The time period between the defeat of Poland by Germany in September 1939 and the German invasion of Western Europe in May 1940 is often referred to as the "Phony War." Even though Britain and France had declared war on Germany because of its invasion of Poland, full-scale military operations did not commence between these powers until eight months had passed. It is the intention of the author to show that this period was filled with the activities and events that shaped the early years of World War II and was not just "a time of nothingness."