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<br>German preparation began well before the eve of war in 1939 with the invasion of Poland. When Hitler came to power in 1933 he was able to build, at first secretly, an army, navy and airforce despite the treaty of Versailles disallowing Germany to maintain a proper army. By this time he had built a very powerful war machine. Despite threats from the west the reoccupation of the Rhineland in 1936, the annexation of Austria, Bohemis-Moravia and Memel in 1938 and 1939 happened without retaliation. The British, after declaring war on Germany on the 1st September 1939 did little to assist Poland who surrendered three weeks later. This helped to convince Hitler he was immune to international reaction. With the temporally secured threat from Russia on hold, Nazi forces in 1940 occupied Denmark and attacked Norwegian ports, securing iron ore imports from Sweden, which were vital for Germany 's war effort.
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<br>Using overwhelming Blitzkrieg tactics or lightning war ' Germany 's mission was to quickly defeat and occupy a nation before assistance from the
Bibliography: <br>Printed in U.S.A, 1974 <br> <br>Melbourne, Victoria, 1992 <br>