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Rise of Fascsim and Nazism
Mussolini had established the Fascist Party. Fascism stressed nationalism and placed the interests of the state above these individuals. Nazism is the German brand of fascism based on extreme nationalism. National Socialist German Workers Party is better known as the Nazi Party. -
Neutrality Act
A law passed by the U.S. Congress and signed by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It was designed to keep the United States out of a possible European war by banning shipment of war materiel to belligerents at the discretion of the President and by forbidding U.S. citizens from traveling on belligerent vessels except at their own risk. -
Germany’s expansion and annexation of Austria
The majority of Austria’s people were Germans who favored unification w/ Germany. March 12, 1238 was when German troops marched into the Austria unopposed. The US and the rest of the world did nothing. This was Hitler's first target. -
Signing of the Non-Aggression Pact (Germany and U.S.S.R.)
Enemies Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union surprised the world by signing the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact, in which the two countries agreed to take no military action against each other for the next 10 years. With Europe on the brink of another major war, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin (1879-1953) viewed the pact as a way to keep his nation on peaceful terms with Germany, while giving him time to build up the Soviet military. -
Blitzkrieg attack on Poland
German air force and Army invaded Poland. Blitzkrieg or lighting war made use of advances in military tech, such as tanks and more powerful aircrafts. On September 3rd Britain and France declared war on Germany.The Blitzkrieg work perfectly. The Soviet Union attacked Poland from the east, grabbing some of its territory. By the end of the month WWII had begun. -
Battle of Britain
The Germans began to assemble an invasion fleet along the French Coast.They also launched an air war at the same time, with the goal of gaining total control of the skies by destroying Britain’s Royal Air force. (RAF) This battle began in July and went until September. -
Lend-Lease Act
This act provided that the president could ship weapons, food, or equipment to any country whose struggle against the Axis assisted U.S. defense. This famous law gave President Franklin Roosevelt the authority to aid Great Britain with ships and other war materials in its war with Nazi Germany in 1941. -
Transition of the US home front to War production
The war years helped the working class forget about the Great Depression. The war triggered one of the greatest mass migrations in U.S. history. Over a million people migrated to California b/w 1941 and 1944. With millions of fathers in the armed forces, some mothers struggles to strike a balance b/w work and family -
Bombing of Pearl Harbor
Japan attacks, the largest naval base in the Pacific.More than 180 Japanese warplanes were launched from six aircraft carriers. In less than two hours, the Japanese had killed 2,403 Americans and wounded 1,178 more. This led to the United States' entry into World War ll. -
Battle of Midway
Allies succeeded in stopping the Japanese from taking the strategic island of Midway that would pave the way for another Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. One unit of the Japanese naval force occupied two of the Aleutian Islands near Alaska in an effort to divert American ships away from Midway. The U.S. had broken the Japanese code and knew Midway was their next target, so Admiral Chester Nimitz, the commander of the Naval forces in the Pacific, moved into position. -
Invasion of Africa by Eisenhower
Instead of invading Western Europe, the Allies engaged in Operation Torch (1942): an invasion of Axis-controlled North Africa, commanded by American General Dwight D. Eisenhower. As supreme commander of a mixed force of Allied nationalities, services, and equipment, Eisenhower designed a system of unified command and rapidly won the respect of his British and Canadian subordinates. -
Battle of Stalingrad
This battle was considered by many historians the turning point of World War 2. A decisive Soviet victory, Stalingrad marked the beginning of the end for the German invasion of the USSR. As well as the Germany and the Soviet Union, troops from Romania, Italy, Hungary and Croatia fought in the Battle of Stalingrad, on the side of Germany. -
D-Day
An Allied force of nearly 3 million troops planned to attack Normandy in northern France in an effort to liberate the country from German control. Operation Fortitude (occurred while prepping for D-Day): Allies set up a phantom army with its own headquarters and equipment. A radio message was sent to the phantom army, which they new the Germans could read, to invade the French port of Calais where the English Channel is narrowest. -
Liberation of Madjdanek (concentration camp)
The Majdanek extermination camp in Lublin was liberated by Soviet troops on July 23, 1944; it was the first of many Nazi concentration camps to be liberated by the Allies. Surprised by the rapid Soviet advance, the Germans attempt to demolish the camp in an effort to hide the evidence of mass murder -
The Battle of the Bulge
Under the cover of dense fog eight German tank divisions broke through weak American lines creating a bulge in the American lines. Those Americans captured by the Germans were marched into a large field and executed by machine gun and pistol fire. Once the weather cleared, the American air power caused the Germans to loose ground. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
Critical island that the U.S. needed in order to establish a base from which heavily loaded bombers might reach Japan. 750 miles from Tokyo, 6,000 marines died, and only 200 out of the 20,700 Japanese survived. Also, the raising of the American flag on Mount Suribachi occurred at the beginning of the battle. -
Battle of Okinawa
Critical island that the U.S. needed in order to make an invasion of Japan a realistic possibly. It was the last major battle in the Pacific. A significant U.S. force is still garrisoned in Okinawa and it remains the largest U.S. air base in Asia. -
V-E Day
This stands for Victory in Europe Day. VE Day officially announced the end of World War Two in Europe. General Eisenhower accepted the unconditional surrender of the Third Reich. FDR had a stroke and died on April 12, 1945 while posing for portrait in Warm Springs, Georgia, causing FDR to not witness the Victory in Europe (Truman takes over). -
Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
An American B-29 bomber dropped the world’s first deployed atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The explosion wiped out 90 percent of the city and immediately killed 80,000 people. Three days later, a second B-29 dropped another A-bomb on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 40,000 people. -
V-J Day
Victory over Japan Day is a name chosen for the day on which Japan surrendered, in effect ending World War II, and subsequent anniversaries of that event. The term has also been used for September 2, 1945, when Japan’s formal surrender took place aboard the U.S.S. Missouri, anchored in Tokyo Bay.