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Austria and Czechoslovakia Fall
Hitler secretly meets with his top advisers. He planned to take over Austria and Czechoslovakia, one of his advisors protested but Hilter replied "'The German Question' can be solved only by means of force, and this is never without risk." -
Period: to
World War II
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Union with Austria
German troops marched into Austria unchallenged. A day later Germany announced that its Anschluss, union, with Austria was accomplished. The rest of the world, even the U.S. sat back and watched. -
Bargining for the Sudetenland
Daladier and Chamberlain signed the Munich Agreement, which turned the Sudetenland over to Germany without a single shot being fired. Churchill viewed the agreement as a shameful policy of appeasement, giving up principles to pacify an agressor. -
The German Offensive Begins
German troops poured into what remained of Czechoslovakia. That night hitler said “Czechoslovakia has ceased to exist." -
The Soviet Union declares Neutrality
In the Spring of 1939, Hitler claimed that Germans in Poland were mistreated by the Poles and needed his protection. An attack on Poland might bring conflict with the Soviet Union and may provoke war with France and Britain. -
Nonagression Pact
Nonagression pact is signed by Stalin and Hitler. Fascist Germany and communist Russia now committed to not attack each other. Germany and the Soviet Union also signed a second, secret pact agreeing to divide Poland between them. -
Blitzrieg in Poland
The German air force bombed military bases, airfields, railroads, and cities. Also German tanks crossed Polish countryside. The first use of the blitzkrieg military strategy took place. -
Blitzkrieg in Poland
Two days after the terror in Poland, Britain and France delcared war on Germany. -
The Phony War
Hitler launched a surprise invasion of Denmark and Norway in order “to protect freedom and independence”, but Hitler just wanted to build a base along the coasts to strike at Britain. The phony war had eneded by May. -
The Battle of Britain
The RAF shot down over 185 German planes. Six weeks later hitler called off the invasion of the Britain indefinitely. Churchhill praised the RAF saying, "was so much owed by so many to so few."
