Troops in trucks followed to trap the enemy From a harbor a German battleship fired its guns on a Polish city Germany was using a tactic known as blitzkrieg or lightning war Blitzkrieg uses unexpected strikes to win a quick victory It involves many advanced technologies Powerful weapons overwhelm defenders Radios allow the attackers to coordinate their invasion Invading troops rush through enemy defenses They paralyze their foes Poland’s outdated equipment was no match for the blitzkrieg The outnumbered Polish troops fought back fiercely But in just over a month Poland fell to Germany WAR BREAKS OUT Soon after the invasion the United Kingdom and France declared war on Germany World War II 1939 1945 had begun Many of the seeds for the conflict had been planted after World War I 1914 1918 Following that war a losing Germany was punished harshly In the 6
RESOURCES OF POLAND AND GERMANY Germany’s military was much better equipped than Poland’s in 1939 What do you notice about the numbers of tanks aircraft and soldiers each country deployed during the invasion How does this help you understand Germany’s quick takeover 2,500 2,000 1,500 1,000 500 0 1,500,000 1,200,000 900,000 600,000 300,000 0 germany germany 950000 1500000 400 2315 880 2,750 poland germany poland poland TANKS AIRCRAFT SOLDIERS 3,000 2,500 2,000 1,500 1,000 500 0 7
aftermath Adolf Hitler rose to power He promised to bring the German nation back to greatness Hitler built up the nation’s military He triggered World War II when he ordered the invasion of Poland SECRET PREPARATION The Treaty of Versailles ended World War I It forced Germany to accept responsibility for the war It limited the size of Germany’s military It also banned Germany from having submarines However Hitler ignored the treaty He built up Germany’s army He created a new air force and navy Before World War II he began taking territory from other nations No one stopped him World War II was fought by two groups They were the Axis and the Allied powers The Axis included Germany Japan and Italy These nations were focused on expanding their territories by force The major Allied powers included the United Kingdom France the United States Hitler oversaw a massive buildup of the German military in the 1930s 8
