Blitzkrieg

On September 1, 1939, Hitler invaded Poland. The country needed to be subjugated quickly before Britain and France could intervene. Germany's Panzer divisions proved unstoppable. Backed by the Luftwaffe, they smashed through Poland's defences, destroying roads, bridges, and radio stations.

The Polish defended valiantly, but were eventually forced to surrender. By 6th of October, Poland was in German hands. In the spring of 1940, the Blitzkrieg rolled through Europe again - within a few months, all of France, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, and Norway fell. But when Hitler attacked Britain, he discovered the British were tougher than expected.

This issue of bringing history to life tracks the Germans' early advances to discover how a relatively small nation could take a continent by storm.