Second World War · 1939-1940

1939-1940: Blitzkrieg and the fall of France

In September 1939 Germany and the Soviet Union crushed Poland. In May 1940 German tanks broke through the Ardennes and reached the Channel in days, and France fell in six weeks. Students follow the fast campaigns on the map and ask why the Allies were caught by surprise.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
12–15
On the map
3 steps, AD 1938
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

In September 1939 Germany and the Soviet Union crushed Poland. In May 1940 German tanks broke through the Ardennes and reached the Channel in days, and France fell in six weeks. Students follow the fast campaigns on the map and ask why the Allies were caught by surprise.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Describe how Germany defeated Poland in 1939 and France in 1940.
  • Explain what "Blitzkrieg" means and why the route through the Ardennes surprised the Allies.
  • Explain why the evacuation from Dunkirk mattered for Britain.
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1938

Poland, 1939

Open the map in 1938 and find Poland between Germany and the USSR. On 1 September 1939 Germany attacked from the west; on 17 September the Soviet Union attacked from the east. Why could Poland not hold out?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1938

Through the Ardennes

Travel to the hilly, wooded Ardennes in southern Belgium and Luxembourg. In May 1940 German tanks drove through here to Sedan. Why did French generals think tanks would not come this way?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1938

Dunkirk

Follow the coast to Dunkirk. Find Dover across the Channel. How far did the rescue ships have to sail?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Why did Britain and France declare war on Germany in September 1939 but hardly fight in the west for months?
  2. German tanks, planes and radios worked together in fast attacks. Why did that beat armies that were just as large?
  3. Hundreds of small boats helped rescue soldiers at Dunkirk. Was Dunkirk a defeat or a victory?
  4. Hitler made France sign the armistice of 1940 in the same railway carriage as in 1918. Why?
  5. After June 1940 Britain fought on almost alone in Europe. Why did it not make peace?
4

Game round

10 min

Play one round of Rule History as Napoleon Bonaparte, master of fast campaigns that crushed armies before they could unite. Then compare: how did German commanders in 1940 use speed in a similar way, and why did it still fail to defeat Britain?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.