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A revolution broke out in St. Petersburg, but Czar Nicholas quickly ended it. The day was called Bloody Sunday because of how many casualties there were As a result, Nicholas promised to form the Dumas to work toward reform.
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Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated in Sarajevo. That created tension between Europe's powers. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, and one week later, Russia, Belgium, France, Great Britain and Serbia were against Austria-Hungary and Germany. This started World War I.
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Germany invaded Belgium, which began World War II. The German army launched an attack on Russia's ally, France, that violated Belgium neutrality and brought Great Britain into the war. The war caused the downfall of four monarchies: Germany, Turkey, Austria-Hungary and Russia. It left European countries in debt and made the US the leading industrial power and creditor in the world.
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Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare in Europe's water ways. This act drew the United States into the war and caused the eventual defeat of Germany.
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Congress authorized a declaration of war against Germany. The US entered World War I being on the side of France and Belgium. Even though the US got into the war slowly, they marked a major turning point in the war effort and helped the Allies win.
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Lenin signed a treaty that took Russia out of World War II. They recognized the independence of Ukraine, Georgia and Finland; gave up Poland and the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to Germany and Austria-Hungary; and ceded Kars, Ardahan and Batum to Turkey. Lenin bitterly called the settlement “that abyss of defeat, dismemberment, enslavement and humiliation.”
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Germany invaded Poland and World War II began. Germany invaded and took control of Denmark and Norway. They used quick strikes "blitzkrieg" which meant lightning war. Nazi leader Adolf Hitler said that the invasion was a defensive action, but Britain and France did not believe him. So, they declared war on Germany, which started World War II.
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Germany, Italy and Japan signed the Tripartite Pact which provided for mutual assistance if any of the signatories suffered attack by any nation already involved in the war. This created the Axis Alliance. The three principal partners in the Axis alliance were Germany, Italy, and Japan.
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The Japanese attacked the US Navy in Pearl Harbor. It killed 2,500 people, destroyed 200 planes and 8 battleships. The next day, the US entered World War II on the side of the Allies.
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The Germans launched a large attack in the Battle of the Bulge. They lost so many men and equipment, though, that there was no way their army could launch another attack on the Allies. So, they lost to the allies which ended the German Army and the Nazi reign. It ended World War II.
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During World War II, more than 6 million Jews were murdered by Hitler and his Nazi followers. After the war, many Jews found safety in Palestine, but were locked out because of Britain's restrictions. These actions were condemned by the US.
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Adolph Hitler committed suicide because he knew that the Germans lost the war. A few days later, Germany surrendered to the Allies. This ended Hitler’s dreams of a “1,000-year” Reich.
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The US dropped an Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. The city was devastated. Three days later, another Atomic Bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. Japan then surrendered to US General Douglass MacArthur ad the Allies.
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US and Britain introduced new currency (Deutschmark) into Germany and people of Soviet Union couldn't adjust to it. So, Soviets cut off all land and water routes, so Berlin Air Lift began which helped US and British planes to supply West Berlin with supplies. This was huge win for US and put countries on our side.
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Arabia was upset with the establishment of a Jewish nation. They attacked Isreal, Arabia even though superior forces were driven back. Temporary peace was established.
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War started between the North and the South because the Communist government of North Vietnam wanted a reunion of North Vietnam and South Vietnam. The US entered to help stop the spread of the Communism in Indochina. The War officially ended on April 30, 1975.
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This started when Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial Earth satellite. This shook the Americans because the same rocket that launched the Sputnik could send a nuclear warhead anywhere in the world in minutes and they felt that the Soviets were more technologically advanced than the US. This made Americans focus on advancing and improving, which was a huge step in space technology.
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Soviets shot down a US U-2 plane because they thought a US pilot was collecting Soviet intelligence data. Soviet leader, Krushchev, said that the Soviets would not take part in a scheduled summit conference with US, Britain and France unless US stopped flying over Soviet territory and apologized. Soviets kept the pilot as a prisoner. This caused outrage between US and Soviet Union and tensions got worse.
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A US spy plane flew over Cuba and saw that there were nuclear missile sites under construction. The missiles would have been able to reach the US. Tensions between US and Soviet Union got worse. Finally, Soviet Union removed missiles from Cuba and then the US removed missiles from Turkey that threatened the Soviet Union. This was the closest that the US and Soviets ever came to a nuclear war.
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Egypt launched a surprise attack on Isreal during the sacred holiday of Yom Kippur. Isreal quickly mobilized troops and fended off the invasion. The UN called for cease fire.
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Lebanon broke into a civil war between many militia factions. People attacked one another because they were divided over religion. They did this until the conflict was resolved in 1990.
