Chapter 17 Section 2 Europe Goes to War

Chapter 17: Section 2 Europe Goes to War

Setting the Scene • Churchill – believed that sacrificing part of Czechoslovakia to preserve peace was a fatal mistake • thought that the peace agreement would give Britain only a few more months of peace – “Britain and France had to choose between war and dishonor. They chose dishonor. They will have war. ”

• March 1939 – Hitler occupies the western half of Czechoslovakia (despite his assurances that all he had wanted was the Sudetenland) and divides the rest of the country among his allies

Invasion of Poland • Britain and France end their policy of appeasement and warn Hitler that any further expansion risks war • formally pledge to support Poland, agreeing to help if Germany invaded

Hitler’s Pact with Stalin • August 1939 Hitler and Stalin sign a ten-year Nonaggression Pact – eliminating Hitler’s fears of a two front war – secret document divided up the independent states of eastern Europe between Germany and the Soviet Union • September 1, 1939 – Hitler invades Poland • September 3, 1939 – Britain and France declare war on Germany

• each German division had more machine guns, artillery, and other weapons • had tanks organized into separate (panzer) divisions • blitzkrieg (“lightning war”) – fast, concentrated air and land attack that took the enemy’s army by surprise • stuka – dive-bombing Lightning War

• using the blitzkrieg Germany was able to overrun Poland in less than a month • imposed German laws and imprisoned and murdered Jewish citizens – this treatment of Jews is known as the Holocaust • mid-September, Stalin seizes eastern Poland

War in the West • after Poland fell, Britain and France held back – American’s called it the “phony war” • Germans called the lull in fighting a sitzkrieg or “sit-down-war”

Maginot Line • massive string of fortifications along France’s border with Germany Advantages • provided housing for troops, recreational areas, air conditioning, rail lines, thick concrete walls, heavy artillery Disadvantages • protected only the French border that faced Germany; not the border with Belgium • all heavy guns pointed east toward Germany and would be useless if attacked from

Germany Attacks • April 9, 1940 – Hitler attacks Denmark and Norway • May 10, 1940 – launched a new blitzkrieg – Netherlands ~ taken in 5 days – Belgium ~ taken in less than 3 days – Luxembourg ~ taken in 1 day

• mid-May – Germany invades northern France, going around the Maginot Line and to the English channel – cut off northern France from southern; dividing the French troops

Evacuation of Dunkirk • French and British forces retreat to the coastal city of Dunkirk – a nine-day rescue takes place; one of the greatest in history – using tugboats, yachts, and other small craft about 900 vessels carrying 340, 000 soldiers crossed the English Channel to Great Britain

The Fall of France • June 10, 1940 – French government abandons Paris • Italy declares war on Britain and France • June 22, 1940 – France officially surrenders

Vichy France • French government settled in the southern unoccupied part of the France, beginning with the vacation resort of Vichy • adopted a policy of collaboration – close cooperation,

Free France • government-in-exile in London – continued the struggle against Germany • Resistance movement – underground group made up of French citizens who distributed anti-German leaflets or sabotaged German

The Battle of Britain • Hitler’s next invasion target was Britain, 20 miles away, across the English Channel • “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. ” ~ Winston Churchill

Relentless Attack • Britain’s large navy prevented Hitler from getting through • to neutralize the navy, Germany had to control the air – Luftwaffe – German air force • Battle of Britain – intense air attack, using

• 1923 Hague Draft Rules of Air Warfare – prohibited attacks on civilians – at first the Germans attacked only military installations, but when two bombers strayed off course and dropped bombs on London a new type of warfare developed

The Blitz • early September 1940 Hitler orders massive bombing raids on London and other cities to try to break Britain’s will to resist – firebombs carried a mix of chemicals that burned hot enough to set buildings on fire • this type of bombing (the Blitz) would continue off and on until May 1941

• during the Blitz some Londoners sought nighttime shelter in the stations of London’s Underground subway system • authorities tried to prevent it, but could not stop the rush of people

Elephant and Castle Tube Station during the Blitz

Courageous Defense • Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF) – courageously defended Britain, flew against German bombers, avoiding fighter planes – “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so few. ” ~ Churchill

• by the end of the Blitz, more than 20, 000 Londoners had been killed, and 70, 000 injured • February 1940 – scientists in Britain cracked the German top-secret communications code – learned that Hitler would not invade Britain until the Luftwaffe established air superiority – which it never did