Britain and France Declared War on Germany
On this day · 3 September 1939
Two days after Hitler invaded Poland, Chamberlain's radio broadcast plunged Britain into a second world war.
On 1 September 1939, German forces invaded Poland. Britain and France had pledged to defend Polish independence, so London and Paris delivered ultimatums demanding that Germany withdraw. When Adolf Hitler ignored them, the slide to war became unstoppable.
The British ultimatum expired at 11:00 on 3 September 1939 without a German reply. Fifteen minutes later, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain broadcast the news to the nation by radio.
“I have to tell you now that no such undertaking has been received, and that consequently this country is at war with Germany.”
France declared war the same afternoon. The two allies were once again at war with Germany, barely two decades after the First World War had ended. The conflict that began that morning would draw in nations across the globe and become the deadliest war in human history, reshaping the political map of the twentieth century.
Sources & references
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