1. 1939-1942

8.  Britain drops leaflets over Germany.  British forces begin moving to France.  France launched the ‘phony offensive’ into the Saar. After a short time France withdrew from Germany.  France was determined to make a stand along its defensive wall, the Maginot Line. (sitzkrieg)

16.  April – Norway, Denmark

17.  May 10 th – Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg are attacked.

18.  May 12 th -14 th Battle of Sedan, France.  German crossing the Meuse at Sedan.

20.  Battle of Sedan was critical. Once the French line was broken, the German army cut behind and encircled the French and the BEF.  May 20 th – German forces reach the English Channel.  The bulk of the French Army and the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) are now surrounded by the German Army.

21.  British and French forces surrounded in Belgium and northern France face total destruction.  The British decide to retreat to the small French port of Dunkirk and then evacuate to England.  The evacuation would be a challenge.

34.  July 1 to October 31, 1940.  This was the prelude to Germany’s invasion of Britain.  This battle was fought entirely in the skies.  This battle was fought for the control of the skies over the English Channel.  British secret weapon-radar.

41.  Control the skies over the Channel.  Isolate the Channel with subs and mines.  Mass men and supplies for the invasion.  Invade Britain.

42.  Herman Goering, head of the Luftwaffe, assured Hitler that the German air force would bomb Britain until it surrendered.  German air losses were significant.  After 3 months of air combat and bombing, Hitler declared Britain a ‘charred ember’ to be extinguished later.  The Nazis prepared for the invasion of the Soviet Union.

43.  German plan to invade the Soviet Union.  June 22, 1941, Germany invaded the USSR along a 1600 mile front.  The Soviets adopted a ‘Scorched Earth’ policy to slow the German advance.  On December 6, 1941, Soviet forces launched a counteroffensive to drive the Germans back from the outskirts of Moscow.

44. Final Plan for Operation Barbarossa

51.  Japan saw the necessity of building their own empire in the Pacific.  To neutralize the USA and its European Allies, Japan planned a huge military offensive in the Pacific.  Japan’s enemies were shocked and damaged by the attacks of December 7, 1941 and the following weeks.