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The Austrian Anschluss
This was a time where Hitler was going to invade German-speaking countries. He wanted all German speaking countries to join Germany. This is why it is called the Austrian Anschluss, because Anschluss means unification. At first he asked Austria's chancellor to give Austrian Nazis important government posts. -
The Munich Conference
This was a day where representatives of Britain, France, Italy, and Germany agreed to meet in Munich to decide Czechoslovakia’s fate. Later, Britain and France agreed to Hitler’s demands. It became a policy called the appeasement. It made concessions to exchange peace. Many people wanted to avoid war, so they did anything that Hitler demanded so that war didn’t happen. -
Hitler Demands Danzig
This was a day when Hitler demanded the city of Danzig to be returned to German control. The city of Danzig had been under the control of Poland since WWI. Hitler also wanted a highway and railroad across the Polish Corridor. This separated western Germany from Prussia. Unfortunately for the people who believed that Hitler’s demands being granted would avoid war, was wrong. War was inevitable, or unavoidable. A war was about to being between Poland, France and Britain against Germany. B -
The Nazi-Soviet Pact
German officials proposed a treaty to the Soviets and Stalin agreed. It was a good way to protect the USSR. Germany would go to war against Britain and France if the treaty worked. It was a nonaggression pact signed on August 23, 1939. It was signed by Germany and actually surprised the world. -
The Invasion of Poland
This day was when the German invaded Poland. Because they invaded Poland, two days later Britain and France declared war and World War II begun. Poland’s army wasn’t very updated. While Poland rode horses to attack, the Germans had tanks. The German’s even used a new tactic called “blitzkrieg.” It is when there are large numbers of massed tanks to break through and rapidly encircle enemy positions. There were also aircrafts bombing. Poland ended up losing by October 5, 1939. -
The Evacuation of Dunkirk
At this time, the Germans were trying to take over all British and French areas. The only way for the remaining troops to help or get away was to go out to sea. All but one port were caught, Dunkirk. The Germans started to close in on them until he told them to stop. He wanted to wait, making sure that he wasn’t going to lose his tank forces. He delayed it by three days to get more infantry, but the British strengthened their lines and began evacuation. It saved 338,000 people. -
The Battle of Britain
This was when Hitler realized that Britain was not going to give up. He decided to attack Britain with the German air force, Luftwaffe. It attack British shipping the English Channel. Eventually they then set it out to destroy the Royal Air Force. -
The Fall of France
This was a time period where World War II is just beginning. People are not ready for what is going to come. After World War I, the French built a line of concrete bunkers and fortifications called the Maginot Line along the German border. It would help the French wait for the Germans to attack them, to decrease the loss of lives. They thought that they would go through the Maginot line, instead they invaded the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. The French went north and stuck in Beligium.
