1. The Beginning of WWII

2. Nonaggression Pact August 23, 1939: Stalin and Hitler signed a nonaggression pact, agreeing not to attack one another Also agreed to divide Poland, and that the USSR could take Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia

4. Germany Sparks a New War in Europe Sept 1, 1939: Hitler invaded Poland Sept 3: France and GB declared war on Germany but too late for Poland

6. Hitler’s Lighting War Germany’s newest military strategy: blitzkrieg lightning war moving fast to take enemy by surprise, overwhelm them worked efficiently

8. The Soviets Make their Move Sept 17 USSR sent troops to occupy Eastern half of Poland, annexed Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia Finland resisted-Stalin sent almost 1 million troops. Finns able to hold them off for a while, but in March 1940 they surrendered

10. The Phony War GB and France stationed troops along the Maginot Line, system of fortifications along France’s border with Germany, waited for Germans to attack but nothing happened German soldiers waited from their Siegfried Line a few miles away; called the sitzkrieg, “sitting war” or “phony war”

11. Denmark and Norway Fall April 9, 1940 Hitler launched surprise invasion of Denmark (fell in 4 hours) and Norway (fell in 2 months) now Germany could build bases along coast to attack GB

12. The Fall of France May 1940 Hitler began attacking through Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg in order to reach France He sent tanks and troops through the Ardennes, a wooded area in Northern France, Luxembourg and Belgium German troops were able to squeeze between Maginot Line, move across France By End of May 1940 Germans had trapped Allied forces around northern French city of Lille-outnumbered, outgunned, retreated to beaches of Dunkirk, a French port city near Belgian border-trapped there

13. The Fall of France May 1940 Hitler began attacking through Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg in order to reach France He sent tanks and troops through the Ardennes, a wooded area in Northern France, Lux and Belgium German troops were able to squeeze between Maginot Line, move across France

14. Rescue at Dunkirk GB set out to rescue the army: fleet of ships sent across English channel to Dunkirk; May 26-June 4 it sailed back and forth rescued about 338,000 soldiers

15. France Falls France surrendered on June 22, 1940 Germans took control of northern part, left southern part to a puppet gov’t led by Marshal Philippe Petain Headquarters in city of Vichy (Vichy gov’t)

16. Charles de Gaulle: a French general, set up gov’t-in-exile in London, committed to reconquering France

17. The Battle of Britain GB stood alone against the Nazis! Winston Churchill new Prime Minister in May 1940 Summer 1940 Germany’s air force, the Luftwaffe, began bombing GB, focusing on airfields, factories, and cities

18. GB’s airforce known as the Royal Air Force (RAF) badly outnumbered but began to fight back with help of 2 new technologies: Radar: an electronic tracking system, could tell number, speed, and direction of incoming warplanes Enigma: German code-making machine, enabled them to decode German secret messages

19. End of Battle of Britain Oct 1940 Germany gave up daylight raids Battle of Britain continued until May 10, 1941 Hitler called off attacks, shifted focus to Mediterranean, E. Europe Showed Hitler’s attacks could be blocked!