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Mussolini Takes Power in Italy
Mussolini made citizens feel like there was promise and hope for the future. He was known for his powerful propaganda. He soon, though, turned Italy into having a facist government with him as the dictator. He was extremely influencial not only in his country but within the entire world. -
U.S. Stock Market Crashes
After a period of amazing stocks, the stock market was bound for trouble. On October 29, it crashed on a Tuesday. It is often called "Black Tuesday." This crash effected almost everyone and really pulled down the economy. -
Japan Seizes Manchuria
Japan invaded Manchuria with an attack. This symbolized Japan's expansion desires and was only the beginning. The invasion did not take long and they soon had control of Manchuria. -
F.D.R. is Elected President
FDR ran against Hoover, who was blamed for much of the Great Depression, and won. He is known for helping get Americans out of the great depressions with innovating ideas and listening to both parties' opinions. -
Hitler is Named Chancellor of Germany
Hitler was known for his powerful speaking skills. During this time, Germany was in a depression. Hitler made the people hopeful when he spoke of creating jobs and helping to get them out of their misery. He was a member of the Nazi party, one that ended up leading absolutely horrible acts. -
Hitler defies the Treaty of Versailles
Hitler defied the treaty by building up his army, taking back the Rhineland and beginning to expand his fleet of German U-Boats. -
France militarizes the Rhineland
Administered by the League of Nations in 1935, the region was returned to the German Reich. At the same time, in 1920, the districts of Eupen and Malmedy were transferred to Belgium (see German-Speaking Community of Belgium). -
Mussolini invades Ethiiopia
Mussolini decided to invade Ethiopia to begin to expand German territories, he was siding with Adolf Hilter. -
Civil War erupts in Spain
The civil war began from defying the ways of Spanish General Francisco Franco. -
Japan invades China
After the Marco Polo bridge incident on July 7, 1937, that began a war that would kill millions and bring all countries into the Second Sino-Japanese War. -
Anschluss
Hitler attempted to force Austria into a union with Germany. Although Austria refused, they did little else to stop Hitler. This gave Hitler a sense of being unable to be defeated by anyone. -
Munich Conference
Hitler decided he wanted the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia. In order to avoid conflict, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and French Premier Edouard Daladier met and allowed Hitler to annex the land. Czechoslovakia had no represemtatives in Munich. -
Kristalinacht
"The Night of the Broken Glass" was an act of hate against the jewish people brought on by Hitler and the Nazi's. This event was only the beginning of the torture the jewish population was about to face. -
Germany invades Poland
Hitler took a German criminal, dressed him in a Poland uniform, and shot him at the Polish German border. Claiming the German's had been attacked Hitler invaded Poland. -
U.S. Neutrality Act
As a way to avoid being pulled back into war, Congress passed the Neutrality Act in 1935. -
Nazi- Soviet Pact
The pact stated that Russia would not attack Germany. Russia backing out of the war was hard on Allies because the amount of troops were much needed. -
Phony War
Also known as "sitzkrieg," this time event occured in the winter or 1939-40. After France and Britain had declared war on Germany, their strategy was simply to let the Germans try to break their forces, thinking it would greatly damage them. Little did they know, the Germans wouldnt attack at all during this winter, they would actually be plotting an invasion through a part of France which had very little military resistance, the Ardennes Forest. -
Miracle at Dunkirk
The Germans had just launched a brutal attack in France against French, Belgian, and British forces, trapping hundreds of thousands of them at the french port of Dunkirk, including nearly all British forces in France. Heroically, allied ships and even hundreds of civilian boats arrives to save almost 340,000 troops. This rescue provided vital to Britain's defence in the upcoming battle. -
Churchill is Elected Prime Minister in England
Churchill had a great gift for encouraging and instilling confidence in the people. Even through the terror that the Battle of Britain inflicted, Churchill managed to keep the spirits high and lead them to win the battle. -
France Surrenders
Germany broke through the Ardennes Forest and easily overwhelmed the French waiting there. The Maginot Line had simply been bypassed. After Germany had shattered France’s defensive plan, Hitler’s troops now raced towards Paris. By the end of June, France had surrendered to Germany and Italy. -
Battle of Britain
The first stage of the German plan was to destroy the RAF. The Germans failed soon began bombing London. By late 1940, the Battle of Britain was over. The British had stopped the Luftwaffe. Hitler was forced to call off the attempted invasion. -
Lend-Lease Act
This allowed the United States to send weapons to send weapons to Great Britain regardless of its ability to pay. -
Japan seizes French Indo-China
With the agreement of the French Vichy government, Japanese forces invaded the French colony in Southeast Asia, Indochina. Japan’s takeover threatened British and American interests in the region and it signaled Japan’s intention to seek oil and other resources. -
Atlantic Charter
Roosevelt and Winston Churchill agreed to proclaim the shared goals of the United States and Britain in opposing Hitler and his allies. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
For months, Japanese military leaders had been developing plans for a surprise attack on the American naval based at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Even after knowing an attack was a possibility; forces at the base of the Navy’s Pacific Fleet were unready to defend it. This was due to a majority of reasons. The raid was a complete surprise to the Americans. It was a complete defeat for the United States.
