Hitler in the Spring Time

Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, France, Luxembourg

6 countries Hitler took over in the Spring of 1940 (Between March and June)

By going through Belgium Hitler succeeded in out flanking the ________ ____ (french trench line) capturing thousands of French Soldiers.  The British soldiers fighting alongside the French were beaten back to the coast of Belgium.

Maginot Line

Who replaced Chamberlain in May 1940 as Prime Minister of England and vowed to fight Hitler to the death?

Winston Churchill

Later that month the British army was trapped in Belgium and due to a change in Hitler’s orders was able to evacuate from ______ .  History remembers it as “the _____ at Dunkirk”, it allowed Britain to survive.

Dunkirk, Miracle

By July 1, 1940 Hitler controlled ALL of Northern Europe except Britain.  Hitler reached out to ______ through intermediaries to gauge his interest in peace… Churchill refused thus the …

Churchill

1. Hitler bombed Britain mercilessly trying to make them sign a peace agreement or surrender altogether.

2. Aerial and by Sea only there were no significant ground forces in the battle. It was the German Luftwaffe vs the RAF (Royal Air Force).

3. Germany had a clear advantage until a few British planes dropped a few bombs on Berlin.  Hitler flew into a rage and ordered bombing of civilian cities to get revenge.  He wanted this bombing to be done mostly at night to increase the terror that has become known as “The Blitz”.

4. While Civilians hid in the subways to survive, the British rebuilt their air defenses and by October had gained equilibrium in the skies.  The result of the battle was a Stalemate.

The Battle of Britain July-October 1940

Britain survived but didn’t win the Battle of Britain by the time Hitler called off the attack.  The British were stuck on their Island and Hitler had a “free hand” in Europe.

US Began to wake up..