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Lead up to WW II
These series of events of German Events shows the lead up till the outbreak of WWII -
The End of The Great War
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Forming the League of Nations
The League of Nations came into being after the end of World War One. The League of Nation's task was to ensure that another World War never broke out again. After the turmoil caused by the Versailles Treaty, many looked to the League to bring stability to the world. -
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was the peace treaty which made terms for Germany and Austria to pay compensation for the destruction of The Great War which made these powers have their military and navies dedtroyed and reserve troops reduced -
Germany Enters League of Nations
Germany joined the League demonstrating its move out of economic depression and toward normal diplomatic status -
Hitler Comes to Power
In the early 1930s, the mood in Germany was grim. The worldwide economic depression had hit the country especially hard, and millions of people were out of work. Still fresh in the minds of many was Germany's humiliating defeat fifteen years earlier during World War I, and Germans lacked confidence in their weak government, known as the Weimar Republic. These conditions provided the chance for the rise of a new leader, Adolf Hitler, and his party the NAZI's. -
Occupation of Austria
Hitler entered Vienna in triumph. The pleasure of the huge crowds was difficult to disguise. It is said that even Hitler was surprised by the size of the crowds and by the cheering. Austria became part of the German Greater Reich; Schuschnigg was arrested and imprisoned and almost immediately the Austrian Jews lost their rights. -
Occupation of Czechoslovakia
The Czech frontier guards left their posts and German troops occupied the Sudetenland. Very shortly afterwards, Polish and Hungarian troops took areas of Czechoslovakia which contained a majority of Poles and Magyars -
Invasion of Poland
1.5 million German troops invade Poland all along its 1,750-mile border with German-controlled territory. Simultaneously, the German Luftwaffe bombed Polish airfields, and German warships and U-boats attacked Polish naval forces in the Baltic Sea. Nazi leader Adolf Hitler claimed the massive invasion was a defensive action, but Britain and France were not convinced. On September 3, they declared war on Germany, initiating World War II. -
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World War 2
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The Battle of Greece
Hitler ordered German planners in November to begin devising an operation to invade Greece. Dubbed Operation Marita, it called for the German occupation of the northern coast of the Aegean Sea beginning in March 1941. These plans were later altered following a coup d'état in Yugoslavia. Though it required delaying the invasion of the Soviet Union, the plan was altered to include attacks on both Yugoslavia and Greece beginning on April 6, 1941. Recognizing the growing threat, Prime Minister Ioann -
The Siege of Tobruk
The siege of Tobruk was a confrontation that lasted 240 days between Axis and Allied forces in North Africa during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War.Half the Australian garrison was relieved in August, the rest in September-October. However, 2/13 Battalion could not be evacuated and was still there when the siege was lifted on 10 December, the only unit present for the entire siege. Australian casualties were 559 killed, 2450 wounded, and 941 taken prisoner. -
Capture of Syria and Lebanon
The Syria–Lebanon campaign, also known as Operation Exporter, was the Allied invasion of Vichy French-controlled Syria and Lebanon in June to July 1941, during World War II. Time Magazine referred to the fighting as a "mixed show" while it was taking place and the campaign remains little known, even in the countries that took part. There is evidence that Allied censors acted to suppress or reduce reportage of the fierce fighting. Senior Allied commanders and/or politicians believed that -
The Capture of Crete
Having swept through Greece in April 1940, German forces began preparing for the invasion of Crete. This operation was championed by the Luftwaffe as the Wehrmacht sought to avoid further engagements prior to commencing the invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa) in June. Pushing forward a plan calling for the mass use of airborne forces, the Luftwaffe gained support from a wary Adolf Hitler. Planning for the invasion was permitted to move forward under the restrictions that it not i -
The First Battle of El Alamein
This was a battle of the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, fought on the northern coast of Egypt between Axis forces of the Panzer Army Africa commanded by Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, and Allied forces of the British Eighth Army commanded by General Claude Auchinleck.
