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, 1938- Sudetenland over to Germany without a single shot

• Hitler said it would be last territorial demand

• Nonaggression pactGermany & 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