Slide 1

What event made this cartoon possible?

September 2, 1939France and Great Britain declare war on Germany

Chamberlain resigns May 10 , 1940, King George VI appoints Churchill as prime minister.

GreatBritainFranceSwitzerlandItalyDenmarkPolandNetherlandsParisDunkirkBelgium10 May 1940 - Battle of France. The Germans invaded the Netherlands and Belgium (bypassing the Maginot Line). Britain and France moved to counter this attack.

German bombers hit air bases in France, Luxembourg,Belgium, and the Netherlands, destroying large numbers of Allied planes on the ground and crippling Allied air defensesAfter months of nervous speculation, Germany brought war to western Europe on May 10, 1940, with the primary goal of conquering France

On the ground, German forces advanced in two directions: Through the Netherlands and northern Belgium (where Britain and France had expected) The larger force to the south, through Luxembourg and into the Ardennes Forest on a path that led directly into the French heartlandUnaware of the German advance to the south, Britain and France sent the bulk of their troops to Belgium.

Elite squads of German paratroopers were dropped onto fortified Allied points along the front, neutralizing a key element of Frances defense strategy

Dunkirk Evacuation

22 June - The Battle of France ends. After the disaster in the Low Countries, the French Army becomes almost totally ineffective, and the Germans easily attack through northern and eastern France. France surrenders and Vichy France was established, which is Southern France, Corsica and the French Colonies that now became essentially allied with Germany.

Charles de Gaulle, a French general moved to London, set up a government in exile to re-conquer France. Although he was in London, he broadcasted to France to never to give up.