Non – Aggression PactNon – Aggression Pacttoto

Battle of BritainBattle of Britain

Sept. 1, 1939

to

May 10, 1941

Soviet / German Non-Aggression Pact

• Public– will not attack each other

• Private– divide Poland– Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia to USSR

Soviet / German Non-Aggression Pact

Sept. 1, 1939

• Hitler’s Lightning Attack on Poland / blitzkrieg

Hitler Invades Poland

Sept. 3, 1939

• Britain and France declare war on Germany

• Germany takes western half of Poland

• USSR takes eastern half of Poland, Finland (not w/o a fight), Lithuania, Estonia

The Phony War

• 7 months of sitting

The Phony War

April 9, 1940

• Hitler invades and takes Denmark and Norway

Invasion of Denmark and Norway

Late April, 1940

• Hitler invades Holland, Belgium, and Luxembourg

• Hitler invades through Ardennes and meets up with forces in Belgium

Invasion of Holland, Belgium, and Luxembourg

May 26, 1940

• Allies retreat to Dunkirk

• 338,000 troops ferried by boat to England

June 10, 1940

• Mussolini joins Hitler and attacks France from south

June 14, 1940

• Paris falls

June 22, 1940

• France surrenders

July 1940

• Operation Sea Lion Begins– Hitler begins bombing Britain

• First– British airfields and aircraft factories

• Eventually– British cities

• Radar and Enigma machine help Britain resist

May 10, 1941

• Battle of Britain called off

• Germany turns attention South and East

• North Africa & the Soviet Union