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Period: to
Pre WWI
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Three Emperors' League and Triple Entente (Alliance System Building)
After the Franco-Prussian War, Bismark agreed upon a alliance called the Three Emperor's League. It consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia. The alliance worked well until Kaiser Wilhelm II came to the thrown and forced Russia to leave the alliance. Afterwards, France allied with Russia. England had begun to allie with France, Japan, and the United States. Russia settled it's differences with England to form the Triple Entente. Once WWI started, each country was drawn in. -
Growing Militarization, Early 1900s
With the growing tension between the alliances in Europe, countries began to expand their miltaries. France and Germany, in particular, began creating huge armies. The countries kept on building their military in fear that other countries had the intentions of invading. New weapons and tactics were created that led to one of the bloodiest wars ever. -
Growing Balkan Nationalism/Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
Serbia had just liberated from the Ottoman Empire when Austria- Hungary imperialized them. Serbian nationalist were outraged and formed the Black hand terrorist organization in 1901. In July of 1914, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, toured Bosnia-Herzegovina. A Serbian, Gavrilo Princip, assassinated Franz and his wife. Austrians blamed the Kingdom of Serbia for the death and launched an attack. -
WWI Begins
Russia began moblizing their troops to aid Serbia. Austria declared war on Serbia, Russia declared war on Austra, Germnay declard war on Russia, and Russia's allies, France and Britain, declared war on Germany. -
U-Boats and Unrestricted Warfare (throughout WWI and WWII)
Germany first used submarines in World War 1. They were effective against British warships. Germany began using unrestricted U-Boat Warfare against merchant ships. This led to the sinking of the Lusitania which brought the United States into the war. -
Period: to
WWI
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Trench Warfare
The first trench lines were finished in November of 1914. The trench lines were 400 miles long on each side. In between each trench was "No Man's Land". New tactics were created because of the new weapons and sheer size of the war. Armies could no longer march into battle as they used to. Armies could spend weeks to months in one trench, defending and trying to advance. Before the United States joined, there was a stalemate. Nobody advanced and nobody ws pushed back. -
Entry of the United States-Zimmermann Telegram and Sinking of the Lusitania
In January of 1917, German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmermann sent a telegram to the German Minister,von Eckhardt. It stated that if Mexico joined the German cause, they would take territory from the United States. This message helped the United States join the war with more Americans wanting to join. The main reason though, that President Woodrow Wilson joined the war was because Germany attacked the Lusitania, a British ship with hundredsd of Americans on board. -
Bolshevik Revolution of 1917
In Febuary of 1917, Nicholas II was overthrown. Lenin, the leader of the Bolsheviks, wanted to achieve three things for Russia. He wanted peace, an end to the war. Russia left it in June of 1917. The people needed food and Lenin said that the Bolsheviks could stop the food shortages and give the people land. He offered the peasents land so they would'nt resist when the Bolshevks would take power. Lenin and his Bolsheviks stormed the Winter Palace and arrested the Provisional Government. -
Period: to
Interwar Period
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Treaty of Versailes and Treatment of Germany
After Germanies defeat in WWI, they were forced to sign the Treaty of Versailes. It forced Germany to give up territories to Belgium, Czechoslovakia, France, Poland. The most embarrasing part of the treaty was Article 231, which stated that Germany would have to take full responsiblity for WWI. Germany was soon in debt and were desperate. They needed a leader to get them back on track. Adolf Hitler manipulated the situation and rose to power. -
League of Nations
WWI was one of the bloodiest wars ever. It was called "The war to ened all wars". Many leaders did not want another conflict like WWI and set out to from an organziaztion to prevent them. The League of Nations was established as part of the Treaty of Versailles. It was an international organization thats goals were to achieve peace and security. Many countries withdrew throughout the 30s and early 40s. It finally disbanded with all its assets tranfering to the United Nations.. -
Stalin coming to power in Russia.
