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The Third Reich
Hitler met with his top military advisors in secret to declare that Germany needed to conquer Austria and Czechoslovakia into the Third Reich (third German empire), even though there was a risk of a war outbreak. A quote by Hitler states, "The German Question' can be solved only by means of force, and this is never without risk." -
Start of the Anschluss
Austria was the first target of Hitler and German troops marched into Austria unchallenged. Germany announced one day later that its' Auschluss (union) was in check. -
German troops marched into Austria
German troops march into Austria to annex the German-speaking nation for the Third Reich. In early 1938, Austrian Nazis conspired for the second time in four years to seize the Austrian government by force and unite their nation with Nazi Germany. -
Union with Austria
Germany announced that its union with Austria was completed. The United States and the rest of the world did nothing. -
Barganing For The Sudetenland
In their eagerness to avoid war,Edouard Daladier and Neville Chamberlain believed Hitler when he said that the annexation of Sudetenland would be his "last territorial demand" and they believed him. They signed the Munich Agreement, which turned the Sudetenland over to Germany without a single shot being fired -
The German Offensive Begins
German troops poured into what remained of Czechoslovakia. At nightfall Hitler gloated, "Czechoslovakia has ceased to exist." -
The Soviet Union Declares Neutrality
As tensions rose over Poland, Stalin surprised everyone by signing a nonaggression pact with Hitler. Fascist Germany and communist Russia now committed never to attack each other. Germany and the Soviet Union also signed a second, secret pact, agreeing to divide Poland between them. With the danger of a two-front war eliminated, the fate of Poland was sealed. -
Blitzkrieg in Poland
German air force, roared over Poland, raining bombs on military bases, airfields, railroads, and cities. At the same time, German tanks raced across the Polish countryside, spreading terror and confusion. This invasion was the first of Germany's new military strategy, the blitzkrieg, or lightning war. Blitzkrieg made use of advances in military technology-such as fast tanks and more powerful aircraft-to take the enemy by surprise and then quickly crush all opposition with overwhelming force. -
War Decleration on Germany
Two days following the terror in Poland, Britain and France declare war on Germany -
The Phony War
Stalin sent his Soviet army into Finland. After three months of fighting, the outnumbered Finns surrendered. -
The Phony War
Hitler launched a surprise invasion of Denmark and Norway in order "to protect [those countries'] freedom and independence." But in truth, Hitler planned to build bases along the coasts to strike at Great Britain. Next, Hitler turned against the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, which were overrun by the end of May. The phony war had ended. -
The Fall Of France
At Compiegne, as William Shirer and the rest of the world watched, Hitler handed French officers his terms of surrender. Germans would occupy the northern part of France, and a Nazi-controlled puppet government, headed by Marshal Philippe Petain, would be set up at Vichy, in southern France. After France fell, a French general named Charles de Gaulle fled to England, where he set up a government-in-exile. De Gaulle proclaimed defiantly,"France has lost a battle, but France has not lost the war." -
The Battle Of Britain
The RAF ( Royal Air Force) shot down over 185 German Planes; at the same time they only lost 26 aircraft. 6 weeks later, Hitler called off the invasion of Britain indefinitely. Still, German bombers continued to pound Britain's cities trying to disrupt production and break civilian morale. British piolets also bombed German cities. Civilians in both countries unrelentingly carried on.
