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36 GERMANY TRIUMPHANT 1939–1941

WAR IN EUROPE

The triumph of German armies in the first phase of World War II made

Adolf Hitler the master of continental Europe. Under the leadership of

Winston Churchill, Britain successfully resisted a German aerial onslaught,

but with no immediate prospect of more than mere survival.

When World War II broke out in

September 1939, there were no

cheering crowds as there had been in

World War I. The British and French governments reluctantly

entered a conflict that they had not wanted, and took no

action to aid the Poles, on whose behalf they had declared

war on Germany. Quickly defeated and divided between

Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, Poland was subjected

to the mass killing of its educated elite, and its Jews were

driven into ghettos. Britain and France rejected a peace offer

from Hitler after his victory in Poland, but had no desire for

military action. The French army based

itself on the Maginot Line, the

fortifications that were supposed

to block a German invasion, while a

British Expeditionary Force headed

to northern France. However, little

actually happened, except at sea. The

lack of military action led to this period

being dubbed the “phony war.”

In Britain, preparations for

conflict had been under way long

before war was officially declared.

Civil defense programs set up to cope

with air raids were implemented

immediately, and blackouts were

introduced in cities, although

expectations that Germany would

undertake a swift aerial attack proved

mistaken. In British cities, children were evacuated

days before the declaration of war, likewise the residents

in France’s frontier zone. By the time war broke out,

Germany’s economy had already been geared to war for

over a year, and Britain and France had begun to rearm.

Indeed, armaments programs and military conscription

ended the mass unemployment of the interwar period.

Germany storms Europe

Some politicians, especially in France, would have preferred

to fight the Soviet Union rather than Nazi Germany. They

toyed with plans for intervention in

support of Finland after it was attacked

by the Soviets in the winter of 1939–1940.

However, in spring 1940 this idea was

abandoned as Germany took decisive

and widespread military action. First,

Hitler sent his armies northward into

Denmark and Norway. He then followed

this by launching a lightning offensive in

France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and

Luxembourg. Combining tanks and

aircraft in fast-moving “Blitzkrieg”

tactics, the Germans scored a series of

astonishing victories. On the Western

front, the French and British armies were

routed in six weeks, although many

soldiers escaped capture through the

evacuation of Dunkirk in May–June 1940.

△ Third Reich medal

The Knight’s Cross, introduced by

Hitler in 1939, was awarded to German

soldiers for acts of exceptional valor

or skill in command.

△ Fleeing civilians

A Parisian family sets out in search of a

safe haven as German forces approach

the French capital in 1940. Two-thirds

of the city’s population fled in panic to

the countryside.

HITLER TRIUMPHANT

Nazi Germany conquered most

of northern Europe in three

short campaigns: the first against

Poland in September 1939, the

second in Scandinavia beginning

in April 1940, and the third in

Western Europe in May–June

1940. However, after France
      surrendered, Hitler failed to
      pursue an invasion of Britain
      with equal energy and willpower.
      The Luftwaffe’s air attacks caused
      extensive damage but were
      inconclusive. Meanwhile the
      US was increasingly drawn into
      supporting the British war effort.

Sep 3, 1939 Britain

and France declare

war on Germany

SEP NOV JAN MAR MAY

EUROPE

US

Nov 29, 1939

Soviet war with

Finland is triggered

Oct 6, 1939 Hitler makes

speech calling for peace,

rejected by Britain and France

Apr 7, 1940

Forestalling Allied

plans, Germany invades

Denmark and Norway

May 9, 1940

German offensive

in Low Countries

and France begins

Jun 10,

1940 Italy

enters

the war

Sep 29, 1939 Germany

and Soviet Union agree

to partition Poland

Jun 3, 1940

Evacuation of

Allied troops

from Dunkirk

is completed

May 10, 1940

Churchill becomes

prime minister

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