{"id":23903,"date":"2025-09-14T19:38:18","date_gmt":"2025-09-14T18:38:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/?p=23903"},"modified":"2025-09-14T19:38:32","modified_gmt":"2025-09-14T18:38:32","slug":"year-1939","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/year-1939\/","title":{"rendered":"Year 1939"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; locked=&#8221;off&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;][et_pb_row column_structure=&#8221;1_2,1_2&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;1_2&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;][et_pb_code _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.4&#8243; 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           <!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->            box-shadow: 0 0 20px #eee;<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->            border-radius: 10px;<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->            display: block;<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->          }<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->          .btn-grad:hover {<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->            background-position: right center; \/* change the direction of the change here *\/<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->            color: #fff;<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->            text-decoration: none;<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->          }<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] -->  .buttonContainer {margin:0 auto;display:block;text-align:center;}<!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><\/style>\n<p><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><\/p>\n<div class=\"buttonContainer\"><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --> <a title=\"Nineteen Hundreds\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/nineteen-hundreds\/\"><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --> <button class=\"btn-grad\" data-v-766eb970=\"\"> 1900&#8217;s <\/button><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --> <\/a><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --> <!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><\/div>\n<p><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --><!-- [et_pb_line_break_holder] --> [\/et_pb_code][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; custom_padding=&#8221;|||&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; custom_padding__hover=&#8221;|||&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.4&#8243; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; theme_builder_area=&#8221;post_content&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<p><!-- divi:shortcode --><\/p>\n<table class=\"tdih_table\"><thead><th class=\"tdih_event_date\">Date<\/th><th class=\"tdih_event_type\">Type<\/th><th class=\"tdih_event_name\">Event<\/th><\/thead><tr><td class=\"tdih_event_date\">1939-08-25<\/td><td class=\"tdih_event_type\"><\/td><td class=\"tdih_event_name\"><p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>In 1939, the United Kingdom signed a military alliance treaty with Poland.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">On the 31<sup>st<\/sup> of March 1939,\u00a0<a title=\"United Kingdom\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/united-kingdom\">Britain<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a title=\"France\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/france\">France<\/a>\u00a0pledged their support for Poland in the event that Poland was invaded.\u00a0 This came when the threat of invasion by\u00a0<a title=\"Germany\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/germany\">German<\/a>\u00a0forces was proving inevitable since Hitler\u2019s invasion of Czechoslovakia on the 15<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0of March that year. The declaration was made to\u00a0<a title=\"Poland\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/poland\">Poland<\/a> in the event of an invasion by any force, but had been drawn up with Hitler specifically in mind. On the 25<sup>th<\/sup> of August, the \u2018Polish-British Common Defence Act\u2019 was signed, pushing back Hitler\u2019s planned invasion date. But it didn\u2019t deter Hitler entirely, and on the 1<sup>st<\/sup> of September 1939, he invaded Poland. In response, Britain and France declared War on Germany on the 3<sup>rd<\/sup>\u00a0of September 1939.<\/p><\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"tdih_event_date\">1939-09-01<\/td><td class=\"tdih_event_type\"><\/td><td class=\"tdih_event_name\"><p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>In 1939, Germany invaded Poland<\/strong>.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Five\u00a0<a title=\"Germany\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/germany\">German<\/a>\u00a0armies totalling 1.5 million troops advance on\u00a0<a title=\"Poland\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/poland\">Poland<\/a> on several fronts while their planes attack from the air, bombing cities including the capital of Warsaw. This undeclared act of war without provocation angered the world, while <a title=\"England\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/england\">England<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a title=\"France\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/france\">France<\/a>\u00a0prepared for war with Germany in response.