The German War Machine
AUSTRIA AND CZECHOSLAVAKIA FALL
• Austria
• Sudetenland
• German troops march
into Austria unopposed
on March 12, 1938.
Majority of 6 million
people were German
• Western border region
of Czechoslovakia.
• Neville Chamberlain
• Munich Agreement
• British prime minister
met with Hitler along
with French premier.
• Promised to protect
Czechoslovakia.
• September 30, 1938Sudetenland over to
Germany without a
single shot
• Hitler said it would be
last territorial demand
• Nonaggression pact
Germany & Soviet
Union agree not to attack
one another. Also decided
to divide Poland between
them.
Military Advancements
• Hitler had access to…
– An effective air force
– Faster tanks
Blitzkrieg
• German for lightning
war
• Germany launched
massive offensives with
devastating air and land
attacks
• Major fighting in Poland
done in a few weeks
Sitzkrieg (The Phony War)
• “Sitting war”
• German fighting not
renewed until April
1940
• When it did, the
German came out
swinging
• How effective was the
German War Machine?
Europe: 1942
Vichy France
• Nazi-semi-controlled**** puppet government
in southern section of France
• Headed by Marshall Philippe Petain
• Would be challenged by French Underground
and Charles De Gaulle from Britain
De Gaulle vs. Petain
Winston Churchill
• British Prime Minister
• “We shall defend our
island whatever the cost
may be, we shall fight
them on the beaches, we
shall fight them on the
landing grounds, we shall
fight in the fields and in
the streets, we shall fight
in the hills; we shall never
surrender.”
The Battle of Britain
• Summer and Fall of 1940
• The Luftwaffe bombed British targets such as
airfields, aircrafts, and then cities (why cities?)
• Radar and the RAF were used very effectively
• Nazis never launched an attack
The Blitz
• Bombing of cities in the
UK
• London, Manchester,
Liverpool, Bristol,
Cardiff.
• Over 40,000 dead
• Millions of dollars in
damages
The Blitz Activity
• Research the German bombings of UK cities
by looking for a survivors/eyewitness account
of the bombings. Your account should
include…
• A quote
• A description of what the person saw
• A reference to the physical/personal
destruction