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World War II started on September 1, 1939 when Germany invaded Poland and the Russians invaded Poland from the other side on September 17, 1939. The British and the French declared war on Germany, but not on the Soviet Union.

Poland was conquered by September 28, 1939 and that was the end of the fighting because Germany did not want war with Great Britain or France. The British and the French were not yet ready to fight the Germans, so there was what the Germans called a Sitz Krieg or sitting war where there was no fighting for several months. Americans refer to the sitting war as "the phoney war."

In April 1940, the Germans intercepted British messages and learned that the British were planning to invade Norway and Denmark. The British wanted to control the north sea because Germany had to depend on neutral Sweden for minerals. As soon as the Germans learned of the British plans, they made a preemptive strike and invaded Norway and Denmark, beating the British by about one week.

In May 1940, Germany invaded France. The French were conquered in about 5 weeks. The British refused all German peace offers and continued to fight.

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17y ago

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