In September 1939, Germany invaded Poland using blitzkrieg tactics, leading Britain and France to declare war on Germany. The USSR also invaded Poland from the east. Through early 1940 Germany invaded and occupied Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. In May 1940, Germany launched a surprise attack through the Ardennes forest, bypassing the Maginot Line and surrounding Allied forces in France. Nearly 340,000 Allied troops were evacuated from Dunkirk in June. Later that month Paris fell and France surrendered, signing an armistice in the same railcar used in 1918. Hitler visited Paris and began preparing to invade Britain by gaining air superiority, but the Royal Air Force defeated the Luftwaffe in the

1. The Beginning of World War II 1939-1940

14. June 24, 1940 Hitler visits Paris

16. The Battle for Britain July-Oct 1940