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Rise of Fascist Dictators in Europe
Fascist dictators did not have any one set of beliefs. It was rooted in extreme nationalism. The first dictator to rise was Mussolini. He set the stage for other dictators to rise. -
Japanese Aggression in Asia
Japanese military leaders and ultranationalists thought that Japan should havfe an empire equivalent to the western powers. To achieve this, Japan took Manchuria in 1931. After this the League of Nations condemned Japan's aggression. In response to this, Japan's military grew and in 1937, Japan overran much of China. -
Annexation of Austria
By 1938, Hitler was prepared to engineer the Anschluss. When the Austrian leaders became opposed to Hitler's demands, he was taken care of and Hitler became the new leader of Austria. As leader, he made a speech from Hofburg Palace. The Anschluss violated the Treaty of Versailles. -
Munich Conference
At the Munich Conference, British and French leaders chose appeasement. Once again, they caved into Hitler's demands. Also, they persuaded the Czech's to surrender to Sudetenlan with no fight. In exchange for this, Hitler promised Britain and France he was done expanding his territory. -
Battle of the Atlantic
This was the longest battle of WWII. It caused Allied ships to go against German submarines. Germany began using unrestricted submarine warfare on English ships because they realized that it was Britain's weakness. the more German ships came into the battle, the weaker the British got. Roosevelt helped by giving "fifty obselete four piper destroyers" for the use of British bases in the Caribbean. (1939-1945) -
Nazi- Soviet Pact
To everyone's surprise, Hitler announced a non-aggression pact with his arch enemy Joseph Stalin. This pact forced Hitler and Stalin to be at peace with each other and secretly the two agreed to not fight if the other went to war and divide up Poland and other parts of Europe. This treaty was based on mutual need, as each ruler feared the other's style. -
Phony War
During the first winter, the French were permanently stationed behind the Maginot Line. The British sent troops to wait with them. Some reporters and publicists referred to this time as the "phony war". The real war finally exploded in April 1940. -
Miracle at Dunkirk
Germany sent troops into France, invading them. British forces became trapped between Nazis and the English Channel. Waging everything, Britiain sent any and all available ships across the channel to retrieve stranded troops off Ostend and Dunkirk beaches. This brought over 300,000 troops to safety. -
Fall of France
After being attacked by France and Italy, France finally surrendered in June of 1940. Hitler forced the French to sign the surrender documents in the same railroad car in which Germany had signed the armistice. After the surrender, Germany took over norther France. In the south, the Germans set up a "puppet state". -
Battle of Britain
Britain was left as the sole threat in Western Europe after France fell. Hitler ordered his generals to make plans for Operatrion Sea Lion, or the invasion of Britain. Germain planes continuously bombed British cities. Unfortunately for Hitler, British morale only grew stronger causing Operation Sea Lion to be a failure. Hitler moved on to the Soviet Union as his new target. -
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the attack on the Soviet Union. Hitler and the Nazis came into a weakened Russia and wiped many of their troops out. However, when winter hit the German troops were stopped in their tracks by the cold weather. Many German soldiers froze to death. Meanwhile, the Russians suffered from a severe lack of food. A desperate Stalin turned to the British leader, Winston Churchill who agreed to work together. -
Nazi Genocide
Nazi Genocide was the extermination of all European Jews. To complete this task, Hitler set up "death camps" in places all over Poland. He then went on to send all these Jews to the camps. At the camps, the Jews were killed in the worst and most destructive/painful ways -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
General Tojo ordered a surprise attack on the American fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Early in the morning, Japanese airplanes damaged and destroyed 19 ships, smashed planes, and ultimately killed over 2,400 people. The attack was devastating. On December 11, Germany and Italy, Japan's allies, declared war on the U.S. -
Battle of El Alamein
In Egypt, the British finally stopped Rommel's advance during the long Battle of El Alamein. Then they turned the tables on the Desert Fox, driving the Axis forces back across Libya into Tunisia. Later in 1942, American general Dwight Eisenhower took command of a joint Anglo American force. He advanced on Tunisia from the west, he and the British troops combined and forced Rommel's Army to surrender in May 1943. -
Battle of Stalingrad
This was the battle over Stalin's namesake city. Hitler wanted to capture the city just as bad as Stalin wanted to defend it. Both sides fought very hard and the battle proved to be very costly. In the end, the German commander finally surrendered in early 1943 -
Invasion of Italy
The combined American and British troops invaded Italy in July of 1943. Together they defeated Italian forces within a month. Italians overthrew Mussolini and signed an armistice. Then Hitler sent German troops to rescue Mussolini and inspire Italians to keep fighting. The Americans and British made slow progress up the Italian Peninsula and suffered heavy losses but in the end this proved to be beneficial to them. -
Battle of Midway
In the battle of the Coral Sea and Midway Island, America damaged Japanese fleets, greatly weakening them. Using the technique of Island Hopping, America would soon reach Japan and attack them as revenge for Pearl Harbor, In 1944, America reached Japan and began the attack. The British started fighting into Burma and Malaya. Japan refused to surrender. -
D- Day
The Allies invaded France. They attacked in all different ways, from ships to paratroopers. They fought their way through German defenses. With the assistance of French resistance troops, the Allies eventually forced the Germans to retreat. They soon freed France and focused their attention of conquering Germany and defeating Japan -
Nazis Defeated
Once the Allies freed France, Germany was next on the list. The forces moved into Belgium in December of 1944. Germany launched a counterattack on the Allies, being one of Hitler's successes. This continued for two years. In April, American and Russia "shook hands" and Axis powers began to let up. Mussolini was executed. The war ended on May 8, 1945, the day after Germany surrendered. -
Battle of Berlin
Soviet forces break through the Seelowe Heights after being delayed for a couple days by resistance. Two Soviet Armies encircled Berlin preventing the Anglo-Americans from taking it and then squeezed into the center in a concentric pattern. The Reichstag fell in early May after Hitler killed himself the day before and a ceasefire was made. -
United Nations
After World War II was over, WWII Allies set up an international organiazation to ensure peace. This was known as the United Nations. This organization would go beyond peace keeping. They would work to take on many world problems. -
Battle of Okinawa
Codenamed Operation Iceberg, the Battle of Okinawa occurred as the U.S. troops were approaching Japan after a long battle of Island Hopping. The Americans hoped to use the island of Okinawa as a base for air operations. The battle was fulll of Kamikaze attacks from the Japanese. -
Use of Atomic Weapons
After they issued a warning to Japan and got no response in return, the Americans took action. In August of 1945 the Americans dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. After no response, they dropped a second atomic bomb on the city of Nagasaki. The use of atomic bombs was very controversial since they are so utterly destructive. -
Surrender of Japan
After being bombed once, the Japanese didnt back down. After the second atomic bomb was dropped, they started to question themselves. They finally surrendered. This marked the end of World War II
