which overwhelmed poland. Support provided by waves of aircrafts. Poland was defeated in a little over one month.

Poland, Britain, France Sept 1, 1939

Sep 1, 1939

Germany invaded Poand and Great Britian and France declared war on Germany.

Poland fell

Oct 5, 1939

Poland falls to germany after about a month of fighting

Phony War or Bore War

Oct 13, 1939

The Phoney War was a phase early in World War II that was marked by a lack of major military operations by the Western Allies against the German Reich.

Invasion of France

May 10, 1940

Maginot Line- After WW 1 France built a line a concrete bunkers and fortifications. The French preferred to wait behind the line.
The Germans sent there troops around the Maginot line and easily crushed threw the french

Evacuation at Dunkirk

Jun 4, 1940

Germany drove British and French forces to the city of Dunkirk on coast of the English Channel. 850 ships of all kinds and sizes sailed from Britain to rescue 338,000 troops. Nearly all equipment had to be abandoned 90,000 rifles, 120,000 vehicles and 7,000 tons of ammunition

French surrender

Jun 22, 1940

Same railway car in which the Germans had surrendered World War 1. Germany occupied Northern Germany.

Battle of Britain

Jul 10, 1940

New Prime Minister Winston Churchill- Defiant, swore Britain would never surrender, fired up the British people
Battle of Britain
Luftwaffe - Germany-
Bombed non-military targets, killing civilians. Terrorize people into submission.
British Royal Air Force- Radar, and “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many”