World War II

European Theater (1933 – June 1940)

Prelude, Poland, “Phoney War”, Denmark, Norway, Low Countries, France,

Europe 19331933

Nazi Party comes to power in Germany

March 1936Germany occupies the Rhineland

March 1938Germany annexes Austria

September 1938

Munich Agreement

“ Peace For Our Time”

October 1938

German troops occupy Sudentenland

March 1939Germany seizes rest of Czechoslovakia

April 1939Italy invades Albania

May 1939“Pact of Steel” signed

1 September 1939Germany invades Poland

17 September 1939Russia 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 VictoriousJune 1940

Hitler’s Strategic Dilemma:

• Finish Off Britain

• Turn East

• Something Else