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">In February 1938, the <a title=\"Austria\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/austria\">Austrian<\/a> Chancellor Dr. Kurt von Schuschnigg met with German leader, Hitler, to reassert Austria\u2019s sovereignty. In the meeting, Hitler bullied the Austrian chancellor into allowing Nazi officers to fill high positions in the Austrian government, threatening that if he didn\u2019t comply, then German forces would march in and take the country by force. Dr Schuschnigg attempted to hold a referendum in the country on the 9<sup>th<\/sup> of March, but before the vote could be taken, Hitler pressured the chancellor into resigning, and on the 12<sup>th<\/sup> of March 1938, Hitler rolled into Austria with his troops and officially annexed the country to Nazi Germany.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hitler had wanted to take Czechoslovakia for a long time, but he had been warned by his generals that the natural defences and strong army made it almost unconquerable. The natural defences they referred to were the mountains in the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia, which made a virtually impenetrable barrier between Germany and Czechoslovakia. There were even plots in place to assassinate Hitler if he attempted such a foolish act, but the largest powers of Europe would soon make a massive mistake. After Hitler had taken Austria, with no real effort, the powers of Europe were eager to stop Hitler\u2019s advance. In September 1938, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain met with Hitler at his mountain-top retreat. Hitler said he would invade and occupy Czechoslovakia unless Britain supported his plans to take the Czech region of Sudetenland (Sudetenland was full of German descendants and German loyalists, and Hitler claimed he just wanted to unite the German people). Chamberlin discussed the situation with French leader, Edouard Daladier, and they met with Hitler on the 29<sup>th<\/sup> of September 1938 to sign the Munich Agreement. This Agreement said that Britain and France would support Germany\u2019s takeover of Sudetenland on the understanding that Germany would make no more attempts to expand its borders. Predictably, once Hitler had the Sudetenland, he continued the invasion of Czechoslovakia. Hitler also pressured Czechoslovakia into giving Independence to Slovakia, leaving the rest (now the <a title=\"Czech Republic\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/czech-republic\">Czech Republic<\/a>) even more defenceless. On the 15<sup>th<\/sup> of March 1939, Hitler\u2019s forces invaded Czechoslovakia, and by the evening, Hitler made his \u2018Triumphant\u2019 entrance into the capital city of Prague. Chamberlin realised his blunder in trusting diplomacy with a man like Hitler, and he now knew there would be little he could do to prevent war with such a man.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">On the 31st of March 1939, Britain and France pledged their support for Poland in the event that the country was invaded.\u00a0 The declaration was made to Poland in the event of an invasion by any force, but had been drawn up with Hitler specifically in mind. On the 26<sup>th<\/sup> of August, the \u2018Polish-British Common Defence Act\u2019 (or the Anglo-English military alliance) was signed, which pushed back Hitler\u2019s planned invasion date. But it didn\u2019t deter Hitler entirely, and on the 1<sup>st<\/sup> of September 1939, he invaded Poland. In response, Britain and France declared War on Germany on the 3<sup>rd<\/sup>\u00a0of September 1939.<\/p><\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"tdih_event_date\">1939-09-03<\/td><td class=\"tdih_event_type\"><\/td><td class=\"tdih_event_name\"><p class=\"MsoNormal\">&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n  <p class=\"MsoNormal\"><a title=\"On This Day &#8211; Historical Events\" href=\"http:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/on-this-day\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/Images\/calender days\/Sep03.png\" alt=\"September 03\" width=\"274\" height=\"252\" hspace=\"12\" border=\"0\" align=\"left\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/a><\/p>\r\n  <p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align:justify;text-indent:36.0pt;\"><strong><span style=\"line-height:115%; font-family:'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size:10.0pt; \">In 1939 Britain and France Declare War  on Germany starting World War II.