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Alliance System
Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy formed the triple alliance in 1882. They would give each other military support in case of war there were strong ethnic ties, they all wanted to add to their territories. People feared the triple alliances power. The alliance systems worked by making sure no country got too much power, and if a country did gain to much power the allied countries would reduce their power. Russia and France later became allies to protect themselves Germany and their allies. -
Growing Militarization
Militaries were growing in countries that were in battle with eachother. These countries were getting more resources to make better militaries. Countries would also continue to try and increase their military size in fear of being taken over. Germany’s large army caused Britain to want a larger army in the early 1900’s so that they could continue to feel safe. -
Uboats
These “underseaboats” were used by Germans in the sea. Enemy ships were destroyed by the German U-boats and they were a spectacular feature of both world wars. These Uboats were primarily used to attack the allies ships, but there was a hesitation on merchant ships. This is why the US came into the war, and in 1918 Germany was forced to stop production until Hitler came to power and brought them back. -
Asassination of franz Ferdinand
Ferdinand was assassinated by a member of the Black Hand named Gavrilo Princip. The Black Hand members were unhappy after Austria annexed Bosnia in 1908. The heir to the Austria-Hungary empire started the annex of Bosnia, and Ferdinand would die because of it. -
Trench Warfare
This was a way to fight and stay protected. They had four different trench lines, these include the front-line trench, support trench, the reserve trench, and these trenches were all connected by the communication trenches. Trench warfare was something new to warfare but it worked well for countries like Germany that used it. -
Rise of Fascism in Italy, Germany, and Japan
1915, Fascism caused the death toll to rise in Italy and Germany. Germanys holocaust gave them the overall highest death toll. Fascism is the attitude of giving full interest in economic and military power to a dominant race or state lead by a single leader. Fascism is also a dictatorship. Hitler of Germany and Mussolini of Italy were 2 leaders that ruled using Fascism. The first fascist movement was in Italy 1922 when Mussolini's Blackshirts made attempt to take power of Italy. -
Bolshevik Revolution of 1917
The Bolsheviks were a revolutionary party , and they followed the ideas of Karl Marx. They were trying to gain power in Russia and they were helped by the provisional government, the soviets, economic problems, and the war. The Bolsheviks took over Kerensky under Lenin in the October Revolution of 1917. -
Entry of the United States-Zimmerman Telegram & Sinking of the Lusitania
happened in 1917 when Germany no longer agreed to limit submarine warfare, so the U.S.A. in response stopped their diplomatic relations with Germany. A message was decoded that was to Mexico from Zimmerman, the leader of Germany offered up US territory to mexico for joining the cause, and this helped to put the USA into world war I. -
League of Nations
The league was going to be an international body to regulate the entire world. All nations were invited to join and send members to the international assembly. This peace conference in 1919 began with more idealistic aims than any other, but WWII would occur 20 years later killing 55 million. The League of Nations was meant to keep WWI being the last, but that was unfortunately not the case. The League of Nations never fully left, but instead turned into the United Nations which we have today. -
Treaty of Versailles & Treatment of Germany
The treaty of versialles was a compromise from President Wilson’s 14 points and he made a “just peace”, and they had a want for revenge. Germany had to take responsibility for starting the war and they needed to pay the 6.6 billion Euros worth of damage in 1921. Germanys army went down to 100,000 men. -
Great Depression
In 1929, Wall Street crashed and the US then went into an economic depression. Stopped importing goods from other countries and a depression spread across the rest of the world. Unemployment occurred and new industries arose. The great Depression affected more than just the US, it affected other countries to. Britain was hit hard with unemployment, which caused people to cut back on spending which caused stores to go out of business. -
Stalin Coming to power in Russia
In 1929 Stalin won the battle for power in Russia. He was different from Lenin in the fact that Stalin set up the five year plan which helped all industrial development projects to be planned by the state. Stalin was a very powerful and murderous dictator, he was also responsible for millions of deaths but he also played a role in stopping Nazi’s. -
Spanish Civil War
Many thought that it was the opening battle of world war 2. Hitler and Mussolini both sent many troops to Spain because Italy and Germany were allies and they both wanted to spread communism throughout Spain and they didn’t want Spain to be a Soviet stronghold. France and Britain didn’t aid Spain. The USSR supplied the republicans with weapons in aid to help fight off the nationalists. As a result nationalist forces won the war and Hitler became more powerful across Europe. -
