z WWII Begins · z Invasion of Poland § Britain and France declare that an invasion of Poland would mean war § Hitler believes Britain and France will be weak and indecisive

z WWII Begins

zReview

§ Treaty of Munich: (Hitler and British PM – Chamberlain meet and agree that Germany can have Sudetenland)

§ Chamberlain returned to England with a piece of paper signed by Hitler, proclaiming “Peace in our time.”

zReview

§ Hitler breaks Munich Treaty andinvades all of Czechoslovakia

§ Aug. 1939 - Hitler and Stalin sign a non-aggression pact (includes secret clause to divide up Poland)

zInvasion of Poland

§ Britain and France declare that an invasion of Poland would mean war

§ Hitler believes Britain and France will be weak and indecisive

§ Hitler demands the return of the port of Danzig so that East Prussia could be linked up with rest of Germany

zInvasion of Poland

§ On Sept. 1, 1939 - Hitler invades Poland

§ German troops simply pushed aside border barriers and headed for Warsaw (capital of Poland)

§ Two days later Britain and France declare war on Germany

§ Polish troops outnumbered but also ill prepared for new form of warfare – Blitzkrieg “lightening war”

§ Blitzkrieg = military tactic calculated to create psychological shock and disorganization in enemy forces by surprise, speed, and superiority in firepower

zInvasion of Poland

§ 1939 – German army consisted of 1.5 million troops

§ Panzers (tanks): 2,400 – designed to quickly barrel past enemy defenses and infantry would follow behind and “mop up”

zBlitzkrieg

§ Luftwaffe (German Airforce) also designed for Blitzkrieg

§ 2,500 aircrafts lined up against Poland

§ Made pinpoint attacks in support of the fast moving land force.

zInvasion of Poland

§ Poland had just 600 planes, and army of 500,000, and 880 tanks

§ Even had 11 brigades of cavalry (lances and horses)

§ Germany had geographical advantage – 3 entry points into Poland

§ First task of tanks was to create an initial breakthrough

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zInvasion

§ From the start, it went well for the Germans

§ Polish air force effectively eliminated within the first two days

§ Big and medium Luftwaffe bombers proved effective

§ Within a couple weeks, German’s had reached Warsaw and Brest-Litovsk

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§ Sept. 17 – Soviet forces cross the east Polish border (as part of the agreement reached in the Nazi-Soviet Pact)

§ Polish government officials flee the country

§ The city of Warsaw fought on– its defenders rejected a German offer to surrender

§ The full fury of the German war machine was turned on the capital

zWarsaw Surrenders

§ Sept 27 – Warsaw surrenders

§ The next day, the victors carved up Poland into the Nazi-Soviet Pact

§ The Soviet Union annexed slightly over half the country to the East – German took the rest

§ Both regimes began rounding up anyone who they deemed my pose a danger in the future - many were murdered

zOccupied Citizens

§ The first time German’s and Hitler would showcasehow they would treat anyone they deemed inferior

§ They sent in special squads to round up Jewish people

§ Most were forced into ghettos in the major cities were they would starve to death – others executed on the spot

zMobilization in Britain and France

§ This was not the end of Polish army – more than 50,000 troops escaped to France

§ The Polish troops would eventually fight on bravely from abroad

§ Despite their guarantee to defend Poland, the British and French had done very little

§ Hitler had gambled that they would have no idea what to do once they declared war

§ Both France and Britain had begun mobilization

§ Anti-aircraft guns placed in major cities

§ Air raid precautions tested

§ Shelters constructed

§ Everyone had to carry gas masks

§ Britain had deployed 100,000 troops to Northern France