In April 1940, Hitler and his army overran Denmark in one day. ● At the same time, a German invasion fleet landed at ports along the Norwegian coast.
● German paratroopers were also dropped to control bridges, airports and radio stations.
● Within a short time, Norway was captured, and Vidkun Quisling, a Norwegian sympathetic to Hitler, was made Minister President of Norway.
Land occupied by Germany ‘Puppet’ government Land occupied by USSR German invasions Italian attack on France
Hitler’s conquests, 1939–40
Iron ore
FINLAND NORWAY SWEDEN
IRELAND
UNITED KINGDOM
HOLLAND Dunkirk BELGIUM
Maginot Line
VICHY FRANCE YUGOSLAVIA SPAIN ITALY
ROMANIA BULGARIA
MAY 1940
Siegfried Line
SLOVAKIA HUNGARY
1 SEPT 1939 POLAND
APRIL 1940
DENMARK
ESTONIA LATVIA
LITHUANIA
SOVIET UNION
Assessing Your Learning
1. Which of the following countries were Axis powers (i) Japan (ii) Germany (iii) France?
2. What was ‘lightning war’? 3. Fill in the missing words: ‘The success of Blitzkrieg depended on …… and ……’ 4. Under what pact did Germany and Soviet Russia agree to divide Poland? 5. What happened during the Phoney War? 6. Why did Germany attack Denmark and Norway?