HITLERS LIGHTNING WAR Aug 1939 Hitler Stalin sign

HITLER’S LIGHTNING WAR

Aug. 1939 Hitler & Stalin sign a non-aggression pact 1. What did each leader gain from the secret pact? • Hitler: Removal of threat from the east • Stalin: Take over of Baltics / no German threat

Sep. 1939 Hitler invades Poland 2. What strategy did Hitler use to conquer Poland? • Blitzkrieg “Lightning War” USSR Germany - Using fast moving mechanized weapons & overwhelming force.

April 1940 Hitler invades Denmark & Norway 3. What was Hitler’s plan for conquering France? • Distract the Allies & create a path to France through Holland, Belgium & Luxembourg

June 1940 France Surrenders 4. What happened at Dunkirk? • British civilians rescued Allied soldiers trapped there.

Sept. 1940 German Luftwaffe begins bombing British cities 5. What was the outcome of the Battle of Britain? • R. A. F. fighters & British resistance forced Germany to end the attack and focus East.

Sept. 1940 Italy moves to seize Egypt & the Suez Canal Feb. 1941 Hitler sends Rommel to help Italian troops seize Egypt and the Suez Canal

6. What was the outcome of the fighting at Tobruk? • In the beginning of ’ 42, the Brits pushed Rommel out of Tobruk. • By the middle of ’ 42, Rommel regained Tobruk

June 22, 1941 Hitler invades the Soviet Union 7. How did Hitler’s invasion compare with Napoleon’s invasion of Russia? • Terrible winters • “Scorched-Earth” policy by Soviets

US Assistance • Roosevelt provided aid to the Allies: Lend-Lease - 1939 • US “lent” war materials to cash -strapped Great Britain Atlantic Charter • US secretly meets with England to commit to defeating Germany