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WWII: Invasion of Poland and Blitzkrieg

The document summarizes major events in Europe from 1939-1941 during the early years of World War 2. It describes how Germany signed a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union in 1939, allowing Germany to invade Poland without facing war on two fronts. Germany then invaded Poland from the west while the Soviet Union invaded from the east, dividing the country between them. In 1940, Germany launched surprise attacks through Belgium and France, quickly defeating both countries as Britain evacuated its forces from Dunkirk. By mid-1940, Germany occupied much of Western Europe while Britain remained defiant under Winston Churchill.

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Nare Balyan
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75 views2 pages

WWII: Invasion of Poland and Blitzkrieg

The document summarizes major events in Europe from 1939-1941 during the early years of World War 2. It describes how Germany signed a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union in 1939, allowing Germany to invade Poland without facing war on two fronts. Germany then invaded Poland from the west while the Soviet Union invaded from the east, dividing the country between them. In 1940, Germany launched surprise attacks through Belgium and France, quickly defeating both countries as Britain evacuated its forces from Dunkirk. By mid-1940, Germany occupied much of Western Europe while Britain remained defiant under Winston Churchill.

Uploaded by

Nare Balyan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

In late August 1939, Hitler and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin  signed

the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact , which incited a frenzy of


worry in London and Paris. Hitler had long planned an invasion of
Poland, a nation to which Great Britain and France had guaranteed
military support if it was attacked by Germany. The pact with Stalin
meant that Hitler would not face a war on two fronts once he invaded
Poland, and would have Soviet assistance in conquering and
dividing the nation itself. On September 1, 1939, Hitler invaded
Poland from the west; two days later, France and Britain declared
war on Germany, beginning World War II.

On September 17, Soviet troops invaded Poland from the east.


Under attack from both sides, Poland fell quickly, and by early 1940
Germany and the Soviet Union had divided control over the nation,
according to a secret protocol appended to the Nonaggression Pact.
Stalin’s forces then moved to occupy the Baltic States (Estonia,
Latvia and Lithuania) and defeated a resistant Finland in the Russo-
Finish War. During the six months following the invasion of Poland,
the lack of action on the part of Germany and the Allies in the west
led to talk in the news media of a “phony war.” At sea, however, the
British and German navies faced off in heated battle, and lethal
German U-boat submarines struck at merchant shipping bound for
Britain, sinking more than 100 vessels in the first four months of
World War II.

World War II in the West (1940-41)


On April 9, 1940, Germany simultaneously invaded Norway and
occupied Denmark, and the war began in earnest. On May 10,
German forces swept through Belgium and the Netherlands in what
became known as “blitzkrieg,” or lightning war. Three days later,
Hitler’s troops crossed the Meuse River and struck French forces at
Sedan, located at the northern end of the Maginot Line , an elaborate
chain of fortifications constructed after World War I and considered
an impenetrable defensive barrier. In fact, the Germans broke
through the line with their tanks and planes and continued to the
rear, rendering it useless. The British Expeditionary Force (BEF)
was evacuated by sea from Dunkirk  in late May, while in the south
French forces mounted a doomed resistance. With France on the
verge of collapse, Benito Mussolini  of Italy put his Pact of Steel with
Hitler into action, and Italy declared war against France and Britain
on June 10.
On June 14, German forces entered Paris; a new government
formed by Marshal Philippe Petain  (France’s hero of World War I)
requested an armistice two nights later. France was subsequently
divided into two zones, one under German military occupation and
the other under Petain’s government, installed at Vichy France.
Hitler now turned his attention to Britain, which had the defensive
advantage of being separated from the Continent by the English
Channel.

To pave the way for an amphibious invasion (dubbed Operation Sea


Lion), German planes bombed Britain extensively throughout the
summer of 1940, including night raids on London and other industrial
centers that caused heavy civilian casualties and damage. The
Royal Air Force (RAF) eventually defeated the Luftwaffe (German
Air Force) in the Battle of Britain , and Hitler postponed his plans to
invade. With Britain’s defensive resources pushed to the limit, Prime
Minister Winston Churchill began receiving crucial aid from the U.S.
under the Lend-Lease Act , passed by Congress in e

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