World War II ~ Lesson 4 The Nazis Take Europe
The Treaty of Versailles gave Poland a piece of land running to the Baltic Sea. Hitler wanted the land back. When Poland refused, Hitler sent his army. This was the beginning of a new kind of warfare called Blitzkrieg (lightning war).
The Germans fought by bombing whole cities. Troops moved in with tanks. Poland was quickly defeated. Germany took control of most of Poland. The eastern portion was controlled by Russia.
In April 1940, Hitler moved his armies against Denmark and Norway. Denmark surrendered at once, while Norway tried to fight. It soon was defeated.
In May, Hitler attacked the Netherlands and Belgium. In 5 days the Dutch surrendered, and after 18 days of fighting Hitler took Belgium. Belgium was able to hold on for 18 days because the English and French had helped them.
French troops rescued by a British ship at Dunkirk (France, 1940).
Next Hitler moved to France. Although the French lost the Battle of Dunkirk, the British had one small victory by rescuing 300,000 of their soldiers that were trapped on the beaches of Dunkirk after the battle. The British used more than 600 small boats to help in the rescue. They crossed the English Channel in rowboats, sailboats, and even yachts. After the Battle of Dunkirk, the Germans took the rest of France.
By June 1940, the Germans controlled all of Europe. England was the only free country not controlled by the Germans. Although the Americans were not fighting at this time, President Roosevelt asked Congress to give money for military supplies. Some of these weapons were sent to help countries fighting the Germans. Congress also voted to start a draft system in America. Men over the age of 18 had to register. More than 80,000 men were drafted immediately for one year of service. America was divided in the war. The Isolationists wanted to stay isolated from the war and the Interventionists wanted to intervene or take part.
In September 1940, Germany moved toward England. The British leader, Winston Churchill, tried to fight back against the Germans. The British Royal Air Force was able to shoot down so many German planes, that Germany slowed down the air raids in 1941. Roosevelt sent guns, ammunition, and warships to England. Many Americans went to Canada, so they could sign up for the Royal Air Force. Germany took Greece. Italian and German troops took part of Africa. Then Germany attacked Russia because Hitler wanted the supplies of things such as oil and grain even though Germany had earlier signed a treaty with Russia. The Japanese took part of China.