German Invasion of Austria, Sudetenland/Czechoslovakia, and Rhineland
When Hitler took power in Germany he wanted to unify the German Empire. German troops entered Austria and took it over quickly, they also threatened war on Sudetenland in 1938, but they instead gave Hitler Sudetenland in exchange for a pledge of peace from Hitler. German expansion was a chance for all Germans to unite before they invaded Austria. -
German Invasion of Poland
September 1 of 1939 , a German battleship opened fire on the Polish Garrison of the Westerplatte Fort. This was the first military engagement of World War 2. Hitler took a gamble by invading Poland The German army was not at full strength when they attacked but Hitler was still confident that they could win a short war because the world's first armored corps could take on Polish forces, and Hitler believed that the British and French Prime ministers were weak and indecisive. -
Evacuation of Dunkirk
In April 1940, The British Prime Minister, Churchill, wanted Allied troops from Dunkirk and Calais to evacuate. This would give them hope of saving 50,000 men. 300,000 were saved in total. This shows that Germany was taking over and putting fear in other countries. -
Fall of France
on April 9, 1940 Germany invaded Denmark. They began their attack on France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands by invading on air and land with more than 2 million troops. Smaller countries lost within weeks but France hung on for a while until June 22 when they signed an armistice with Germany. -
Battle of Britain
On June 18, 1940 a speech was giving saying that the battle of France was over and the battle of Britain was beginning. Germany wanted to put Britain out of power so they went about it by destroying airfields and radar bases, and he tried to force Britain into air battles. Luftwaffe switched tactics under Hitler’s order because Britain could fend them off, and Germany began attacking London and the South Coast. It was clear he couldn’t gain an advantage in the air so he postponed the invasion. -
Attack of Pearl Harbor
Pearl harbor is a US naval base in Oahu, Hawaii that was put under a surprise attack from the Japanese air force. The US then went into World War 2 because of this. The Japanese had attacked many American battleships and damaged other military installations, and left over 2,000 Americans dead. -
Battle of Midway/Battle of Guadalcanal
US bombers dived at a Japanese ships setting both ships on fire to later be destroyed. This battle caused America to lose men, a ship, and planes, but they gained the initiative and stopped the all powerful Japanese Navy. America began to get the upperhand. -
Battle of Stalingrad
This is considered to be the Russians greatest battle. This saved the Russians from German invasion during WWII. Stalingrad was an industrial city and the perfect target for Germany. Russia lost many men over the struggle to defend the city, but they came out on top in the end. -
D-day
Much of Europe was being controlled by the Axis powers. The air and naval forces that Germany had established along the coast were believed to be not as strong and powerful. Germany enhanced forces and focused on the Pas de Calais which was the narrowest area in the English Channel and the most likely spot for an attack by the Allied forces.Allied troops were very successful and this is even looked at as the turning point in WWII. -
Bombing of Tokyo
On March 9th the U.S. got there revenge for the December 6th bombing of pearl harbor and attacked Japan’s most populated city in Tokyo. The fire bombing of Japan was an attempt to make Japanese forces surrender and to crush all Japanese hope. U.S. air forces dropped the firebombs on Tokyo instantly sending the mainly wood houses and buildings into flames. About 100,000 of the people who died actually died from the carbon monoxide that became present in the air. -
V-E Day
V-E Day is considered to be “Victory in Europe Day”. This day marked the day that Hitler was no longer in power in Germany. Many celebrated this day that marked the ending of misery across the world. On may 2nd German forces surrendered in Italy. The final documents of the surrender were signed on the 7th of May. -
Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
August 6th 1945 a U.S. bomber dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. The bomb was devastating to the city almost completely wiping it out the city and killing 100,00 plus. The people of Japan were shaken and terrified of the instant damage. Three days later it happened again, this time in Nagasaki. Over 40,000 people were instantly wiped out. The affects of these attacks are still greatly felt in Japan. -
V-J Day
- On August 15th 1945 Japan surrendered to the U.S. The U.S. Celebrated the victor. After the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Japan was depleted and started talks for surrender even though it wasn’t official until September the 2nd. This officially marked the end of the war in the Pacific Front.
