2. World War II European Theater (1933 – June 1940) Prelude, Poland, “Phoney War”, Denmark, Norway, Low Countries, France,

3. Europe 1933 1933 Nazi Party comes to power in Germany March 1936 Germany occupies the Rhineland March 1938 Germany annexes Austria September 1938 Munich Agreement “ Peace For Our Time” October 1938 German troops occupy Sudentenland March 1939 Germany seizes rest of Czechoslovakia April 1939 Italy invades Albania May 1939 “Pact of Steel” signed 1 September 1939 Germany invades Poland 17 September 1939 Russia invades Poland Oct 1939 – April 1940 “The Phoney War” 9 April 1940 Germany occupies Denmark 9 April – June 1940 Germany invades Norway Battle of France [Case Yellow] 10 May 1940 Germans invade Netherlands & Belgium Battle of France [Case Yellow] 10 – 30 May 1940 German Army Group A attacks through the Ardennes, splits the Allies and pushes the British to the Channel Battle of France [Case Red] 5 -25 Jun 1940 German Army sweeps through northern and eastern France France surrenders 26 May – 4 Jun 1940 Operation Dynamo 340,000 Allied soldiers evacuated from Dunkirk 1930s France constructs Maginot Line 1936 - 1939 Spanish Civil War Republicans supported by France, USSR and others Nationalists supported by Italy and Germany Opportunity for Germans, Italians and Russians to test equipment and methods of modern warfare 23 Aug 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact Non-aggression treaty between Germany and Russia eliminated German fear of a two-front war. Included secret protocol dividing Northern and Eastern Europe into German and Soviet spheres of influence June 1940 Germany Victorious June 1940 Hitler’s Strategic Dilemma: Finish Off Britain Turn East Something Else