ABSTRACT
By June 1940 Hitler had conquered a greater area of Europe than any other leader in history. Under direct Nazi rule lay Poland, Slovakia, Norway, Denmark, the Benelux countries and France. Bohemia and Austria had become provinces of the Reich; while Italy, Hungary and Romania were military allies. Hitler had also demonstrated the effectiveness of the revolutionary Blitzkrieg and had modified the old Schlieffen Plan to achieve the stunning victory which had eluded the German High Command in 1914.
