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Hitler declared that to grow and prosper Germany needed to absorb Austria and Czechoslovakia.
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Hitler annexed Austria without resistance, declaring Anchluss (union) with Austria.
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Hitler claimed that the Germans in Czechoslovakia were being abused, and through political persuasion annexed the Sudetenland.
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Hitler invaded and annexed Czechoslovakia and gloated that "Czechoslovakia has ceased to exist."
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The Soviet Union and Germany sign a nonaggression pact and create a plan to divide Poland among themselves.
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In what was known as a blitzkrieg or lightning war, Germany quickly invaded Poland before any of its allies could mount a defense. The Soviet Union also grabbed a portion of Poland.
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In response to the invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the blitzkrieg, they could not mount a counter-offense in time.
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Hitler invaded Denmark and Norway under the guise of protecting their freedom and independence, but planned to use them to build bases to attack Great Britain. Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia and Finland were invaded in late 1939 as well by the Soviet Union. The Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium were also overrun in late May of 1940
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Hitler successfully defeated France, directly annexing the north and setting up a puppet in the south. General Charles de Gaulle fled to England and set up a government-in-exile.
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In an attempt to circumvent Britain's naval superiority, Hitler bombed London and British airfields every night for two months with 2,000 planes.
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Due to losses against the British RAF, Hitler called off the invasion indefinitely, However, both sides continued to bomb the others' cities.