<\/span><\/strong><span style=\"font-family:'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size:10.0pt; \"> <\/span><\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n  <p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align:justify;text-indent:36.0pt;\"><span style=\"font-family:'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size:10.0pt; \">Adolf  Hitler attempted to improve relations between <a title=\"Germany\" href=\"http:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/germany\/\">Germany<\/a> and <a title=\"Poland\" href=\"http:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/poland\/\">Poland<\/a>. With that in  mind the on the 26<sup>th<\/sup> of January 1934 Germany and Poland signed the  German-Polish Non-Aggression Pact. Both nations agreed that any differences  would be settled through negotiations and neither side would take up arms  against another for the period of 10 years. But as with most of Hitler&rsquo;s  promises to foreign leaders he would not hesitate to break them in the event  that they conflicted with his desires. <\/span><\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n  <p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align:justify;text-indent:36.0pt;\"><span style=\"font-family:'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size:10.0pt; \">In  September 1938 <a title=\"United Kingdom\" href=\"http:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/united-kingdom\/\">British<\/a> Prime Minister Neville Chamberlin met with Hitler at his  Mountain top retreat. Hitler said he would invade and occupy Czechoslovakia  unless Britain supported his plans to take the Czech region of Sudetenland (Sudetenland was full of German descendants and German loyalists and Hitler  claimed he just wanted to unite the German people). Chamberlin discussed the  situation with <a title=\"France\" href=\"http:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/france\/\">French<\/a> leader, Edouard Daladier, and they met with Hitler on the  29th of September 1938 to sign the Munich Agreement. This Agreement said that  Britain and France would support Germany&rsquo;s take over of Sudetenland on the  understanding that Germany makes no more attempts of expanding its borders.  Predictably once Hitler had Sudetenland he continued the invasion into  Czechoslovakia. Hitler also pressured the Czechoslovakia into giving  Independence to Slovakia, leaving the rest (now the Czech Republic) even more  defenceless. On the 15th of March 1939 Hitler&rsquo;s forces invaded Czechoslovakia  and by the evening Hitler made his &lsquo;Triumphant&rsquo; entrance into the capital city  of Prague. Chamberlin realised his blunder in trusting diplomacy with a man like  Hitler and he now knew there would be little he could do to prevent war with  such a man.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n  <p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align:justify;text-indent:36.0pt;\"><span style=\"font-family:'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size:10.0pt; \">On  the 31st of March 1939 Britain and France pledged their support for Poland in  the event that the country was invaded.&nbsp;  The declaration was made to Poland in the event of an invasion by any  force but had been drawn up with Hitler specifically in mind. On 26th of August  the &lsquo;Polish-British Common Defence Act&rsquo; (or the Anglo-English military  alliance) was signed which pushed back Hitler&rsquo;s planned invasion date. But it  didn&rsquo;t deter Hitler entirely and on the 1st of September 1939 he invaded  Poland. In response Britain and France declared War on Germany, on the 3rd of  September 1939.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n  <p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align:justify;text-indent:36.0pt;\"><span style=\"font-family:'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size:10.0pt; \">When  Germany began its invasion of Poland between 1 of September 1939 &ndash; 6th of  October 1939 Great Britain and France were preparing for possible warfare. Five  German armies totalling 1.5 million troops advance on Poland on several fronts  while their planes attack from the air bombing cities including the capital of  Warsaw. This undeclared act of war without provocation angered the world while  Britain and France prepared for war with Germany in response.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n  <p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align:justify;text-indent:36.0pt;\"><span style=\"font-family:'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size:10.0pt; \">On  the morning of the 3rd of September 1939 the British Ambassador to Germany,  Neville Henderson, handed a communiqu&eacute; to the German government stating that  unless Germany gave a response declaring that they would withdraw from Poland  than both Great Britain and France would be in a state of war with Germany.  When the response didn&rsquo;t materialise Prime Minister Neville Chamberlin  addressed the UK and informed them of that they were now at war with Germany. The  Royal Air Force began bombing German forces the next morning.