Download Key words activity World War II

Blitzkrieg
Phoney War
Maginot Line
Vichy France
A military tactic used by the Germans during
the early stages of World War II. It involved
heavy bombardment from the air followed by
rapid tank attack on the ground.
A period of calming Europe following the
defeat of Poland in September 1939 and the
invasion of Western Europe in the spring of
1940.
A defensive line built by the French
alongside their border with Germany.
A Nazi puppet state in southern France.
Battle of Britain
The battle for air supremacy between
the RAF and the Luftwaffe during 1940
and 1941.
The Blitz
The heavy bombing of British cities
during 1940 and 1941.
Operation Barbarossa
The code name given to Hitler’s
invasion of the Soviet Union.
Scorched earth
The name given to the Red Army’s policy
of destroying anything that could be of use
to the enemy as they retreated from the
advancing German army in 1941.
Anschluss
Hitler’s plan to unify Germany with
German-speaking Austria.
Lebensraum
Hitler’s plan to create ‘living space’ by
extending the German border eastwards.
Rome-Berlin Axis
A friendly agreement between Italy and
Germany signed in 1936.
The Pact of Steel
A military agreement between Italy and
Germany whereby each country promised to
help the other in any future war.
Appeasement
The foreign policy followed by Neville Chamberlain,
whereby he believed that war with Germany could
be avoided if Hitler was allowed to revise some of
the terms of the Treaty of Versailles.
Nazi-Soviet Pact
A ten-year-non-aggression pact signed by
Germany and the Soviet Union in August 1939.
Munich Agreement
The agreement that resulted from a conference
between the leaders of France, Britain, Germany
and Italy where it was agreed that Hitler could take
control of the Sudetenland.