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The Truce
This was a truce made in France at 5:00 a.m. on November 11, 1918. The Germans agreed to cease fire and the war ended at 11:00 a.m. -
IMPORTANT POINT Failure of the League of Nations
The League of nations was set up to have the most powerful countries in the world, but it failed because of the following countries: Not all countries joined the League. The League had no power. The League had no army. The league was unable to act quickly. -
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Causes of World War II
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IMPORTANT POINT Paris Peace Conference
This was a conference was held in France where leaders of the Allies met to create the terms of a peace treaty. Over six months, many treaties were created, though one treaty that was made real was the Treaty of Versailles. This document put peace between Germany and the Allies. The United States President Wilson introduced a 14 - point plan for long lasting peace and international co-operation. However some Allied leaders wanted to blame Germany. -
IMPORTANT POINT The "War Guilt Clause"
Germany had to admit full responsibility for starting World War I. This was Clause 231-the infamous "War Guilt Clause". Therefore, she had to pay reparations, the bulk of which would go to France and Belgium to pay for the damage done to the infrastructure of both countries by the war. The figure was not set at Versailles - it was to be determined later. The Germans were told to write a blank cheque which the Allies would cash when it suited them. The figure was eventually put at $30 billion. -
IMPORTANT POINT The Treaty of Versailles
The terms of this document were: 1.Germany had to agree to War Guilt Clause 2.Parts of Germany's territory would be taken away 3.Germany had to pay for the damages of the war, total $30 billion 4.Germany's army could not exceed 100,000 men, and they had to surrender its' navy . They were also restricted from having an air force 5.Austria and Germany was not allowed to become one country. -
Hitler Joins The Nazi Party
This is the time where Adolf Hitler joins the Nazi Party. Which was also known as the National Socialist German Party. Then was later changed to Nazis. In 1921, Hitler because leader of the party. -
Wall Street Crash
During the depression, the New York Stock Market crashed. Then causing many economic problems for Germany. The Germans wanted a leader that can solved the depression. This was an opportunity for Hitler to become the leader. -
Invasion of Manchuria
Japan invades Manchuria, one of China’s provinces, to expand land for the Japanese. China requested help from League of Nations to fight off the Japanese. However the League did not have its’ own army and continued with its policy of aggression. In 1937, the Japanese continued with its' invasion and is still at war with China. -
IMPORTANT POINT The new Chancellor: Adolf Hitler
Once Adolf Hitler was in power, he was called Führer, (The Leader) and changed Germany to dictatorship. He then ignored all the terms in the Treaty of Versailles. Also ruled over Germany with fear and terror. Hitler also had a secret police force to enforce his laws, the SS. Every other party was banned expect the Nazis, and the Swastika became the emblem of Nazis. -
Invasion of Abyssinia
Italy set out an invasion in Abyssinia to expand their land and acquire more resources. Exactly the same as what Germany and Japan had been doing. Abyssinia asked for the League of Nations’ help, just like Manchuria, they could not help as they had no military to fight. -
Annexation of Austria
Adolf Hitler had a plan to take over Austria. However France and Britain didn't take action, because they wanted to keep the peace. While Hitler knew of no interference, he continued with his plan. -
"The "Munich Agreement"
Adolf Hitler of Germany, and Benito Mussolini of Italy, signed the Munich Pact with French Premier Edouard Daladier. The British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain let the Axis take some parts of Czechoslovakia. -
The Anschluss
The Anschluss was the 1938 annexation of Austria into Germany. Historically, the Pan-Germanism idea of creating a Greater Germany to include all ethnic Germans into one nation-state was popular for Germans in both Austria and Germany. It was at its peaking just after World War I when both new constitutions declared German Austria as a part of Germany. Such an action was expressly forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles, though. -
German Invasion to Czechoslovakia
As part of Hitler's plan to expand Germany's land, Hitler tried to invade Czechoslovakia but Britain and France tried to negotiate instead. The agreement was Germany can have Sudetenland and promise not to take the rest of Czechoslovakia. The policy to enforce this was called the policy of appeasement. However only six months after the policy took place, Hitler continued his invasion, showing the policy of appeasement have failed. -
The Rising of The Axis
The start of the Axis, Also known as the Pact of Steel happened in 1939. This was the alliance of Germany, Italy (1939), and Japan (1940). The Axis wanted to invade and expand their territory as well ruling over the world. -
The Non-Aggression Pact
Hitler's next plans were to unite with East Prussia with the rest of Germany. However to get there he had to trek through Poland. Hitler didn't want to invade Soviet Union, so he signed a non-aggression pact with Joseph Stalin. Both countries agreed not to fight each other if a war occurs and they divided Poland. Now Hitler was free to travel through Poland. -
Poland is Invaded by Germany
Germany invaded Poland. The Polish army was defeated within weeks of the invasion. They broke through Polish defenses along the border in massive encirclement attack. After heavy shelling and bombing, Warsaw surrendered to the Germans on September 27, 1939. Britain and France, standing by their guarantee of Poland's border, had declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939. The Soviet Union invaded eastern Poland on September 17, 1939. -
Canada Joins the Fight
After Germany's invasion on Poland, Britain and France immediately declared war on Germany. Canada then had no choice but to join the ranks and fight. On September 8, a conference was held to see if Canada was really joining the battle. Two days later, Canada heads to the frontlines of the war. -
Private Contacts
in 1939 the British Foreign Office sponsored several private contacts with Germany, looking for a way to open negotiations. Nothing developed and all contacts ended when the Germans launched their invasions of Denmark and Norway in April 1940. Lonsdale-Bryans talked of a deal whereby Germany would be given a free hand in Europe, while the British Empire would control the rest of the world. It is unclear to what extent this proposal enjoyed the official backing of the British Foreign Office. -
Soviet Union is Invaded by Germany
Operation Barbossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union from Germany. The non- aggression pact was broken with this declaration of war. Germany and the Soviet-Union both knew at some point they would fight each other in war, but Germany took a sneaky shot at the Soviet Union first. The Operation turned out to to have no gain as Russia joined the war to fight the Germany and the Axis. -
Attack of Pearl Harbour
The attack took place before any formal declaration of war was made by Japan, but even then,Japan attacks United State's Pearl Harbor, knowing U.S. has a larger navy than them. The United States joined the Allies and declared war on Japan. Later on, Germany and Italy also declared war on U.S.