AV: The World at War (Ep 2): DISTANT WAR,
September 1939 – May 1940
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September 1, 1939 - Germany invaded ___________. In response, on September 3, Great
Britain & France declared war when Germany failed to respond to their ultimatum.

Capture of ______________ meant the end of Versailles for many Germans.
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Most of Poland captured in 2 weeks. __________ held out for another 2 weeks and was
reduced to rubble as a result.
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Poland partitioned as the USSR invaded from the _______ as part of the Nazi-Soviet Pact.
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In ___________, it was almost ‘business as usual’ even though people had braced
themselves for a grim war - evacuations to the _______________, hospitals cleared, gas
masks issued, etc.

For children: it was an adventure for some, whilst others felt ___________ by their families.
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No rush to enlist or be enlisted (but lots of ____________!).
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Blackout: was more dangerous to _______________ & _____________. Wardens checked
for _________ that showed in the night.

Britain did nothing against Germany for 3 months, except drop _________________
leaflets. They still hoped for peace. This phase was called ‘the ____________ War’.

200,000 troops (British Expeditionary Force or BEF) sent to _________, who suggested that
Britain wasn’t taking war seriously.

______ dug in on Franco-Belgian frontier, aiming to cross into Belgium if Germany invaded.

Back in Britain, Prime Minister Chamberlain recalled his political enemy, __________
____________ to lead Royal Navy (RN). Early success for __________ - Battle of the River
Plate - saw sinking of German ‘pocket battleship’, Admiral Graf Spee.

November 30, 1939: Russo-Finnish War breaks out. USSR expected easy __________, but
Finns fought back successfully. This confirmed German ideas that Soviet army was lacking
______________. Eventually overwhelming numbers of Soviet troops won the day.

In December 1939, British destroyers captured the German supply ship Altmark in neutral
_______________ waters. As a result, both sides made plans to invade Norway: Britain
aimed to cut off Swedish iron ore trade to Germany & help __________ while Germany
aimed to protect its iron ore supply.

1st stage of Allied plan - _________ of Norwegian waters, began on April 8th. Germany
invaded immediately from the air & sea: Norway had no real army. However, Kriegsmarine
(German navy) suffered heavy losses.

Soon after, the Allies invaded Norway in the north, but were very _______________ and
were forced to retreat (eg. no maps, no skis!). Germans held the airfields - showed that any
navy operating in hostile waters needed air support.

The ___________ fallout in Britain led to the fall of PM Chamberlain. Many politicians on
both sides saw the need for a government of __________ unity. Churchill was appointed
reluctantly by the Parliament as Prime Minister on May 10th 1940. They remembered his
costly ___________ - Norway, Gallipolli - but admired his fighting spirit.