Europe at the Eve of War

German Annexation of Austria in January 1938 Hitler puts pressure on the Austrian Chancellor, Kurt Schuschnigg, to give more power to Nazis in Austria, threatening military action Schuschnigg scheduled a plebiscite on the independence of Austria for 13 March, but Hitler tells him that he will not accept the results March 12, 1938 German troops enter Austria and are greeted enthusiastically the Anschluss was a clear violation of the Treaty of Versailles

Appeasement British P.M. Neville Chamberlain was eager to avoid war and made an agreement with Hitler at Munich Widespread belief that German demands were reasonable and could be satisfied Hitler, however, saw this as a sign of weakness and believed that the United Kingdom would never be willing to fight

The Munich Pact In September 1938, Germany makes demands on Czechoslovakia, which had a defensive alliance with France and the Soviet Union The British, French, and German leaders meet and come to an agreement on September 29, giving Germany sections of Czechoslovakia The state of Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union were not even invited to the conference March 15,1939: Germany takes over the rest of Czechoslovakia anyway, and the French and British feel betrayed

Soviet-Nazi Non-Aggression (the Molotov-Ribbentrop) Pact August 1939: Stalin and Hitler agreed to not attack each other and to divide Poland between them German ambassador Von Ribbentrop, Soviet Leader Stalin, and Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov Now Hitler has a free hand to attack Poland and then turn towards the Western Allies 5

World War Two Begins Sept. 1, 1939: Germany invaded Poland Britain and France declare war on Germany Canada declared war on Germany also on Sept. 10, 1939 German troops march into Poland

Blitzkrieg Blitzkrieg – lightning war Germany used air strikes, followed by tanks, then infantry to rapidly attack and destroy defending forces

German Early Victories Germany defeats Poland by the end of September, 1939 April, 1940 - After a lull in fighting over the winter, known as the “phony war,” Germany invades Denmark and Norway, fighting is finished by June May 10 Germany invades Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg and France June 25, 1940 France officially surrenders to Germany

Britain Stands Alone Following the German invasion of Western Europe, Chamberlain resigns and is replaced as British P.M. by Winston Churchill Between May 26 and June 4, 338 000 British and French soldiers were evacuated from Dunkirk, but the British army lost a lot of tanks and heavy equipment

Canada Not Ready to go to War In 1938-1939, Canada’s military budget was only $35 million (remember in WWI the military was spending $1 million every day)! Much of the Canadian equipment was out of date, rusted, left over from the first war Quebec, German and Italian Canadians did not support the war King saw Canada’s role as mainly supply, not as a source of troops Because of the Depression, many Canadians felt that we had our own problems without getting involved in a European war