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Growing Militarization
During this time period, many European countries were starting to expand their militaries. The money being spent towards their militaries incresased by about 300%. Many countires also made it a requirement for men over the age of 18 to join the military for a minimum amount of time. It was thought that if you had a larger military, you were more powerful. -
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Alliance systems
Many alliances were created in the European countries to ensure their protection. When the countries created the alliances, this prevented one country from becoming too powerful. One of the alliances made was the dual alliance between Austria- Hungary and Germany. They had an obligation to each other that if one country would be attack the other had to come in and help. Another alliance made was the Three Emperors League; which consisted of Austria- Hungary, Germany and Russia. -
Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
Franz was the heir to throne of Austria- Hungary. There were seven assassins that tried to kill him while he was out with his wife. They did not feel that Serbia was not being treated well under Austria- Hungary’s rule. The first assassin through a bomb at his car and missed. Ferdinand took a different way to avoid any further threats. The driver was unaware and lead them right to the killers. Franz was then killed. This was the final cause of WWI and lit the match for the war to start. -
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Trench Warfare
The armies would dig trenches in the ground so that they would be more protected when it came to the war. Because the trenches were not able to be moved, there would be no advance. The armies would not be able to progress in the war. This lack of progress is called a stalemate. There were many negative side effects for the armes that stayed in the trenches. One of the side effects was the development of 'trench foot'. The foot would swell from being constantly wet in the trenches. -
The sinking of the Lusitania
The Lusitania was a British passenger liner and departed from New York to Liverpool on May 1st. The ship also contained some american passengers. The ship crossed paths with a German U boat and was hit by a torpedo and within 18 minutes was sunk. The US demanded the "payback" from the damage Germany had done to the Lusitania. At this time the Americans were on a fine line to entering the war. When the Germans started to use unrestricted warfare again in 1917, the Americans then joined the war. -
The Zimmermann Telegram
The Telegram was an effort made by Germany to make the US enter the first world war. Germany sent a telegram to Mexico to declare war on the US. It promised three of the states and an alliance with Germany. Mexico was weeker than the Us and ignored the proposal. The telegram was intercepted by British intelligence and was told to the US. This provoked the Americans and we then declared war on Germany. -
The Bolshevik Revolution
The Bolshevik revolution was a communist revolution in Russia lead by Lenin. The main goal of the revolution was to make the people of Russia equal. They wanted to redistribute land to the peasants and to eliminate hunger and poverty. The revolution was a response to to many people that died during the first world war. The people of Russia were starting to revolt against the Russian involvment in the war. -
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U boats and Unrestricted Warfare
U boats were created by the Germans and is short for Unterseeboat. They were submarines that were majorly used in World War I. Germany was the first country to use submarines in war as opposed to surface commerce raiders. Germany was not allowed to attack civilian ships. When the US was not involved the Germans were hesitant to use unrestricted warfare, which included the attack on civilian ships. But in the May of 1917 the Germans did use unrestricted warfare when they sunk the Lusitania. -
The Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was meant to be a peace treaty and its purpose was to end all wars. The treaty was mainly focused on punishing Germany. One of the major points in the treaty was that Germany had to take responsibility for the damages caused in the war, an estimated worth of 6.6 billion euros. This left Germany embarassed and in major debt. -
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The League of Nations
The League of Nations was very similar to the present day United Nations. Their focus was to prevent war and to be able to solve problems in alternative ways. -
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The Rise of Fascism
Many counrties changed their government from a democracy to fascism. This means that they had a dictator that was in charge of making the major economic decisions. If there was only one person making the decisions, the econimy would move forward faster. The countries that became fascist, bounced back from the debt they had from WWI. -
Stalin's Rise to Power
Stalin and Trotsky fought for power after Lenin died in 1929. Stalin believed that Russia should be stable before they move on to start any revolutions in other countries whereas Trostky encouraged world revolution. stalin was able to use his position as secretary and his gift in political trickery. This eventually won him the role as leader, and Trostky was later exiled. -
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The Great Depression
After the stock market crash in the US, THey withdrew a lot of funding that they provided to other countries. Thsi caused their economy to decrease as well. Many people all around Europe lost their jobs and became very poor. Because their economies were so low they needed the government to help them bounce back. The countries either stayed a democracy, such as Britain, France, and the US, or they became fascist, such as Italy and Germany. This would lead to the rise in fascism. -
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Spanish Civil War
Germany and Italy both wanted to see the facsist part of Spain win the war so that they would have another ally. It wa important for them to be on their side because Spain is on the ocean and has access to ports and supplies. Germany and Italy sent thousands of troops to Spain to ensure their success. In the end, the fascist powers did win and provided another ally to Germany and Italy. -
German invasion of Austria ect.
