InNo+christopherc2012+03.01.11

A Tree chart I made that lists the events that happened in early World War II. It goes from the time Hitler invades Poland to the war in North Africa. Note that the diagram goes from bottom to top.

The Destruction of the Battle of Britain. A building is seen tumbling down. Over 60,000 were killed and 3.5 million were made homeless in this event.

The German troops invading Poland. This was the event that led to the start of World War II.

From Lightning to Phoney War Blitzkrieg Suffering of the Poles The 'Phoney War'
 * the aim of **blitzkrieg** was to smash an enemy's defenses with a sudden combined attack by aircraft, tanks, and infantry
 * blew up railways, roads, factories, and power stations
 * set fire to towns and cities
 * In Poland, started by bomber aircraft which destroyed most of Polish Air Force while it was still on the ground
 * at same time, German forces crossed Polish border to fight Polish Army
 * smashed Polish defenses easily
 * captured most of western Poland by September 17
 * blitzkreg meant that civilians and soldiers were involved in the fighting
 * 66,000 Poles had been killed and 200,000 wounded by the end of September
 * Britain and France promised to defend Poland against attack before the Germans invaded
 * declared war on Germany Sept 3
 * difficult of them to defend Poland
 * Britain had small air force and army
 * France not ready to fight
 * Poland was 1000km away
 * British and France did not stop Germany in September
 * Britain and France fought Germany in western Europe
 * people in Britain defended against German bombings by **blackouts**: forbade use of light in the open at night, and people carried gas masks everywhere
 * no fighting took place, so it was called **phoney war**

The Fall of Western Europe Germany attacks Norway Germany attacks the West Fall of France Britain Alone
 * 'Phony War' ended when Germans invaded Norway in April 1940
 * Hitler ordered invasion when British Royal Navy laid mines along Norwegian coast in April 1940
 * trying to stop iron from being shipped to Germany
 * could not afford to have supplies blocked
 * Germans captured Narvik, Trondheim and Bergen on Atlantic coast, and occupied Denmark to invade Norway
 * Royal Navy sank German ships, and sent troops to Norway
 * British poorly trained and equipped
 * Prime minister of Britain blamed for defeat and replaced by **Winston Churchill**
 * Hitler ordered an attack on Western Europe to smash France and force Britain to surrender
 * Code-named Operation Yellow, began on May 10, 1940 using blitzkrieg tactics
 * Germans smashed into Holland and Belgium defeating them in 3 weeks
 * Went through north-east France forcing the British and French to retreat to **Dunkirk**
 * France and Britain organized a rescue operation for soldiers trapped by German advance
 * 338,225 British escaped
 * 70,000 killed, and abandoned 150,000 French
 * Gained 1/3 of a million soldiers
 * Mussolini declared war on France on June 10 and invaded southern France
 * French government fled from Paris and Prime Minister resigned
 * south governed by army general loyal to Germans and would be based in **Vichy**
 * Only Britain was at war with Germany
 * British prepared to resisted invasion and formed Home Guard
 * Britain entered the summer of 1940 determined to fight

Battle Over Britain Operation Sealion Battle of Britain The Blitz
 * Two German armies gathered at French and Belgian ports to go to England
 * German air force, **Luftwaffe** was given most vital part
 * prevent **Royal Air Force** from sinking invasion craft
 * began work on July 10, 1940, attacked convoys of British ships in the Channel
 * 3000 against Britain's 600-700
 * Luftwaffe and RAF fought in Battle of Britain
 * August 15 to September 7
 * inflicted great damage on RAF airfields
 * Hitler switch attacks to London, and gave RAF chance to rebuild
 * RAF broke up Luftwaffe and RAF kept control of the air over Britain
 * Hitler cancels Operation Sealion
 * Sept 7 +, Luftwaffe dropped bombs on London and other cities
 * attacks known as The Blitz
 * **Air Raid Precautions** set up
 * gas-masks issued
 * air-raid shelters constructed
 * air-raid sirens
 * Barrage balloons floated over cities to force aircraft to fly high
 * 'blackouts' banned lights seen from above during the night
 * did less damage expected
 * 3.5 million homes damaged, 250,000 homeless, 60,595 killed

The Mediterranean War Importance of the Mediterranean > Hitler's Generals wanted to drive British out of Mediterranean to conquer Egypt and Middle East War in the Balkans War in North Africa
 * Mussolini long dreamed of conquering Mediterranean
 * wanted to rebuild ancient Roman Empire
 * Mussolini ordered Italian army to invade Greece
 * Italians were driven back to Albania
 * British aircraft attacked Italian navy damaging warships
 * Mussolini fled leaving Royal Navy in control of Mediterranean
 * Hitler decided to help Mussolini and Germans moved to Protect oil fields in Romania
 * Balkans states joined Axis, Yugoslavs invaded when they refused
 * Germans invaded Greece, by April, Greece surrendered
 * 300,000 Italians troops invaded Egypt in Sept 1940
 * British attacked Italian base at Sidi Barrani and were defeated
 * By Feb 1941, British destroyed 10 Italian army divisions
 * Hitler sent troops to North Africa, British remained defensive in North Africa for rest of the year
 * June 22, Germans invaded Soviet Union

Summary: Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, thus starting World War II. Its early months was known as a Phony War, because Britain and France did not fight the Germans at that time. In April 1940, the Phony War ended and the British and French started to fight back. But not long after, France had fallen to the German Power, leaving Britain alone. The Germans failed to take over Britain and then went on to take over the Balkans and North Africa. which were both successful for the Germans.

Questions:
 * 1) How did World War II start?
 * 2) What tactic did the German use in early in World War II?
 * 3) How did Winston Churchill become Prime Minister of Britain?
 * 4) Explain the significance of the Battle of Britain.
 * 5) What do you think may have happened if Britain did not defend most of the European countries?