Stalin was an activist in the Bolshevik seizue of power in 1917. He quickly rose through the ranks and became the general secretary of the Communist Party. This allowed him to control appointments and gain a base of support. After Lenin's death, Stalin appointed himself the heir to Lenin and soon became dictator of the Soviet Union. -
Mussolini (rise of fascism in Italy)
During WWI, Benito Mussolini radically changed his ideas on governement. He coverted from socialsim to facscism very quickly after he realized he couldn't gain power and restore the Roman Empire. In March of 1922, Mussolini's National Frascists Party stormed Rome. Mussolini started building a dictatorship. During the Spanish Civil War, Mussolini became closer to Hitler and they soon formed an allaince. -
HIrohito- Rise of Facisim in Japan
All emperors were regarded as devine but Hirohito actually had little power. Most decissions were made by other political and militsry officials. He usually tried to avoid conflict with other countries and encouraged cooperation with Britain and the US. He had no choice but to approve the attack on Pearl Harbor. -
Great Depression, throughout the 1930s
The Great Depression was a time when countries were in major debt, unemployment rates skyrocketed, and cost of living went up dramatically. The stock market crash was the main factor why the United States went into a economical decline as well as many other countries. Many countries suffered and it was until WWII that things got better. Countries had two options in this economic crises. Staying as a Democracy (France, Britain), or becoming a Fascist state (Itlay, Germany). -
Hitler (rise of fascism)
Hitler rose to power in 1933, using the German Worker's Party which would later be known as the Nazi Party. He took his party and staged a coup d' etat. It failed and his was sent to prison. In prison, he wrote Mein Kampf which became a bestseller. Upon his release, he resurrected his party and the economy started to pick up. The Great Depression began and this allowed the Nazis to gain support. Hitler came up with a solution and people started listening more. He soon became dictator. -
The Spanish Civil War
In 1923, a coup d'etat had established General Miguel Primo de Rivera led to the abdication of the ruling monarch King Alfonso XIII. During the power vaccum created by this, many factions argued over what reforms should be made. By 1936 The Popular Front party gathered enough supporters and won the election. On July 18, a rebellion started by military units broke out. The right wing generals were led by Francisco Franco, who staged a military coup and took control of the government. -
German invasion Austria/ Sudetenland/Czechoslovakia, Rhineland
Hitler wanted all German-speaking nations to be part of Germany. He took back Rhineland which was a demilitarized territory east of France. It was originally taken away from Germany because of the treaty of Versailles. The Rhineland was used as a barrier between France and Germany util the invasion. He used these German-speaking countries as miltary bases to train troops and develop weapons. None of the other countries cared until he invaded Poland. -
German Invasion of Poland
The first engagement of WWII was in Poland. Hitler thought Britain and France would not retaliate. Poland had not allied itself with the Soviet Union yet and Hitler saw this as an advantage. The first bombs struck Warsaw and Poland requested military assistance. It was not until September third that Britian declared war. declared war on Germany. -
Period: to
World War II
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The Fall of France
On May tenth more than two million German forces invaded France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium. Smaller countries fell quickly but France held out until June twenty-second. France crumbled so fast because they invested their resources and money into the Maginot Line. Germany simply went around through Belgium and invaded France from there. Vichy France was the puppet state of France. A new set of leaders were in charge and the French military was destroyed. -
Evacuation of Dunkirk
During the Fall of France, British, Belgium, and French troops were cut off by the German army. Most of the men were picked up by privatly owned ships. Over 300,000 troops were evacuated. This gave a moral boost to allied civilians and troops. -
Battle of Britain
Britain was alone to face Nazi Germany. During the beggining of the Battle of Britain, it seemed to be in the Royal Air force's favor. They were at a tactical advantage. The RAF could land and resupply very quickly. The German aircraft, however, were too far away from their bases. By the end of Augest, Germany started bombing large cities at night. By the end of September, German forces had retreated. This was one of the major turning points in the war. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Before the Attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States had remained neutral throughout the war. Japan had decided to attack to prevent the United States from joining the war. The base was attacked by over 300 planes, ranging from bombers to torpedo planes. Most of the American ships and planes were destoyed along with the deaths of over 2000 men. Following up on the attack, the United States declared war on Japan and Germany. -
The Bombing of Tokyo
The bombing raids on Tokyo lasted until the end of the war. More than a hundred thousand civilians, military personel were killed by incindiary bombs. Surprisingly survivors hold no resentment towards America, but the ordeal instilled a lifetime passion for peace. -
The Battle of Midway
The battle was fought over the US base, Midway. The Japanese fleet attacked Midway in an attempt to destroy the US naval fleet. The Japanese were surprised by the US intelligence which knew of the attack. This allowed the US to stage an ambush, by preparing their fleet for the approaching Japanese. The base at Midway reemained opperational and became a essential for Americas victory. -
The Battle of Guadalcanal
The US Mariens landed on the shores of Guadalcanal unopposed by the Japanese forces. But it still took six months to claim the island. The japanese defeat at Midway was a turningg point for America, because now the US was on the offensive. The American forces had surprised the Japanese and captured their airfield which could be used to resupply their own forces. -
The Battle of Stalingrad
After a year of fighting, Soviet soldiers were exhausted and demoralized. The Germans pushed on to Stalingrad first by bombing the city and then sending ground forces. The Soviets held their ground, and over one million troops were killed. -
D-Day
After much of Europe came under seige of Nazi Germany, the Allies launched their campaign to take back western Europe, Operation Overlord. Throughout 1944, America and Britain launched attacks on slected targets in France. The Allies stormed the beaches of France with the aid of bombers. In less than a year they pushed the German forces back. -
V-E Day
'Victory in Europe' , or VE day as it is known marked the formal end to Hitlers war. -
The United Nations
The United Nations replaced the League of Nations at the end of WWII. Its primary goals are to maintain international peace and security. Almost all countries have joined and have a say in the General Assembly. -
The Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
This was the first use of atomic weapons. An American B-29 bomber flew over Hiroshima. Eighty thousand werre killed in th einital blast and thousands more would die from radiation poisoning. Three days later a second bomber flew over the city of Nagasaki with nearly the same results. On August fifteenth Emperor Hirohito sent a distress call carrying Japans unconditional surrender. -
V-J Day
This day marked the victory over Japan. -
Decolonization
At the end of WWII, countries started to rebuild themselves. They started decolonizing and giving their colonies their independence. This led to conflicts within countries like the Korean War.
