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Hitler's gain of power
Hitler went against the Treaty of Versailles and started to build up his army with recruting of soldiers and the expansion of the air force. This was very important to the war because many believed that this would mean that another war would shortly begin. -
Anschluss
Hitler sent his troops to Austria to anounce the unification of Austria and Germany. He wanted unification of all German-speaking countries because he believed that Germany could then, finally expand their territory. This changed many people's beliefs that Hitler was going to only do positive things good for the whole. -
Czechoslovakia
Hitler announced German claims to the Czech area of the sudeenland that had a large German-speaking population. This caused a lot of comotion because many countries like France and the Soviet Union were ready to fight in defense against Germany and in favor of the Czechs. -
Munich Conference
After Hitler's claim of the Sudetenland, representatives from Britain, Italy, France, and Germany agreed to meet in Munich, Germany to decide the fate of Czechoslovakia. Brtain and France agreed to Hitler's demands in exchange for peace. This established the trust that these countries had in Hitler to do the right thing -
Danzig
Hitler demanded that Dnzig would be under German control because they were over 90% German, The Danzig people didn't agree with this ebcause they have been with Poland since WWI. Also, he wanted control over the highways and railways on the Polish Corridor. This created a huge spark because the new demands convinced Britain and France that war was going to happen no matter what, -
Invasion of France
While waiting for Germans to come and attack the french built the Maginot Line which was a concrete bunker along the German Border. This was a big mistake because it allowed Germany to focus on poland and then enter France while allowing Germany to destroy parts of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. Also, the French were not prepared with the ammounts of people they had to fight with leaving them trapped in Belgium waiting to fight. This put the allied forces in a big trap. -
Nazi-Soviet Pact
German officials proposed a pact to the USSR that would protect the USSR and Germany as long as they worked together in a war against Britain and France. This shocked a lot of people because both countries had extreme ways of government that were completely opposite, but somehow Stalin and Hitler found a way to work together and have plans of splitting up Poland. -
The War begins
Germany invaded Poland and shortly after Britain and France declared war on Germany. This was when WWII began. Polish people fought very hard against the German people, but the Polish army was outdated with horses and lances, while Germans had tanks. The rest of the World was shocked and Britain and France especially were ready for battle and wanted to stop the Germans in order to aid Poland and stop the unneccesary war. -
Blitzkrieg
germany started to use a new type of warfare using large numbers of massed tanks to surround positions of enemies. This was also called the 'lightning war". To support the tanks, aircraft bombed enemy positions and dropped paratroopers to cut of supply lines. This Battle showed how improved Germany was and how advanced their technologies became during WWII -
Poland Falls
The attack of the lightning war was very hard to come out a champion and on October 5, 1939 the Polish army was defeated by the Germans. the polish army tried hard to defend their country, but Germany was well planned and used a lot of strategic skills to destroy the enemy. This battle made many Western-Europeans stay low and quiet in order to stay out of Germany's power. -
Bore War
While the war was going on in Poland, the rest of the Western-European countries waited for another attack to happen and the British sent troops to France waiting for Germans to attack. This made many countries very anxious for the upcoming days, but also allowed others to plan of strategic plans and get together a massive army. -
Evacuation at Dunkirk
Hitler ordered his army to stop and back down on the attack agaisnt France/Britain which gave a delay in favor of strengthening Britain's ships. No one knows quite why Hitler called off the attack , but it greatly effected both sides. there were over 300,000 troops saved, but almost all equipment was trapped in Dunkirk, so that if Germany would attack in Britain, they would be very defenseless. -
French Surrender
France surrendered to Germany and shortly after Germany gained a lot of control. Germany occupied most of nothern France and the atlantic coastline. Also, to govern France, Germany set up a puppet government. This was very upsetting to France and they probably were very frustrated of their defeat. -
Battle of Britain
The Luftwaffe attacked British shipping in the English Channel and later on in that fall the Luftwaffe destroyed the entire Royal Air force. This started a series of events including when the German bombers accidently attacked London causing Brittain to retaliate and attack Berlin. Allow this was a tough battle, Britain never backed down and stuck through it towards the end showing their pride of their country and their stubborness
