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Hitler Begins His Mission
Hitler secretly met with his top military advises. He declared that to grow and prosper Germany needed the land of its neighbors, Austria and Czechoslovakia. -
Anschluss with Austria
German troops marched into Austria unopposed. Germany declared an Anschluss, or union, with Austria. -
Munich Agreement
Hitler claimed that the Czechs were abusing Sudeten Germans. He declared that the annexation of the Sudeten would be his last territorial demand. In order to avoid war, French premier Edward Daladier and British prime minister Neville Chamberlain signed the Munich Agreement which turned the Sutedenland over to Germany. -
Germany vs Czechoslovakia
Hitler was not done expanding the Third Reich. He sent German troops into what remaind of Czechoslovakia and took over. -
Nonagression Pact
Stalin, much to everyones suprise, signed a nonagression pact with Hitler. They committed to never attack each other. They also signed a second, secret pact, agreeing to divide Poland between them. -
Blitzkrieg in Poland
Germany used its newest military strategy, the blitzkrieg, or lighning war, to take over Poland. Blitzkrieg made use of advances in military technology such as fast tanks and more powerful aircraft to take the enemy by suprise and then quickly crush all opposition. Britain and France declared war on Germany. Poland ceased to exist and World War II began. -
The Phony War
German troops had a sitzkrieg (sitting war) with French and British troops. The French and British troops were on the Maginot Line staring into Germany and the German troops were on the Siegfred Line staring back. -
Invasion of Norway and Denmark
Hitler launched a suprise invasion of Denmark and Norway in order "to protect [those countires'] freedom and independence." That was a cover so he could build bases along the coasts to strike at Great Britain. -
The Fall of France
After days of fighting France, Germany,with Italy on its side, took over. At Compiegne, Hitler handed French officers his terms of surrender. -
The Battle of Britain
In the summer of 1940, Germany launched a naval and air attack on Britain. The Luftwaffe bombed airfields, aircraft, and cities. The RAF (Royal Air Force) fought back using rader technology.
