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Period: to
Thesis: Political
Although there is continuity in the prescence and reoccurrance of war from 1914 to 1945, there is greater change in who had the upperhand, who was fighting, and what territories were being fought over and won. -
Archduke Ferdinand Assasinated
Gavriel Princip, a Serbian nationalist, assassinated Archduke Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife. With extra confidence from Germany's "blanck check", Austra-Hungry was furious and made a list of demands that the Serbs would not be able to meet. This shows CHANGE because it was the beginning of WWI. -
US Enters WWI
When the world realized that this would not be the quick, easy war they were expecting, it spread like wildfire. In 1917, the US entered the war because of German submarines. This shows CONTINUITY because nearly all nations other than South Africa had already become part of the war. -
Russia v. Germany
Russia, part of the tripple-entente, began to rapidly arm itself. Germany feared their build up of arms, so Germany countered the Russian offenses and destoryed an entire Russian army. The Russian tsar, Nicholas II, was determined to take control of the front. This sparked peasant revolts and led to the fall of his empire. This shows CHANGE because of the fall of the tsarist regime. -
End of WWI
Germany was afraid that their armies were about to fall apart and they were struggling with internal problems like rebellions. Germany agreed to an armistice to end the war.This shows CHANGE because it was the end of a long war. It also showed a reversal in how the German public viewed the war. -
WWII Starts
Germany invaded Poland to officially begin World War II. This invasion also caused Britian and France to declare war on Germany. This shows CHANGE because it was the beginning of another war and German had been pretending that they wanted peace. -
Battle of Britain
Britain held their ground against Germany in the Battle of Bulge. A small British air force was able to hold off a larger Nazi air raid. Winston Churchill, the leader of Britian, led them through this time. This shows CHANGE because Germany had been winning many battles and in this battle, Germany was forced to give up. -
Japan Bombs Pearl Harbor
Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and temporarily damaged and stalled the American Pacific fleet. This allowed them to quickly capture Hong Kong, Malaya, and Burma. This shows CHANGE because it brought the US into the war and allowed Japan to possess new colonies. -
Battle of the Coral Sea and Midway Island
The United States held off the Japanese at the Battle of Coral Sea. Then they won a great victory at Midway island. This battle showed CHANGE because it allowed the Allies to have the upper hand and begin to capture many pacific islands. -
Period: to
Battle of Bulge
This battle was Hitler's last effort to hold off the Allied armies, but he failed. In 1945, The Allies invaded Germany from the West and the Red armies attacked from the East. This shows CHANGE because up until this point Germany had been dominating the war. -
End of WWII
The United States ended the war by dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This step was taken because the war seemed to be getting no where, since some Japanese leaders promised peace while others promised to fight to the death. This showed CHANGE because it marked the end of the most destructive war in history.