The start of World War Two September 1939 to Spring 1940

Aims of the lesson In this lesson you will Understand what we mean by the term phoney war and describe the events of 1939 and the spring of 1940 Evaluate the importance of the defeat of France and the invasion of Norway on the course of the war

The phoney war 1939 By the end of September 1939 Poland had been defeated and ceased to exist Britain and France were able to give the Poles no help From September 1939 to April 1940 little action in the west – “The phoney war” Hitler was aiming to push Britain and France to the negotiating table and did not have the resources to attack them in this period

Britain and France prepare Britain and France prepared for war – Britain sent a small force to support the French – the BEF Half hearted – French felt protected by the Maginot Line – a line of fortifications on the German border stretching from Belgium to Switzerland Dangerous way of thinking – defeatist

The Maginot Line

Norway 1940 April 1940 – Germany attacked Norway in order to get her hands on her iron ore Britain considered invading Norway before but decided against it Germany launched a Blitzkrieg against Norway and she was defeated quickly This debacle led to the resignation of Chamberlain on the 10 th May 1940 and was replaced by Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill

The invasion of France 1940 Blitzkrieg – lightening war – relied on speed and surprise to defeat the opposition Used a big attack on a small area in order to overwhelm the French Germans simple went around the Maginot line – British and French could not respond to this – spread their forces too thinly

The fall of France th may 1940 – Germans attacked through the Ardennes forest in Belgium Holland fell by the 28 th May 1940 British and French taken by surprise and were in full retreat The British got cut off and got trapped in a small pocket near the town of Dunkirk and faced being wiped out