-
US convoy system
Convoys were groups of ships traveling together for mutual protection, as they had done in the First World War. The convoys were escorted across the Atlantic by destoryers equipped by airplanes that used radar to spot U-boat on the ocean's surface. -
Storm troopers
Many men who were out of work joined Hitler's private army, Storm troopers( or Brown Shirts). The German people were desperate and turned to Hitler as their last hope. -
Adolf Hitler's rise to power in Germany
Hitler had follow a path to power similar to Mussolini;s. At the end of WWI, Hitler had been a jobless soldier drifting around Germany. In 1919, he joined a strggling group NSGWP, better known as the Nazi Party. -
Joseph Stalin's totalitarian government in the Soviet Union
In Russia, hopes for democracy gave way to civil war, resulting in the establishing of a communist state ,officially called the Soviet Union. -
Benito Mussolini's fascist government in Italy
Benito was establishing a totalitrian regime in Italy, where unempolyment and inflation produced bitter strikes, some communist-led. -
Mein Kampf
Hitler set forth the basic beliefs of Nazism that became the plan of action for the Nazi Party. Nazism, the German brand of fascism, was based on extreme nationalism. -
Japanese invasion of Manchuria
Ignoring the protests of more moderate Japanese officals. Within several months, Japanese troops controlled yhe entire province, a large region about twice size as texas, That was rich in natural resources. -
Hitler's military build-up in Germany
He build up in violation of the treaty of Versailles. -
Third Reich
Or Third german Empire. According to Hitler, The Third Reich would be a "Thousand-Year Reich"- it would last for a thousand years. -
Mussolini's invasion of Ethiopia
About 3,000 Americans formed the Abraham Lincoln Battalion and traveled to Spain to fight against Franco. Among the volunteers were African Americans still bitter about Mussolini's invasion of Ethipoia the year before. -
Francsico Franco
A group of army officers led by General francisco Franco, rebelled against the spanish republic. Revolt broke out all over Spain, and the Spanish civil War began. -
Rome-Berlin Axis
The war forged a close relationship between the German and Italian dictators, who signed a formal alliance known as the Rome-Berlin Axis -
Hitler invades the Rhineland
A year later, he spent troops into the Rhineland, A german region bordering France and Belgium that was demilitarized as a result of the Treaty of Versailles. -
Hitler's Anschluss
German trooops marched into Austria unopposed. A day later, Germany announced that its Anschluss, or "union", with Austia was complete.The US and the rest of the world did nothing. -
Munich agreement
Turn the Sudetenland over to Germany without a single shot being fired. -
Nonaggression pact
As tensions rose over Poland, Stalin surprised everyone by signing a nonaggression pact with Hitler. Once bitter enemies, facist germany and communist Russia now commited never to attack each other. -
Blitzkrieg
The invasion was the first test of germany's newest military strategy, the blitzkrieg, or lightning war. Blitzkrieg made use of advances in military techology- such as fast tanks and more powerful aircraft- to take the enemy by surprise and then quickly crush all opposition with overwhelming force. -
Britain and France declare war on germany
two days following the teror in Poland, Britain and France declare war on Germany. -
Battle of the Atlantic
After the attack on pearl Harbor, Hitler ordered submarine raids against ships along American's east coast. The German aim in the battle of Atlantic was to prevent food and war materials from reaching Great Britain and Soviet Union. -
Phony war
On the Siegfried Line a few miles away to what the Germans called the sitzkrieg(sitting war) and some newspaper call it Phony war -
Hitler's invasion of Denmark and Norway
to protect freedom and independence. But in truth, he planned to build bases along the coasts to strike at great Britain. -
Hitler's invasion of Netherlands
Hitler turned to Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, which were overrun by the end of May. The phony war had ended. -
Germany and Italy invasion of France
Hitler's generals sent their tanks through the Ardennes, a region of wooded ravines in the northest France, thereby avoiding British and french troops who thought the Ardennes were impassible. -
The battle of Britain
Because the naval power could not compete with Britain, Germany also launched an air war at the same time. The Luftwaffe began making bombing runs over Britain. Its goal was to gain control of skies by destroying Britain's Royal Air Force. -
Marshal Philippe Petain
Germans would occupy the northern part of france, and a Nazi-controlled puppet government, head by marshal Philippe Petain, would be set up at Vichy, in southern France. -
Pearl Harbor attack
Only US and its Pacific islands remained in Japan's way. A Japanese dive-bomber swooped low over Peral harbor, the Japanese planes were barely disturbed by US antiaircraftguns and blasted target after target. -
Battle of Stalingrad
For weeks the Germans pressed in on stalingrad,conquering it house by house in brutal hand-to-hand combat. Then another winter set in. The soviet army closed around Stalingard, trapping the Germans in and around the city and cutting off the supply.The German commander surrendered on January 31,1943. -
Operation torch
was the British-American invasion of French North Africa during the North African Campaign of the WWII .The Soviet Union had pressed the United States and United Kingdom to start operations in Europe and open a second front to reduce the pressure of German forces on the Soviet troops. -
Bloody Anzio
One of th ehardest battles the Allies in encourage in Europe waws fought less than 40 miles form Rome. Lasted for four months-until the end of May 1914- and left about 25,000 Allied and 30,000 Axis casualitier -
death of Hitler
In his last address he blamed the Jews for starting the awr and his general for all losing it. Hitler shot himeself while his wife swallowed posion. in accordance with Hitler's orders, the two bodies were carried outside, soaked with gasoline, and burned. -
D-Day
under eisenhower's direction in England, the Allies gathered a force of nearly 3 million british, American, and Canadian trrops, together with mountain of military equipment and supplies.Planned to attack Normandy in northern France.Code-named Operation Overland- the largest land-sea-air operation in army history. -
the battle of the Bulge
Hitler order his troops to break through the Alllied lines and to recapature the Belgian port of Antwerp. This bold move, the fuhrer hoped, would disrupt the enemy's supply lines and demoralize the Allies. 8 German tank dic=vision broke through weak American defense and split American and British forces and break up Allied supply line. The tank create a bulge in the lines. When it was over, germans had been pushed back, from that point on, the Nazis could do little but retreat. -
Harry S. Truman
Nation's 33rd President. -
Unconditional surrender
The Soviet army had stormed berlin. "On their chests had placards reading,"we betrayed the Fuhrer." A berlin clerk. -
V-E Day
general Eisehower accepted the unconditional surrender of the Third Reich. Victory in Europe Day. The war in europe was finally over.