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n  <p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align:justify;text-indent:36.0pt;\"><span style=\"font-family:'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size:10.0pt; \">The  Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact on the 23rd of August 1939. The  Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (named after the two foreign ministers that signed the  pact) ensured that the German&rsquo;s, who were allied with <a title=\"Japan\" href=\"http:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/japan\/\">Japan<\/a>, would not attack  Russia over the Soviet-Japanese border conflicts that had been raging since  1932. The pact also included a secret agreement which included carving up of  the countries of <a title=\"Estonia\" href=\"http:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/estonia\/\">Estonia<\/a>, <a title=\"Finland\" href=\"http:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/finland\/\">Finland<\/a>, <a title=\"Latvia\" href=\"http:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/latvia\/\">Latvia<\/a>, <a title=\"Lithuania\" href=\"http:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/lithuania\/\">Lithuania<\/a>, Poland and <a title=\"Romania\" href=\"http:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/romania\/\">Romania<\/a> for  the political influence (known as &ldquo;spheres of influence&rdquo;) of the Nazi party and  Soviet Union. True to their word the Soviet army began their own invasion of  Poland which began on the 17th of September. By the 6<sup>th<\/sup> of October  Poland had fallen and the invaders occupied the entire country. <\/span><\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p><\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"tdih_event_date\">1939-09-17<\/td><td class=\"tdih_event_type\"><\/td><td class=\"tdih_event_name\"><p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align:justify;text-indent:36.0pt;\"><strong><span style=\"line-height:115%; font-family:'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size:10.0pt; \">In 1939 the Soviet army joined their  German allies began their own invasion of Poland<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align:justify;text-indent:36.0pt;\"><span style=\"font-family:'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size:10.0pt; \">The  politics of Nazi <a title=\"Germany\" href=\"http:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/germany\/\">Germany<\/a> and Soviet <a title=\"Russia\" href=\"http:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/russia\/\">Russia<\/a> were vastly different and Hitler was  known for his intolerance towards communism. In his autobiographical book &ldquo;Mein  Kampf&rdquo; (which he wrote while in prison in 1924 and was published the following  year) Hitler talks of his hatred of communism and his belief that the superior  German race had a destiny to conquer Russia, allowing the German race to grow.  However Germany and the Soviet Union did have some common ground. Both nations&rsquo;  politics were opposed to the allied capitalist nations and on this basis  Germany and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact on the 23rd of August  1939. The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (named after the two foreign ministers that  signed the pact) ensured that the German&rsquo;s, who were allied with <a title=\"Japan\" href=\"http:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/japan\/\">Japan<\/a>, would  not attack Russia over the Soviet-Japanese border conflicts that had been  raging since 1932. The pact also included a secret agreement which included  carving up of the countries of <a title=\"Estonia\" href=\"http:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/estonia\/\">Estonia<\/a>, <a title=\"Finland\" href=\"http:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/finland\/\">Finland<\/a>, <a title=\"Latvia\" href=\"http:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/latvia\/\">Latvia<\/a>, <a title=\"Lithuania\" href=\"http:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/lithuania\/\">Lithuania<\/a>, <a title=\"Poland\" href=\"http:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/poland\/\">Poland<\/a> and  <a title=\"Romania\" href=\"http:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/romania\/\">Romania<\/a> for the political influence (known as &ldquo;spheres of influence&rdquo;) of the  Nazi party and Soviet Union. <\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align:justify;text-indent:36.0pt;\"><span style=\"font-family:'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size:10.0pt; \">On  the 31st of March 1939 <a title=\"United Kingdom\" href=\"http:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/united-kingdom\/\">Britain<\/a> and <a title=\"France\" href=\"http:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/france\/\">France<\/a> pledged their support for Poland in  the event that the country was invaded.&nbsp;  The declaration was made to Poland in the event of an invasion by any  force but had been drawn up with Hitler specifically in mind. On 26th of August  the &lsquo;Polish-British Common Defence Act&rsquo; (or the Anglo-English military  alliance) was signed which pushed back Hitler&rsquo;s planned invasion date. But it  didn&rsquo;t deter Hitler entirely and on the 1st of September 1939 he invaded  Poland.