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The Big Four: Lloyd George of Britain, Orlando of Italy, Clemenceau of France, and President Woodrow Wilson sign a treaty shaming Germany and forcing it to pay massive reperations for WWI. Germany is angry and wants revenge, it does not feel that it is responsible for World War I.
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Elected on the policy of a return to normalcy, Harding died in office two years and five monts after his inauguration.
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The day President Warren Harding died in office, his Vice-President Calvin Coolidge was inaugurated into the office of the President. After the death of his 16 year-old son, Coolidge became silent and grief stricken, earning him the nick-name 'Silent Cal,' throughout the 'Roaring Twenties.'
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President Hoover was inaugurated into office amidst a roaring economy. What happened next quickly reversed his fortune....
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The beginning of an international economic crisis, stocks across the globe plummeted, causing international job loss and inflation. In America, almost a quarter go without work. Other countries, like Germany, suffer worse, with extreme inflation that leaves their currencies worthless. International desperation follows, people are desperate to put their faith into someone. This is an environment in which dictators can thrive.
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FDR in inaugurated, and does a great deal to fix the American economy, including massive employment projects such as the Civilian Conservation Corps, or CCC, which gave jobs to nearly two million out of work young men between the ages of 18 and 25.
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The Reichstag grants Chancellor Adolf Hitler complete governmental power over Germany. Despite what will come of it, not very much international attention is gained, thanks to the Great Depression.
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Although Stalin new that war between the two nations would be inevitable, this treaty was signed in order to stall as long as possible, as the USSR did not want to go to war with Germany yet. Germany needs this pact to avoid a two-front war, and in return grants the USSR a part of concured Germany.
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Using its new Blitzkrieg style of war, German quickly and easily invades and concurs France, finally eliminating the possibility of a two front war. This invasion was accompanied by similiar invasions of the Netherlands and Norway.
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After realizing that an amphibious invasion of Britain could only succeed if Germany first gained control of the air, Hitler ordered the Luftwaffe to launch a major attack at the beginning of August. German war planes bombed British air and naval bases, harbors, etc. Britain suffered severe losses. In an attempt to break British moral, Hitler switched attacks to British cities. This allowed the RAF to rebuild its forces. By the end of September, the invasion of Britain was postponed indefinably.
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Through the Lend-Lease Program, the US supplied Allied forces with arms, ammunition and other supplies from 1941-1945. The Lend-Lease Program allowed the US to kick into action its industrial power, shipping $50.1 billion of arms during the war.
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Hitler thought that if the Soviet Union was destroyed, Britain's last hope would be eliminated. The attack took place along a massive 1,800 mile long flank.The Germans were soon forced out of the Soviet Union, however, because of an early winter and fierce Soviet ressistance.
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Japanese plains bomb the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. It is the first attack, in history, on US soil. The Japanese hoped to eliminate America's naval fleet in the Pacific, counting on years of materialism having softened our wills to fight back.
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A German army within 25 miles of Moscow, the capital of the USSR, was repelled by a Soviet army. This was an early attempt by Germany to invade the USSR and take its capital, and was defeated by its late start. After their loss, an early winter came, and because of the planned dates for the invasion the Germans had no uniforms. A major loss for the Germans.
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In response to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Congress votes to declare war on Japan, despite the isolation laws. The US joins on the side of the Allied Powers, under the unconditional surrender pact with the USSR and UK.
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Thinking that its involvement with Japan would make it unaffective in the European theator, Germany declares war on America.
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The first naval combat carried out entirely by fighting aircraft, a predominately American naval group halted a Japanese advance. Both sides lost nearly half their aircraft. The Allied fleet prevented the Japanese from establashing the bases they needed to bomb Australia.
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American planes came across four Japanese aircraft carriers while they were being loaded with bombs. The Americans quickly destroyed all four of the aircraft carriers. Japan lost an approxamate amount of 250 planes and was no longer able to launch any more offensives.
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The entire German Sixth Army, considered to be Germany's best troops, was forced to surrender in what is thought to be one of the most violent battles of the war.
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In an attempt to reach mainland Japan, American troops 'island hop' across Pacific Islands, a slow proccess that resulted in heavy casualties.
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German forces are defeated by the Soviets in the greatest tank battle of WWII, taking place in northern Germany.
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Allied forces land on the beaches of Normandy, beginning the greatest naval invasion in history. Within three months, Allied forces had landed two million men and half a million vehicles.
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The rocky island nearly 700 miles from Japan was occupied by less than 25,000 Japanese soldiers in opposition to America's conquest. The Japanese had sworn to fight to the death, only 216 Japanese were taken prisoner, the rest were killed in battle. Americans suffered 25,000 casualties, but took the island in the end.
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More than 100,000 Japanese defenders occupied Okinawa, situated less than 350 miles from Japan. Many of the Japanese troops knew that they were the last obstacle before America reached Japan, and had sworn to fight to the death. American casualties toataled 50,000, making it the coastliest engagment of World War II.
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Hidden in a bunker 55 feet under Berlin, Adolf Hitler committed suicide two days after Benito Mussolini was shot by resistance fighters.
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German commanders surrender, ending the war in Europe.
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The first atomic bomb is tested, detonating in the desert of New Mexico and shattering windows 125 miles away.
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An American plane dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, a city in Southern Japan, killing approxamately 140,000 Japanese.
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With identical effects as the bombing of Hiroshima, a second atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki.
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The Allied forces from the beaches of Normandy managed to reach Paris, overthrowing the Germans with the help of freedom fighters.
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Japan officially signed and accepted the American terms for surrender aboard the U.S.S. Missouri in the Tokyo Bay. World War II had come to a close.