Hitler wanted all of German speaking Europe to be under his control as one country. The treaty of Versailles forbid Germany and Austria from ever coming together. After Germany and Italy became strong allies, Austria lost Italy's protection. Hitler had to create trouble so he could justify sending his army in to Austria to restore peace. Without help from other countries, Austria gave its self to Hitler. -
German Invasion of Poland
The blitzkrieg went through Poland and eventually diminished thier army. By the end of the month, Poland surrendered. Taking over Poland was different then taking over all of the other countries that Germany had gained during this time because Poland did not have a large German population. This event would lead up to the start of WWII. -
The Evacuation of Dunkirk
After the German army wiped out many cities using Blitzkrieg (lightning war), the city of Dunkirk needed to be evacuated. The British and French armies were trapped in the dity, surrounded by the German army. To get out of the city they needed to get to the ships at the beaches. The ships were too large and could not get ashore, so smaller boats were used as a way of transporting the people. -
The Fall of France
Over the course of 100 days, Germany took over six counrties. France was the last of the countries to be taken over. City by city the German army taks over more and more of France until it is completely taken over. Much of the country is destroyed and this leads up to teh evacuation on Dunkirk. -
The Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain was between the German Luftwaffe and the British Royal Air Force. It lasted from July to October in 1940. It was the first major military campaign that was totally in the air. The Germans needed control of the English Channel to prevent the English navy from attacking them. To do this they needed to come from the air. The German airforce, Luftwaffe, had air bombing campaigns which severely destroyed many major cities in Britain. For many errors Germany did not win. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Over the corse of two hours, 21 American ships were sunck or destroyed by 350 Japanese aircraft. The attack was unexpected and the surprise attack cost the US over 2,400 men. In addition to the ships, about 200 planes were shot down and destroyed. Even though the Japanese destroyed many of the US's supplies, they were not as successful as they planed. They failed to destroy the oil storage that the US had on the coast of the island. -
The Battle of Midway
In June 4-7, 1942 the Americans fought in the Battle of Midway. Admiral Yamamoto thought that the US would come too late to defend Midway and the Japanese would have an easy victory and be able to establish an air base there. But because of the American communications intelligence, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz knew of the attack before it was even assembled. The ambush destroyed four of Japan’s fleet carriers and only one of three American carriers. -
The Battle of Guadalcanal
The Americans landed on the island of Guadalcanal to take the almost finished airfield on August 7, 1942. In the battle, Japan suffered much more than the Americans. What ever was damaged or destroyed in the battle the US quickly recovered, unlike Japan. -
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The Battle of Stalingrad
The battle of Stalingrad was when the allies defeated the German Sixth Army in Stalingrad, Russia. Hitler lost a lot of men and weapons because of the battle. Over 25,000 German soldiers died from the battle or the harsh Russian winter. This battle was one of the few that changed the outcome of the war and which directed the winnings to the allies. -
D Day
D Day is another name for the invasion of Normandy. The allied forces invaded the Nazi army from above. They used airplanes and parachutes to get people in the front lines of the battle. Over 13,000 aircrafts were involved and asisted in the invasion. THe allies were successful in driving Hitler's army out of Normandy. -
The Bombing of Tokyo
America bombed the Japanese city of Tokyo and dropped around 2,000 tons worth of bombs. The bombs contained napalm and magnesuin which quickly lit the residential districts in eastern Tokyo. The air was converted to lethal gas and the majority of the people that died, died because of carbon monooxide poisoning. Over 100,000 people died in the fires and as a result of the bombs. -
VE Day
Otherwise known as " Victory in Europe" day and marked the end of the war started by Hitler. -
Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
On August 6, 1945, the first atomic bomb was dropped over the city of Hiroshima, Japan. The explosion instantly killed 80,000 people and destroyed 90% of the city. Tens of thousands of people then died of radiation exposure. On August 9th, another atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, killing around 40,000 people. Japan’s Emperor Hirohito declared Japan’s surrender in World War II on August 15th. -
VJ Day
VJ Day marked the end of world war II and the end of the war in the Pacific.