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The Non-Aggression Pact was signed Aug between Germany and the USSR.  Hitler and Stalin both agreed to not attack each other.  Land was promised to Stalin by Hitler.  They secretly agreed to divide up Poland.  Also secretly agreed that the USSR can control Finland and the Baltic countries.

 Germany launched surprise attacks in Poland on Sept. 1, 1939  Planes invaded Poland’s airspace with bombs and terror  Hitler mercilessly bombed Warsaw (Capitol of Poland)  Poland fell three weeks before Sept 3, 1939  On Sept 3 – France and Britain declared war on the Axis Powers.  Hitler annexed western half of Poland, leaving eastern half for Stalin.  “Blitzkrieg” were named so because they were fast moving

 Hitler swept Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg and sent larger troops to the Ardenries (all apart of a strategy to strike at France)  Germans squeezed through the Maginot Line in 10 days.  May – Allied troops trapped in Lille  Allies escaped to Dunkirk, where Britain sent rescue ships from May 26 to June 4 to save the Allied troops from the Axis powers.  June 10 – Italy joined the Axis powers and attacked France from the south.  June 22- France surrendered  French general Charles de Gaulle escaped to London to set up government in exile committed to the liberation of France  France was eventually liberated in 1944

 Germany planned to destroy the Royal Air Force (RAF) of Britain and land 250,000 soldiers on its shore  Hitler ordered bombings of Britain  British were outnumbered by almost 2:1  Sept. 7, 1940 – Germany raided cities with bombs (esp. London)  In 1938, Britain had acquired the technology of radar and a machine German code cracker called Enigma  The British fought back hard and refused to surrender  Eventually, Hitler turned to night raids instead in Oct 1940  On May 10, 1941, Hitler called off the attacks on Great Britain

 June – Germans announced the Blitzkrieg attack upon the USSR.  USSR was unprepared and not all well equipped  Germans destroyed and burned everything in their path  Sept. 8, 1941 – Germany surrounded the city of Leningrad, which refused to surrender despite the starvation of the civilians  Oct. 2, 1941 – Nazis started to move towards Moscow  USSR General Georgi Zhukov counterattacked  The Soviets had the harsh winter and 100 fresh Siberian troops on their side  Germans were in their summer uniforms and their fuel and oil froze  Germans refused to retreat and lost the battle.

 Passed March 1941 by Congress  President can lend or lease American arms and other supplies to any country vital to the USA.  Summer of the US Navy escorted British ships which carried US arms  Britain would pay cash and then carry the arms on their own ships  Hitler ordered submarines to sink cargo ships

 On Aug – President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Churchill secretly met on a battle ship off Newfoundland  They drafted the Atlantic Charter which upheld free trade among nations and the right of people to choose their own government  This charter later reused as the Allies peace plan at the end of WWII

 Japan believed that Pearl Harbor was a “dagger pointed at [their] throat” that has to be destroyed.  December 7, 1941 – Pearl Harbor was bombed under the Japanese Admiral Isoruku Yamamoto  The Japanese had sunk and damaged 18 ships, eight of which were battleships. – which was nearly the whole US Pacific fleet  2400 American were killed and over 100 people were injured.  Congress then declared war on Japan the next day.