Hitler had a larger, more modern army than most of Europe in 1939. The German military officer school encouraged them to act on the fly according to conditions on the battlefield and not wait for orders to be given out from headquarters. German mechanized units and the infantry worked well together. German aircraft moved in quickly to destroy the other country's air force while it was still on the ground. German paratroopers landed behind enemy lines and helped to secure invasion routes. The Germans also used aircraft in air-to-ground missions in order to support soldiers and to terrify civilians fleeing major cities. Europe was very slow to mobilize its troops, as mobilization was partially what caused WWI and no one wanted a repeat of that war. France stayed behind a series of forts called the Maginot Line, but these were no match for mechanized warfare.
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