1. German Aggression in WWII

2. 1934 – Hitler re-arms Germany
Treaty of Versailles limited Germany’s army
Hitler openly began building up the military
US, Britain and France did nothing! (appeasement)

5. March of Anschluss
Unification of Germany and Austria

7. German Reichstag Salutes Hitler after Anschluss

8. The Munich Conference

11. “The Appeaser”

13. The Start of WWII Sept. 1st, 1939, Hitler declares war on Poland
The first Blitzkrieg (Lightning War)
“Armored Spearheads” (large groups of tanks) punch holes in Polish defenses, drive deep into enemy territory
Infantry (foot soldiers) follows through gaps
Dive bombers strike deep inside Poland, attack communication and transportation

14. German “Stuka” Dive Bomber

15. German Panzer Tank

16. The fall of Poland The Polish military is large but outdated
Poland was allies with Britain and France. Sept. 3, Britain and France declared war on Germany, but they did not attack or send any help to Poland!
Sept. 17th, USSR invades Poland from the east!
Hitler and Stalin had signed a non-aggression pact in 1939 and had secretly agreed to divide Poland between them.
Poland surrendered in Oct. 2nd

18. Denmark and Norway Hitler wants control of the Baltic Sea
Attacks Denmark with bombers and paratroopers
Denmark surrenders in 4 hours!
Norway is protected by water, harder to attack
Germany invades by air and sea
Norway surrenders in 2 months

20. Netherlands and Belgium
Both have small armies and want to stay neutral
Hitler wants to control the “Atlantic Wall” (the entire Atlantic coast of Europe)
Hitler attacks. Minor resistance, but both fall within 2 weeks

22. France The French army was as large and as strong as Germany’s
France had built a huge system of defenses along the border called the Maginot Line
British troops protected the Belgian border

25. France Only one gap existed in the defenses – the Ardennes Forest…
Germany attacked through the Ardennes!
Attacked the Maginot Line from behind, cutting off most of the French army
Overwhelmed the British and remaining French troops in the north

26. German tanks move through the Ardennes Forest

27. France France surrendered in 5 weeks
General Charles de Gaulle escaped and organized the French Resistance

28. Hitler in Paris De Gaulle

29. Battle of Britain
Hitler wanted to invade Britain, but Britain was an island protected by the British Navy
Hitler’s Plan
Step 1: destroy Britain’s air force (RAF);
Step 2: use the German air force (Luftwaffe) to chase away the British navy
Step 3: invade Britain across the English Channel.

31. Battle of Britain Luftwaffe outnumbered the RAF 2:1
Britain built planes and trained pilots as fast as possible
Churchill rallied the British people
“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.”

33. Spitfire ME-109

34. Battle of Britain
The Luftwaffe suffers heavy losses; Hitler calls off the invasion
Churchill: “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”
But, Germany continued bombing British cities for two more years! (“The Blitz”)

35. V-1 Flying Bomb and V-2 Rocket

36. London Bomb Damage

37. USSR
June 1941, Hitler broke his non-aggression pact with Stalin and launched the largest invasion in history (3 million men!)
“Operation Barbarossa”
Germany quickly captured hundreds of miles of Soviet territory, killed and captured millions of Russians…

40. USSR, cont.
Stalin makes an alliance with Britain, but there is little Britain can do to help
Stalin ordered his army to stop the Germans at all cost, but the Germans still advanced
By Dec. 1941, the German army was just a few miles from capturing Moscow…

41. German Controlled Territory, Dec. 1941

42. December 1941 The Allies are in bad shape; Hitler appears unstoppable
The only country strong enough to stop Hitler is the US, but most Americans are isolationist
Churchill goes to America and begs Roosevelt for help, but FDR says the US will stay neutral unless directly attacked
Then, on December 7th 1941, Churchill’s prayers are answered in an unexpected way…

43. To Be Continued…