HITLER’SLIGHTNING

WAR

Aug. 1939Hitler & Stalin sign a non-aggression pact

1. What did each leader gain from the secret pact?

• Hitler: Removal of threat from the east• Stalin: Take over of Baltics / no German threat

Sep. 1939Hitler invades Poland

• Blitzkrieg “Lightning War”- Using fast moving mechanized weapons & overwhelming force.

USSRGermany

2. What strategy did Hitler use to conquer Poland?

April 1940Hitler invades Denmark &

Norway

•Distract the Allies & create a path to France through Holland, Belgium & Luxembourg

3. What was Hitler’s plan for conquering France?

June 1940France Surrenders

•British civilians rescued Allied soldiers trapped there.

4. What happened at Dunkirk?

Sept. 1940German Luftwaffe begins

bombing British cities

•R.A.F. fighters & British resistance forced Germany to end the attack and focus East.

5. What was the outcome of the Battle of Britain?

Sept. 1940Italy moves to seize Egypt &

the Suez Canal

Feb. 1941Hitler sends Rommel to help

Italian troops seize Egypt and the Suez Canal

6. What was the outcome of the fighting at Tobruk?

•In the beginning of ’42, the Brits pushed Rommel out of Tobruk.

•By the middle of ’42, Rommel regained Tobruk

June 22, 1941Hitler invades the Soviet Union

•Terrible winters•“Scorched-Earth” policy by Soviets

7. How did Hitler’s invasion compare with Napoleon’s invasion of Russia?