PowerPoint Show by Andrew Nazi Invasions and the fall of France ♫ Turn on Speakers PowerPoint Show by Andrew

In the spring of 1940, an emboldened Germany asserted itself as a modern conqueror of nations, successfully invading and occupying six countries in fewer than 100 days. On April 9, 1940, Germany invaded Denmark, which capitulated in a mere six hours. At the same time, Nazi warships and troops were entering Norwegian waters, attacking ships, landing troops, and starting a conflict that would last for two months. On May 10, more than 2 million German troops on land and in the air invaded France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands using blitzkrieg tactics. The smaller countries fell within weeks, but France held on until June 22.

A German armored tank crosses the Aisne River in France, on June 21, 1940, one day before the surrender of France.

The remains of a naval battle in Narvik, Norway in 1940. Several battles between German and Norwegian forces took place in the Ofotfjord in the spring of 1940.

A group of German Gebirgsjägers (mountain troops) in action in Narvik, Norway, in 1940.

Members of a British Royal Air Force bombing squadron hold thumbs up on April 22, 1940, as they return to home base from an attack on German warships off Bergen, Norway.

An aircraft spotter on the roof of a building in London, England, with St. Paul's Cathedral in the background.

German bombs miss their targets and explode in the sea during an air raid on Dover, England, in July 1940.

Members of the Black Watch, one of the famed Scottish regiments, undergo rough training in South Coast sector of England, in 1940.

The Royal Irish Fusiliers of the British expeditionary forces come to the aid of French farmers whose horses have been commandeered by the French Army. A tank is hitched to a plow to help with the spring tilling of the soil on March 27, 1940.

A formation of German Stuka dive bombers are flying over an unknown location, in this May 29, 1940 photo.

A German soldier operates his antiaircraft gun at an unknown location, in support of the German troops as they march into Danish territory, on April 9, 1940.

German parachute troops descending on Fort Eben Emael in Belgium, on May 30, 1940, part of a larger surprise attack.

French soldiers load a piece of artillery somewhere in the Western Front on May 29, 1940.

A formation of German bombers, flying over France on June 21, 1940.

Belgians blasted this bridge across the Meuse River in the town of Dinant, Belgium, but shortly, a wooden bridge built by the Germans was standing next to the ruins, on June 20, 1940.

A woman, fleeing from her home, takes cover behind a tree by the roadside, somewhere in Belgium, on May 18, 1940, during an aerial attack by Nazi planes. Her bicycle, with her belongings tied to it, rests against the tree, to which she clings for protection.

Hundreds of thousands of British and French troops who had fled advancing German forces massed on the beach of Dunkirk, France, on June 4, 1940, awaiting ships to carry them to England.

British and French troops wade through shallow water along the beach at Dunkirk, France on June 13, 1940 toward small rescue craft that will bring them to England. Some 700 private vessels joined dozens of military craft to ferry the men across the channel.

Men of the British Expeditionary Force safely arrive home after their fight in Flanders on June 6, 1940. More than 330,000 soldiers were rescued from Dunkirk in the mission code-named Operation Dynamo.

Aftermath of the British retreat in Flanders, Belgium on July 31, 1940. English soldiers lie dead beside their vehicles.

English and French prisoners of war sit near railroad tracks somewhere in Belgium in 1940.

German troops parade in Copenhagen, Denmark on April 20, 1940 to celebrate Hitler's birthday.

A dead German soldier, one of the many thousands who fell during the invasions of 1940, somewhere in France, on June 9, 1940.

French tanks pass through a bombarded French town on their way to the front line in France, on May 25, 1940.

Women waving Union Jacks greet passing soldiers, all Canadians, as they march from the docks after disembarking in France on June 18, 1940.

German troops walk down a deserted street in Luxembourg, on May 21, 1940.

Refugees leave their ruined town in Belgium, carrying what little of their personal belongings they managed to salvage, on May 19, 1940.

Nazi motorcyclists pass through a destroyed town in France in 1940.

Civilian victims of a German air raid near Antwerp, Belgium, on June 13, 1940. British troops said these people were cycling to work when German planes swept over, attacking and leaving them to die beside a wheat field.

A British soldier thrusts the plunger of an explosive mechanism that will blast a bridge to delay the Nazi advance in the Leuven region of Belgium, on June 1, 1940, before this area fell to the Germans.

A tandem bicycle carries a whole Belgian family of four with some of their belongings strapped to their backs, as they flee from the advancing Nazis into France, on June 14, 1940.

Adolf Hitler poses in Paris with the Eiffel Tower in the background, one day after the formal capitulation of France, on June 23, 1940.