7 mars 1936 - Germany Seizes the Rhineland

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Hitler violated both the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Pact by invading the Rhineland. The Rhineland was supposed to be demilitarized, but Hitler argued that this was a defense strategy as France and the Soviet Union had renewed their alliance and were building up their armies. The French did not take action against Germany because they knew it would be expensive and would have led to a full-on war. When the French asked Britain for help, the British refused on the grounds that the Rhineland belonged to the Germans, anyway, and they wanted to avoid another war. This let Hitler know that the British and the French would avoid war at any cost, which he used to his advantage in his next invasions.