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The Road to War World War II The League of Nations • Only met 4 times a year • Its decisions had to be agreed upon by ALL members • The USA never joined • Did not have the “will” or the “way” to stop Mussolini, Hitler and Japan No Consequences • 1932 - Japan conquers Manchuria (China) and massacres 300,000 civilians - The League of Nations does nothing • 1933 - Hitler begins rearming Germany in direct violation of the Treaty of Versailles - The League of Nations does nothing • 1935 - Italy invades Abyssinia (ETHIOPIA) - The League of Nations fails to respond • Could history have been changed? Germany At the end of WWI 1936 – HITLER SENDS THE GERMAN ARMY INTO THE RHINELAND • According to the Treaty of Versailles Germany was: “forbidden to maintain or construct any fortification either on the Left bank of the Rhine or on the Right bank to the west of a line drawn fifty kilometres to the East of the Rhine". If a violation "in any manner whatsoever" of this Article took place, this "shall be regarded as committing a hostile act...and as calculated to disturb the peace of the world" 1938 – HITLER TAKES CONTROL OF AUSTRIA • Nazism was based on the belief that the Germanic people were a “master race” who belonged together • Hitler used this idea to justify invading neighbouring countries where Germanic people lived • In 1938, he persuaded government officials in Austria to “invite: the German army into their country • The Austrians had a plebiscite (vote) and most wanted to join the German Empire. • The uniting of Germany and Austria was forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles - Anschluss Europe March 1938 1938 – HITLER DEMANDS THE SUDETENLAND • In a desperate attempt to avoid war, Britain, France and Italy allowed Germany to takeover this part of Czechoslovakia • The Munich Agreement gave Germany this territory without the consent of the Czech people as long as Hitler agreed to stop there. • This is referred to as the policy of Appeasement - the goal was “Peace for our time” March 1939 - The Invasion of Czechoslovakia • On March 15 President Hácha (Czechoslovakia) and Hitler meet in Berlin • Hitler informed the President that the Luftwave would attack Prague if he did not surrender • President Hácha had a heart attack during the meeting and was kept awake by medical staff until he accepted Hitler’s terms • Again, Hitler ignored the agreement just signed (The Munich Agreement) Europe March 1939 The End of Appeasement The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend • On August 23, 1939 Hitler and Josef Stalin shock the world • Two dictators opposed to each other sign a non-aggression pact and agree to divide up Europe between them • The secret agreement has plans for dividing Poland between them • Hitler is now free to focus on the Western Front (Remember The Schlieffen Plan?) The September Campaign (or the 1939 Defensive War) • False Flag Operation: German agents dressed as Polish officers staged an assault at the German border • The Germans use a Blitzkrieg (lightning) attack on Poland • Coordinated and extensive use of the Luftwave (air force) and fast moving armoured divisions • The Soviet invasion in the east began on September 17 • On September 3rd, 1939 Britain and France declare war on Germany By Ai6z83xl3g - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/ index.php?curid=17935460 Europe, September 1939 The Phoney War Canada Enters the War • September 10, 1939 Canada declares war on Germany • Prime Minister King insisted that the Canadian Parliament declare war on Germany • King wanted Canada to make an independent decision, not like World War One when Canada entered the war as part of the British Empire The Phoney War • Although France and Britain declared war on Germany there was little they could do • Hitler and Stalin moved quickly and by 1940, Finland, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg fell to Germany • In the East: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania fell to the Soviets • Most countries planned for World War One style trench warfare blitzkrieg tactics allowed German forces to smash through their defences • In September of 1940 Italy, Germany and Japan sign an agreement to support each other The Fall of France • The French prepared a defensive line (The Maginot Line) for a long drawn out war like WWI • The Germans simply went around the line (through Belgium) • The Allied forces collapsed and 338,000 troops (British, French,Canadian, Polish, Belgian and Dutch) retreated to the port of Dunkirk • Less then a month later on June 25, 1940 France officially surrendered Operation Dynamo • “A colossal military disaster” • 300,000 allied troops captured during the fall of France • The evacuation at Dunkirk left the French to fight alone against the German Army • The rescue of 338,226 allied troop was made possible by: Hitler’s indecision The heroic efforts of 40,000 French troops who delayed the German advance despite being heavily outnumbered An armada of 800 fishing, pleasure and commercial boats many of them operated by civilians We Shall Fight on The Beaches Winston Churchill