Major political and military events of World War II prior to the U.S.' entry in 1941

By zlzheng
  • Germany's Anschluss with Austria

    Germany's Anschluss with Austria
    March 12, 1938, German troops marched into Austria unopposed. A day later, Germany announced that its Anschluss with Austria was complete.
  • The Munich Pact

    The Munich Pact
    French premier Daladier and British prime minister Chamberlain signed the Munich Agreement, which turned the Sudetenland over to Germany.
  • Germany's Annexation of the Sudetenland

    Germany's Annexation of the Sudetenland
    In October of 1938, Sudetenland was relegated to Germany because of the Munich Pact.
  • Hitler's Annexation of Czechoslovakia

    Hitler's Annexation of Czechoslovakia
    In March, 1939, German troops poured into what remained of Czechoslovakia.
  • The Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact

    The Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact
    In August, 1939, Stalin signed the Pact with Hitler. Facist Germany and Communist Russian now committed never to attack each other.
  • Germany's Invasion of Poland

    Germany's Invasion of Poland
    In September, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. This invasion was the first test of Germany's newest military strategy, the blitzkrieg.
  • The Phony War

    The Phony War
    The sitzkrieg. French and British troops on the Maginot Line waiting for German troops on Siegfried Line to act.
  • The Miracle at Dunkirk

    The Miracle at Dunkirk
    An evacuation of British and French soldiers from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, France. More than 800 vessels in all ferried about 330,000 British, French, and Belgian troops to safety across the Channel.
  • The Fall of France

    The Fall of France
    In June, 1940, at Compiegne, Hitler handed French officers his terms of surrender. Germans would occupy the nothern part of France, and a Nazi-controlled puppet government, headed by Marshal Philippe Petain, would be set up at Vichy, in southern France.
  • The Battle of Britain

    The Battle of Britain
    In July, 1940, Germans began to assemble an invasion fleet along the French coast. Germany launched an air war to Britain.