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Hitler met with the top military advisors to discuss if they should expand the land of the Third Reich by invading Austria and Czechoslovakia. He thought the only way was to promote heavy force entering the two countries, and he was not afraid to start a war.
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Hitler wanted to invade the western border regions of Czechoslovakia, known as the Sudetenland. France and Britain vowed to protect Czechoslovakia. Hitler invited the French and British Prime Ministers to Munich. Hitler explained to them that the Sudetenland was the last territory he wanted. The two prime ministers agreed to let Hitler have it because they wanted to avoid war at all cost. The Munich agreement turned the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia into Germany.
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On this date, Hitler started to invade Czechoslovakia.
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The Non-Aggression pact was a treaty signed between Hitler, and Stalin. The Soviet Union were allies with Poland. If Hitler invaded Poland, he also would´ve had to start a war with the Soviet Union. If he had to fight Poland and the Soviet Union, this would be known as a two-front war, and that is very hard to maintain. The Pact divided Poland and the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union were no longer allies with Poland.
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The German Luftwaffe, or air force, dropped bombs on Polish military bases, airfields, railroads, and cities. While this was going on, German tanks were racing across the Polish countryside. This was a new military strategy known as the Blitzkrieg, or lightning war. Faster tanks and more powerful aircraft's were invented because of the strategy of Blitzkrieg. Two days after the Blitzkrieg in Poland, Britain and France declare war on Germany.
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After the fall of Poland, British and French troops were waiting for months on the Maginot line, waiting for something to happen. Nothing ever happened, and the Germans called it the Sitzkrieg, or the sitting war.
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Hitler surprise invaded Denmark and Norway, because he said it was to ¨protect those countries from freedom and independence.¨ But actually, he did this so he can build bases and defenses along the coasts to attack at Great Britain.
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The British and French troops were pushed back into Dunkirk. They were waiting to be taken back to England, but they were invaded by the Germans. In about a week, a mixed fleet of fishermen, tug boats, river barges, and other water crafts ferried about 330,000 British, French, and Belgian troops to safety.
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After Germany occupied France, they set up naval defenses on the coast because they could not defeat Britain´s naval force. Germanyś air force kept making bombing runs over Britain. Germany wanted to gain control of the skies by destroying Britainś Royal Air Force. 2,000 German planes bombed Britain for 2 months.
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Italy had joined the war, and they chose Germanyś side. As Germany pushed through France in the North, Italy invaded in the South. This totally threw off France, and Germany and Italy had almost taken over the entire country.
