War in Europe Chapter 16 Section 2

I. Austria and Czechoslovakia Fall o A. Gaining Territory o 1. On March 12, 1938 German troops marched into Austria and unified with Germany. o 2. This was called the “Auschluss.” o 3. Hitler wanted to annex Sudetenland in Northern Czechoslovakia. o 4. Hitler met with Edouard Daladier and Neville Chamberlain and they agreed to let Hitler have Sudetenland.

o 5. This policy of appeasement was designed to prevent war, but it gave Hitler whatever he wanted. o 6. On Sept 30, 1938 the leaders signed the Munich Agreement. o 7. On March 15, 1939 Hitler sent his troops into the rest of Czechoslovakia to occupy it.

II. The German Offensive Begins o A. The Soviet Union Declares Neutrality o 1. Hitler and Stalin signed the non-aggression pact on August 23, 1939 which they promised not to attack each other. o 2. They signed a second secret agreement promising to divide Poland.

o B. Blitzkrieg in Poland o 1. On Sep 1, 1939 Hitler attacked Poland. o 2. Using blitzkrieg or lightning war, German Stuka fighters and tanks rolled across the Polish border. o 3. Two days later France and Great Britain declared war on Germany, but the battle for Poland was over in three weeks.

o C. Phony War o 1. For the next few months British and French troops on the Magniot line stared across at the Germans on the Siegfried line. o 2. The war ended when Germans sent their tanks through the Ardennes, a wooded region considered impassable.

III. France and Britain Fight On o A. The Fall of France o 1. Allied troops were cut off at Dunkirk and Paris fell on June 22, o 2. A French General, Charles De Gaulle set up a government in exile in England.

o B. The Battle of Britain o 1. In the Summer of 1940 Hitler launched an airborne invasion of Britain. o 2. The Luftwaffe attempted to destroy the RAF. o 3. British pilots used radar to fight back and Hitler was never able to land troops in Britain.

o “We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.” o Winston Churchill