Germany Dominates Europe

1
Germany Dominates Europe

• Europe 1939-1941

2
Germany Expands in Europe

• Hitler re-militarized Germany (Versailles)
• Claimed all Germans should be ruled by Germany
  retake lands lost to Versailles
• Germany used aggression to take
  Austria Anschluss (1938)
• Hitler threatened war unless parts of Czech. were
  given to him more aggression
• GB/Fr let him have it Munich Pact
  (1938) later took all of Czechoslovakia
• Hitler promised he wouldnt ask
  for anything else
• Europe appeased Hitlers aggression
  to avoid war
• Hitler learned that Europe was
  not willing to fight to stop him
• Germany continued to build up its
  military for future use

3
Germany Strikes Europe

• Europe feared Hitler would attack Poland
• GB Fr signed an alliance with Poland
• Ger and Italy signed the Rome-Berlin Axis Axis
  Powers later joined by Japan (Rome-Berlin-Tokyo)
• And then the shocker..
• Hitler and Stalin sign the Nazi-Soviet Pact
  (1939)
• Promised not to fight each other
• They would share Poland
• (Sep. 1, 1939) Germany attacked
  Poland
• Without help from GB/Fr,
  Poland was quickly defeated
• GB/Fr knew only a war would
  stop Germany
• WWII had officially begun

4
Poland is Divided
5
Germany Looks to the West

• GBFr were the main goals for Germany
• Smaller countries were in the way
• First clear a path
• Denmark - 1 day
• Norway - 6 mo.
• Nether. - 4 days
• Belg. - 18 days
• Luxembourg. - ? (fast)

Norway
Denmark
Netherlands
Belgium
6
France is Next - 1940

• Germany first used the Blitzkrieg on Poland
• Blitzkrieg Fast-paced war using.
• attacks with tanks planes to quickly
• Break through defenses and drive deep into enemy
  territory
• (1940) France was left alone on the Continent
• Germany invaded France with lightning speed
  (avoid the trenches of WWI)
• Britain sent troops to help but were quickly
  pushed back
• British forces retreated back to England
• France - defeated in 6 weeks

7
Hitler Enters Paris

• Hitler wanted to punish France -
  Versailles
• French Army reduced to 100K
• Split in half
• N. France controlled by Germany
• S. France controlled by a pro-German French
  Govt Vichy
• Pay reparations

8
Battle of Britain

• Germany wanted to invade GB
• Had to get across the English Channel
• 1st Knock out the Royal Air Force
• Ger British planes dueled in
  the skies
• British fighters were winning
• German planes switched to bombing British
  cities
• Cities burned, thousands of people were
  killed
• But Britain held out
• Hitler became frustrated and
  impatient
• While continuing to bomb GB
• Germany attacked the Soviet Union

9
The Pact is Broken(1941)

• The Pact prevented a 2-Front war (major problem
  in WWI)
• Stalin believed Hitler would never attack him
• But Hitler always wanted to control the Soviet
  Union
• Before attacking, wiped out all of the Balkan
  countries (Bulgaria, Romania, Yugoslavia,
  Hungary)
• Took longer than expected
• Attacked Russia 6 weeks later than planned ran
  into winter
• Blitzkrieg broke down (cold weather long supply
  lines)
• Russia survived 2-Front war was established
  (GBRus)

10

1938-1942