-
Plans to Grow and Prosper
In secret, Hitler met with many of his top military advisers. Hitler declared that for Germany to grow and prosper. They needed more land. He planned to take Austria and Czechoslovakia. -
Siezing Austria
Hitler's plan to gain more land started, and his eyes first drew to Austria. It was a small country created by The Paris Peace Conference from what was left of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Most Austrians were Germans who favored the unification with Germany, so when the German troops marched in on this date, they took over with ease. Other countries did nothing about it. -
Munich Agreement
The next part of Hitler's plan was to annex Czechoslovakia for more living space and resources for Germany. They started provoking Czechoslovakia with lies. Hitler invited the French premier, Edouard Daladier, and the British prime minister, Neveille Chamberlain,(they promised to protect Czech) to Munich to sign an agreement for what he said would be his last territorial demand when war was about to start. The Munich Agreement easily handed over Sudetenland to Germany without any harm being done -
The Germans Continue On
Hitler was not satisfied yet with the amount of land he had already gained. On this date, he ordered German troops into the rest of Czechoslovakia and took over. Hitler then set his eyes on more land, Poland. -
Soviets and Germans Create a Pact
Tensions rose over Poland. Hitler wantied to take over, but the Soviet Union was right next to it which could create a problem. And then there was also the possibility of of war starting with France and Britain who promised military aid to Poland. Hitler then signed a nonaggresion pact with Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union, committing to never attack each other. They then secretly signed a pact splitting Poland between them, avoiding a two-front war. -
Blitzkreig in Poland
The German air force, or the German Luftwaffe, attacked Poland trying out their new military strategy Blitzkreig. Blitzkreig(lightning war) used the advances in technology, like fast tanks and more powerful aircrafts, to take the enemy by surprise and quickly crush all opposing with overwhelming force. -
Leading Up to WWII
Due to what Germany had created and caused in Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany. Britain and France were late in mounting a defense as the fighting was over in just about three weeks. Towards the end of those three weeks, the Soviet Union also attacked from the east, managing to seize themselves some land too. Once Poland no longer existed, World War II began. -
Invading More Countries
Stalin began to annex Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Finland. Hitler invaded Denmark and Norway on this day 'to protect their freedom and independence', but the real reason was that he was planning on building bases on the coast to be able to attack Britain. -
France Falls
Germany continued on their path of war. They invaded France, with plans on getting to Paris, all the while avoiding or fighting the French, British, and Belgian troops. Italy soon joined the German forces, attacking France from the opposite side, helping to get closer to Paris. Then on June 22, 1940, Hitler gave French officers terms of surrender, with the Germans occupying northern France and having a Nazi-ran government. -
Invading Britain
Hitler focused on Britain, planning invasion fleets along the French coast as well as air attacks since they couldn't compare to Britains naval power. They bombed constantly over targeted aircontrol bases and major cities. The Royal Air Force was able to use a new device called radar, allowing them to be able to track the movement of the German planes, even when it was dark out. On this day, the RAF took down a significant amount of German planes, leading to Hitler stopping his British invasion.