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align:justify;text-indent:36.0pt;\"><span style=\"font-family:'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size:10.0pt; \">Five  German armies totalling 1.5 million troops and 2,500 tanks advance on Poland on  several fronts while their planes attack from the air bombing cities including  the capital of Warsaw. This undeclared act of war without provocation angered  the world and on the 3<sup>rd<\/sup> of September England and France declared  war on Germany in response.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align:justify;text-indent:36.0pt;\"><span style=\"font-family:'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size:10.0pt; \">The  Soviet Union and Japan had been at war with each other since the 11<sup>th<\/sup> of May 1939 but by the 15<sup>th<\/sup> of September both nations signed the  Molotov-Tojo agreement which declared a ceasefire which began on the 16<sup>th<\/sup> of September. On the 17th of September around 600,000 Soviet troops and 5,000  tanks rolled into Poland to assist Germany in its invasion. Aided by more than  3,000 Soviet and 2,000 German planes bombing Polish targets the invading forces  took Poland by the 6<sup>th<\/sup> of October 1939. <\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"tdih_event_date\">1939-10-06<\/td><td class=\"tdih_event_type\"><\/td><td class=\"tdih_event_name\"><p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>In 1939 Poland fell to the combined forces of Nazi Germany and Soviets Russia<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Adolf Hitler attempted to improve relations between\u00a0<a title=\"Germany\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/germany\">Germany<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a title=\"Poland\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/poland\">Poland<\/a>. With that in mind on the 26<sup>th<\/sup> of January 1934 Germany and Poland signed the German-Polish Non-Aggression Pact. Both nations agreed that any differences would be settled through negotiations and neither side would take up arms against another for the period of 10 years. But as with most of Hitler\u2019s promises to foreign leaders, he would not hesitate to break them in the event that they conflicted with his desires.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">In September 1938\u00a0<a title=\"United Kingdom\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/united-kingdom\">British<\/a> Prime Minister Neville Chamberlin met with Hitler at his Mountain Top retreat. Hitler said he would invade and occupy Czechoslovakia unless Britain supported his plans to take the Czech region of Sudetenland (Sudetenland was full of German descendants and German loyalists and Hitler claimed he just wanted to unite the German people). Chamberlin discussed the situation with French leader, Edouard Daladier, and they met with Hitler on the 29th of September 1938 to sign the Munich Agreement. This Agreement said that Britain and France would support Germany\u2019s takeover of Sudetenland on the understanding that Germany would make no more attempts to expand its borders. Predictably once Hitler had Sudetenland he continued the invasion into Czechoslovakia. Hitler also pressured Czechoslovakia into giving Independence to <a title=\"Slovakia\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/slovakia\">Slovakia<\/a>, leaving the rest (now the\u00a0<a title=\"Czech Republic\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/czech-republic\">Czech Republic<\/a>) even more defenceless. On the 15th of March 1939 Hitler\u2019s forces invaded Czechoslovakia and by the evening Hitler made his \u2018Triumphant\u2019 entrance into the capital city of Prague. Chamberlin realised his blunder in trusting diplomacy with a man like Hitler and he now knew there would be little he could do to prevent war with such a man.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">On the 31st of March 1939, Britain and <a title=\"France\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/france\">France<\/a> pledged their support for Poland in the event that the country was invaded.\u00a0 The declaration was made to Poland in the event of an invasion by any force but had been drawn up with Hitler specifically in mind. On the 26th of August, the \u2018Polish-British Common Defence Act\u2019 (or the Anglo-English military alliance) was signed which pushed back Hitler\u2019s planned invasion date. But it didn\u2019t deter Hitler entirely and on the 1st of September 1939 he invaded Poland.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Five German armies totalling 1.5 million troops and 2,500 tanks advanced on Poland on several fronts while their planes attacked from the air bombing cities including the capital of Warsaw. This undeclared act of war without provocation angered the world and on the 3<sup>rd<\/sup>\u00a0of September England and France declared war on Germany in response.