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European nations began to acquire colonies in Asia, Africa, and the Pacific.
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European countries started building military power.
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Flamethrowers were invented in 1901 and first used in war by the Germans in the Battle of Verdun.
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In the Balkans, ethnic groups such as the Serbs, Romanians, Bulgarians, and Albanians all wanted independence and their own nation states. In the early 1900’s, these groups finally created their own nations.
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First Battle of the Marne - Sept., 1914, Germans attacked France through Belgium but were stopped at the Marne river. The French pushed back the Germans and soon both sides set up trenches inside French borders.
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1910-1914 Germany increased its military spending by 73%.
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June 28, 1914, Archduke of Austria-Hungary, Franz Ferdinand, was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist, Gavrilo Princip, while in Sarajevo, Bosnia, a province of Austria-Hungary.
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Battle of Verdun - Feb. to Dec., 1916. Longest battle of the war. Germans attacked historic forts at Verdun. Considered the most brutal event of WWI.
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Battle of Somme Deadliest battle of WWI. French and British operation to destroy the German front line. Only gained about 12 km at most.
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US entered WWI in April of 1917 under the command of General John J. Pershing. Once the troops arrive, this gives the Allies much needed manpower.
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Benito Mussolini became the Prime Minister of Italy in 1922. He used this position to outlaw all non-fascist political parties and soon became and dictator.
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Fascist dictators began to take over in parts of Europe in the 1920’s and 1930’s due to bad economic conditions created by WWI and the Great Depression.
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German troops moved into the Rhineland. This was prohibited by the Treaty of Versailles.
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Adolph Hitler became the Chancellor of Germany in January, 1933. Through a variety of manipulative actions, Hitler soon dismantled the German government and became a dictator.
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Hitler and Mussolini signed an alliance, creating the Axis.
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Spanish Civil War: Fascist forces aided by Italy and Germany take over Spain. (WWII dress rehearsal).
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Munich conference: Hitler forced the British and French to give him the Sudetenland in return for a promise not to invade the rest of Czechoslovakia.
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Britain and France agreed to protect Poland in case of a German invasion.
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Britain and France declared war on Germany and Germany and Italy declared war on them.
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FDR and Winston Churchill met secretly on a ship off the coast of Newfoundland to agree on war goals, since both foresaw US joining the Allies, soon.
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By 1949, both the U.S. and the Soviet Union had ATOMIC BOMBS (nuclear weapons)
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state of high tension between these two countries. They do NOT fight each other physically! (remember the “cold” shoulder)
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957-U.S.S.R. launches Sputnik, 1st satellite, Soviet Union shows much advancement by getting 1st animal, man, and woman in space.
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U.S.S.R. creates an actual wall to separate East Berlin from West Berlin.
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U.S. needs a big win...1969 the U.S.
lands the 1st man on the moon…
wins Space Race! -
Soviet Union disagrees with the Allies and wants Germany to be weak so they can never be as strong as they were during WWII.
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The U.S. wanted Germany to be strong again. In order for Europe to be economically ($$) strong again, Germany needed to be strong too!
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Fall of the Berlin Wall 1989-East Germans wanted prosperity and freedom of West Germany
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After World War II, Germany is occupied and divided by the Allies so they can’t try and fight back.
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With all of these factors, on December 25, 1991 the Soviet Union no longer existed!