World War IIFrom Appeasement to Victory

Q.O.D. #11 2/2/10

Why did Britain and France end their policy of appeasement?

Invasion of Poland

Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939.

Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later.

World War II had begun.

Invasion of PolandGermany attacked from the East, Soviet Union

from the West

Each took part of Poland, as agreed in the Nazi-Soviet Pact

Poland no longer existed

Although Britain and France had vowed to help Poland once they realized their policy of appeasement wasn’t working, Poland’s location made that difficult.

Blitzkrieg

Blitzkrieg = “lightning war”Luftwaffe (German air force) bombed airfields,

factories, and towns and dive bombers would fire on troops and civilians.

Then, tanks and troops moved in.

FranceMaginot Line

Fortifications built by the French in the 1930s along their border with Germany to protect from future invasions.

The French and British were at the Maginot Line defending France from the Nazis

The Germans bypassed the Maginot Line and invaded France through the Ardennes Forest in Belgium

British forces were caught between the German army and the English Channel

Maginot Line

Dunkirk The British sent all

available boats – naval vessels, merchant ships, fishing and pleasure boats – across the English channel to rescue their stranded troops.

They rescued over 300,000 British troops and lifted British morale

FranceGerman forces marched toward Paris.

Italy attacked from the South

France surrendered

June 22, 1940 – Hitler forced the French to sign surrender documents on the same railroad car that the Germans were forced to sign the armistice ending World War I.

Germany occupied northern France, in the South they set up a “puppet state” with Vichy as the capital

Britain The Nazis attempted to invade Britain in Operation Sea Lion

Beginning in August 1940 Germany bombed the southern coast of Britain

The Germans then changed tactics and began bombing London and other cities

The Blitz September 1940-May 1941: Bombing attacks destroyed

London and killed thousandsParliament continued to meet, people went about their daily

lives, king and queen stayed in London in bomb shelters with citizens instead of fleeing to the countryside

Failed – German Luftwaffe was defeated by the Royal Air Force in the Battle of Britain. Blitz made British more determined, and the Battle of Britain made them more confident.

The Blitz

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sw8BpcWgET8&safety_mode=true&safe=active&persist_safety_mode=1

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sw8BpcWgET8&safety_mode=true&safe=active&persist_safety_mode=1

Winston Churchill British Prime Minister

“We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strengthin the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be,we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.”

Africa and the BalkansSeptember 1940 - Italian forces invaded Egypt

British pushed the Italians back, but Hitler sent General Erwin Rommel the “Desert Fox” to N. AfricaRommel’s Afrika Korps pushed the British back across

the desert

October 1940 – Italy invaded Greece

Greece and Yugoslavia were added to the Axis

Bulgaria and Hungary also joined.

By 1941 the Axis controlled most of Europe

Erwin Rommel The Desert Fox

Germany and the Soviet Union

June 1941 – Hitler violated the Nazi-Soviet Pact and invaded the USSROperation BarbarossaWanted to defeat Stalin and crush communismSoviets lost 2,500,000 soldiersDestroyed land, factories, farms as they retreatedNazis were nearly ready to take Moscow and

Leningrad (St. Petersburg)Stopped by “General Winter”, or the extremely cold

temperatures in Soviet Russia, which left the German Army freezing and made resupply difficult.

Map:On the map you worked on Thursday and

Monday, identify the further areas of Nazi and Italian expansion in Europe and North Africa.

Use two colors:First color: German territorySecond color: Italian territory