HIS 121 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Atlantic Charter, Vichy France, Captive Nations
29 Mar 2017
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Lecture 10a: world war ii in europe, 1939-1942. Blitzkrieg: german conquest of poland and western europe (sept. 1, 1939 to june. In response to this, britain and france declared war against hitler. Poland was conquered by germany in just 3 weeks while the soviet union occupied eastern poland (lightning attack) Civilians were targeted from the very beginning. Heavy use of aviation and tanks by the germans; quick attacks. Mass executions of poland civilians to terrorize the population, particularly: The french war plan: the impregnable maginot line underground fortifications along the border with germany to house soldiers with little weapons & starve germans. Fall and winter of 1939-1940: phony war attitude by allied soldiers as morale decreased with little military action. May-june 1940: blitzkrieg invasion of western europe cut the allied forces in two with multiple attacks throughout france. French civilians tried to flee but blocked the roads to french troops, which helped the germans.
