WWII Military History of Germany (Deutsches Reich)
The German Wehrmacht saw their first assignment in March 1936, which was the reoccupation of the previously demilitarized Rhineland, followed by the Anschluss (merger) of Austria in March 1938, the occupation of the Sudetenland in October 1938 and the annexion of Böhmen and Mähren (Bohemia and Moravia) in March 1939.
With the invasion of Poland ('Fall Weiss')on the 1st September 1939, Germany started what would become the Second World War. In his speech the same day, the chancellor of Germany, Adolf Hitler said: 'Tonight, Poland has for the first time on our own territory, and with the use of regular troops, returned fire. Since 5:45, fire is being returned.' A declaration of war was never issued.
In Hitler's 'Blut und Boden' quest to gain 'Lebensraum' for the German people, by wiping out Jewish people and conquering soil, that he believed belonged to the German people by the right of blood, he would lead the German armies into numerous countries.
On the 3rd of September, 1939, France and Great Britain and her Commonwealth declared war on Germany. Neither country saw any military action against Germany until the 10. May 1940, when the Germans started the 'Fall Gelb', the invasion of Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg (countries who had been assured neutrality) and eventually France, which capitulated on the 22nd of June.More to come...
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