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Soviet Union and <a title=\"Japan\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/japan\">Japan<\/a> had been at war with each other since the 11<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0of May 1939 but by the 15<sup>th<\/sup> of September, both nations signed the Molotov-Tojo agreement which declared a ceasefire which began on the 16<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0of September. On the 17th of September around 600,000 Soviet troops and 5,000 tanks rolled into Poland to assist Germany in its invasion. Aided by more than 3,000 Soviet and 2,000 German planes bombing Polish targets the invading forces took Poland by the 6<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0of October 1939.<\/p><\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"tdih_event_date\">1939-10-10<\/td><td class=\"tdih_event_type\"><\/td><td class=\"tdih_event_name\"><p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>In 1939<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>\u201cThe Soviet-Lithuanian Mutual Assistance Treaty\u201d was signed allowing the Soviets to place five bases in Lithuania.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a title=\"Lithuania\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/lithuania\">Lithuania<\/a>\u00a0was one of several smaller nations of Europe forced to sign these treaties all of which were outlined by the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (named after the two foreign ministers that signed the pact) which was signed on the 23<sup>rd<\/sup>\u00a0of October 1939. The pact was a non-aggression treaty between\u00a0<a title=\"Germany\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/germany\">Germany<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a title=\"Russia\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/russia\">Russia<\/a> which was also a secret agreement which included the carving up of the countries of <a title=\"Estonia\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/estonia\">Estonia<\/a>,\u00a0<a title=\"Finland\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/finland\">Finland<\/a>,\u00a0<a title=\"Latvia\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/latvia\">Latvia<\/a>, Lithuania,\u00a0<a title=\"Poland\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/poland\">Poland<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a title=\"Romania\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/romania\">Romania<\/a> for political influence (known as \u201cspheres of influence\u201d) of the Nazi party and the Soviet Union. Poland had already fallen to the two nation\u2019s invasion forces (Germany began on the 1st of September followed by the Soviets on the 17<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0of September 1939) and one week after Russia joined the invasion, on the 24<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0of September 1939, the Soviet Navy began patrolling the Estonian shores pressuring their government to allow Soviet military bases in Estonia. The Soviets then forced Latvia to sign a treaty on the 5<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0of October 1939 forcing them to allow military bases in their country. On the 10<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0of October 1939 \u201cThe Soviet-Lithuanian Mutual Assistance Treaty\u201d was also signed allowing the Soviets to place five bases in Lithuania.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Soviet Russia continued their own invasion of European countries with their invasion of Finland which began on the 30<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0of November 1939 (their invasion continued ultimately unsuccessfully until the 13<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0of March 1940 in what was called \u201cThe Winter War\u201d but the Soviets did gain around 11% of Finnish territory). As the German army forced the fall of Paris on the 14<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0of June 1940, the Soviets began a military blockade of Estonia before their full invasion began on the 16<sup>th<\/sup> of June. Already occupied by the Soviet military, the Estonian government capitulated the following day on the 17<sup>th<\/sup> of June 1940 and Russia then began its invasion of Latvia. \u00a0The Soviet Union also issued an Ultimatum to Lithuania on the 14<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0of June 1940 and invaded the following day.<\/p><\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"tdih_event_date\">1939-11-08<\/td><td class=\"tdih_event_type\"><\/td><td class=\"tdih_event_name\"><p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>In 1939 a failed assassination attempt of Adolf Hitler, Goering and Goebbels left 7 dead NAZI supporters and another sixty three injured<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a title=\"Germany\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/germany\">German<\/a>\u00a0Carpenter Johann Georg Elser claimed he was not against Nazism itself but the extreme radicalism of its leadership which he could see in the autumn of1938 would lead to war. He decided that he must do something to change the course of Germany\u2019s future and planned the assassination of its main three leaders.