World War II began in 1939 after Germany invaded Poland using their new blitzkrieg tactic of fast-paced, coordinated military strikes. Germany took over numerous countries in quick succession through 1940, including Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium and France. The British forces were able to evacuate over 300,000 troops from Dunkirk, avoiding capture. Germany then attempted an air attack on Britain known as the Battle of Britain but was defeated, marking their first loss of the war. In 1941, Germany broke their pact with the Soviet Union and invaded, hoping for a quick victory but becoming bogged down by harsh weather and Soviet resistance.

1. World War II
Blitzkrieg

2. Appeasement
• giving in to aggressive demands to
maintain peace
• Timeline
– March 1936 – remilitarized the Rhineland
– March 1938 – Anschluss (annexation of
Austria)
– September 1938 – Munich
Conference/Sudeten Crisis (annexation of the
Sudetenland)

3. Agreements
• 1936 – Anti-Comintern Pact
– Germany & Japan
– 1937 – Italy
• 1938 – Munich Conference
• 1939 – German-Italian Alliance
• August 1939 – Non-Aggression Pact
– Germany & Soviet Union

6. Blitzkrieg
• “blitz” = lightning
• “krieg” = war
• September 1, 1939 – Invasion of Poland
– official start of WWII
• September 3 – Britain & France declare
war on Germany
• September 17 – Russia invades Poland
• October 6 – Poland surrenders

7. Blitzkrieg
• April 1940
– Denmark surrenders
– Norway surrenders
– Netherlands surrenders
• May 1940
– Belgium surrenders

9. Invasion of France
• May 1940 – invasion begins
• Evacuation @ Dunkirk
– 300,000+ Allied troops escape across the
English Channel
– Hitler’s 1st major blunder of WWII
• June 1940 – German army enters Paris
– Hitler – “This is the happiest day of my life.”
– June 22 – France surrenders
• Germany humiliates France

16. Battle of Britain
• July 1940 – October 1940
• Luftwaffe vs. RAF
• German goal
– soften up British defenses in preparation
for a land invasion
• Outcome
– German defeat, British victory
– Germany’s first defeat in WWII

17. Operation
Barbarossa
• Germany invades Russia
• June 22, 1941
• Hitler breaks the Non-Aggression Pact
• Soviets are poorly trained, ill-
equipped, and caught off guard
• German troops unprepared for weather
• easily the biggest blunder in Hitler’s
military and political career