War in EuropeThe German Offensive

The Need for Lebensraum Hitler desperately wanted new territory for

his people He sought the land of his closest neighbors

Austria and Czechoslovakia Met in November of 1937 to plot and plan Austria was predominately German in

ethnicity On March 12, 1938, German troops take

Austria On March 13th, they became part of the Third

Reich

Map of Western Europe

Invasion of Austria

Invasion of Austria

The Sudetenland The Sudetenland are ethnic-German regions of

Czechoslovakia (western) Nearly 3 million German-speaking people Living space and resources

Hitler used propaganda and media to spew lies about the Czech’s treatment of Germans

France and Great Britain vowed to protect Czechoslovakia

Chamberlain meets with Hitler and Munich Hitler says this will be his last territorial demand

The Munich Agreement is signed on September 30, 1938 Gave Germany the Sudetenland with any violence

The Sudetenland

Germans in the Sudetenland

The Munich Agreement

Winston Churchill He is Chamberlain’s

political opponent Churchill did not agree

with this appeasement of Hitler

He knew Hitler would not stop adding territory

On March 15th, 1939, Hitler takes the rest of Czechoslovakia

The Soviets and Germany

Hitler turned his attention to Poland

Provoking the Soviet Union was a bad idea

Attacking Poland would open a two front war France and Britain on west Soviet Union on east

Stalin signs a nonaggression pact with Germany on August 23, 1939 (no two front war)

Poland would be split in two Eastern Europe would have

“sphere's of influence”

Hitler and Stalin

Blitzkrieg in Poland On September 1, 1939, the

German Army debuts a new strategy Blitzkrieg or “lightning war”

Used planes and tanks to overwhelm the enemy

France and Britain declare war on Germany on September 3

Major fighting is over in three weeks To quick for France or Britain to

prevent the fall of Poland Soviet Union grabs some

lands in Eastern Poland World War II has started

The Blitzkrieg

The Blitzkrieg

The Phony War French and British troops

patrolled the Maginot Line German troops patrolled the

Siegfried Line They were waiting for something

to happen Germany annexes Baltic

countries Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania

The Soviets overrun Finland in three months

On April 9th, 1940, they invade Denmark and Norway “Needed protection”

The Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg fall next

The Maginot Line

Retreat at Dunkirk

Retreat at Dunkirk

Surrender at Compiegne

France Falls Hitler sends troops through the Ardennes They begin their march towards Paris Nearly 400,000 British and French soldiers are

trapped in Dunkirk 330,000 are evacuated to Britain Italy invades from the south On June 22, 1940, Hitler gives his demands for

surrender of the French Germany would occupy the north Puppet government in the south (Vichy)

Charles de Gaulle sets up government in exile in Britain “France has lost a battle, but France has not lost the war”

The Battle of Britain Germany starts to amass an invasion force along the French

Coast Britain still has a great navy

Hitler turns to the skies The Luftwaffe will continually bomb London for two months

They first targeted airports and military bases Turned their attention to cities

Radar helped turn the tide of the battle Allowed British pilots to track German planes

The RAF fought valiantly to protect and defend Britain German offensive continues but full scale invasion is

cancelled by Hitler http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2011/07/world-war-ii-the

-battle-of-britain/100102/