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Every year Hitler, Goering and Goebbels attended a celebration of the Beer Hall Putsch (see below) in Munich, called the B\u00fcrgerbr\u00e4ukeller, and this was Elser\u2019s chosen venue for his plan. On the 8<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0of November 1938 Elser arrived in Munich and visited the beer hall. He surveyed the building deciding on the best point to place explosives and decided on a pillar near to Hitler would be giving his annual speech in the huge venue.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Later he got a labouring job on a quarry giving him access to explosives which he slowly accumulated for his dead. He continued to plan and\u00a0 by August 1939 Elser began sneaking into the B\u00fcrgerbr\u00e4ukeller at night and building a hidden cavity in the pillar where he would hide the explosives.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">The 8<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0of November soon arrived and the bomb was in place and set ready to take out Hitler during his speech. But unknown to Elser the commencement of WWII had almost prevented Hitler from attending the annual celebration. Although Hitler did attend he gave an uncharacteristically short speech and left with his entourage to head for Berlin where he could continue his War plans. Just thirteen minutes after Hitler\u2019s speech ended the bomb exploded killing 7 NAZI supporters and injuring<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>another 63.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Elser was captured at the\u00a0<a title=\"Switzerland\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/switzerland\">Swiss<\/a>\u00a0border almost an hour before the explosion with plans and detonators on his person. He was interrogated by the Gestapo and spent several years before his execution.<\/p><\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"tdih_event_date\">1939-11-30<\/td><td class=\"tdih_event_type\"><\/td><td class=\"tdih_event_name\"><strong>In 1939 The Soviet Bombing of Finnish Cities Began: A Prelude to the Winter War<\/strong>\r\n\r\nThe <strong>bombing of Finnish cities by the Soviet Union<\/strong> was a critical and controversial event in the lead-up to the <strong>Winter War (1939\u20131940)<\/strong>. On <strong>November 30, 1939<\/strong>, just days after the Soviet Union renounced its non-aggression pact with <a title=\"Finland\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/finland\"><strong>Finland<\/strong><\/a>, Soviet forces launched an aerial bombing campaign against Finnish cities, including the capital <strong>Helsinki<\/strong>. These attacks marked the beginning of a conflict that would test the resolve and resilience of the Finnish people.\r\n\r\nFollowing the signing of the <strong>Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact<\/strong> in August 1939, the Soviet Union sought to expand its sphere of influence in Eastern Europe. Finland, strategically located near Leningrad (modern-day St. Petersburg), became a primary target. The Soviet Union demanded territorial concessions from Finland, including the cession of land in the Karelian Isthmus and the lease of the <strong>Hanko Peninsula<\/strong> for a military base. Finland refused these demands, leading to escalating tensions.\r\n\r\nBelieving that Finland could be subdued quickly, Soviet leadership sought to intimidate the Finnish government and population through the use of overwhelming force, starting with air raids on key cities.\r\n\r\nOn <strong>November 30, 1939<\/strong>, Soviet planes bombed <strong>Helsinki<\/strong>, <strong>Viipuri<\/strong> (now Vyborg), and other Finnish cities. The attacks targeted industrial facilities, military installations, and civilian areas. In Helsinki, over 90 buildings were destroyed or heavily damaged, and hundreds of civilians were killed or injured. The bombings also caused widespread panic among the population.\r\n\r\nDespite being unprepared for a large-scale war, Finland\u2019s air defenses managed to down several Soviet bombers. Finnish forces quickly mobilized to protect key infrastructure and limit further damage.\u00a0Civilians took shelter in basements, bomb shelters, and improvised safe zones as the bombings continued sporadically throughout the conflict.\r\n\r\nThe Soviet bombings drew condemnation from the international community. The <strong>League of Nations<\/strong> denounced the attacks as a violation of international law and expelled the Soviet Union on <strong>December 14, 1939<\/strong>.\u00a0The bombings galvanized global support for Finland, leading countries like <a title=\"Sweden\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/sweden\"><strong>Sweden<\/strong><\/a>, the <a title=\"United Kingdom\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/united-kingdom\"><strong>United Kingdom<\/strong><\/a>, and the <a title=\"United States of America\" href=\"https:\/\/www.earth-site.co.uk\/Education\/united-states\"><strong>United States<\/strong><\/a> to provide moral, material, and financial aid.<\/td><\/tr><\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/divi:shortcode --><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=&#8221;1_2,1_2&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; 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