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Hitler Seizes the Rhineland
On March 7, 1936, Hitler took German troops into Rhineland. This caused tensions between Germany and other European states because Hitler broke the Treaty of Versailles by the moving troops into the Rhineland demilitarized zone. Hitler wanted the Rhineland to send his troops there. The Treaty of Versailles strictly prohibits Germany from taking over any countries and their army was to be limited. They were also forbidden to have an air force. -
Hitler and Stalin signs non-aggression pact
Shortly after World War II broke out, Nazi Germany and the USSR leaders both signed the German-Soviet Non-aggression Pact. This is where the two countries agreed to take no military action on against each other for the next 10 years. Stalin saw this as an opportunity to keep his country on peaceful terms with Germany for time to build his military. Hitler saw this as a chance to make sure Germany was able to invade Poland unopposed. The pact fell when the Nazi's invaded the Soviet Union. -
Hitler Invades Poland Without Warning
Hitler wanted to invade Poland to regain lost territory and rule Poland. During the process, Britain and France declares war on Germany after Hitler refuses to abort his invasion on Poland. This triggers the start of World War II. Also this introduces the "Blitzkrieg" strategy by the Germans. The "Blitzkrieg" strategy consists of surprise attacks, rapid advances into enemy territory and massive air attacks. It was extremely effective and very fast. -
Germany Invades Norway & Denmark
German warships enter Norwegian ports deploying thousands of of German troops and occupying Norway. At the same time, German troops are occupied in Denmark. As the Norwegian government refused to surrender, the Germans responded with a parachute invasion. Since the German's "Blitzkrieg" strategy was so effective, Germany was able to take control of Norway in a couple of weeks. In Denmark, King Christian X surrendered almost immediately and that resulted in a German victory. -
Battle of Britain
In the summer of 1940, German and British air forces clashed in the skies over the United Kingdom. The defeat of the French caused France to sign an armistice with Germany and quit World War II. Britain now stood alone against the power of the German forces. The Royal Air Force (RAF) defended the UK against Germany's air force, the Luftwaffe. The RAF was strong enough to defend against the Luftwaffe and that resulted in the British victory. -
Germany & Italy Invade and Take Over Yugoslavia
The attack on Yugoslavia was very swift and brutal. It resulted in the death of 17,000 civilians, which was the largest number of civilian casualties in a single day. All of the Yugoslavia's airfields were bombed by the Germans, destroying most of its aircraft. What made things even worst was most of the citizens of Yugoslavia emptied out into the capital city to celebrate Palm Sunday so most of these people didn't even know what was happening. Germany & Italy ended up taking over Yugoslavia. -
Battle of Moscow
Hitler decides to invade the USSR without declaring war, backstabbing Stalin. It was called "Operation Barbarossa." The Germans advance to the gates of Moscow and Stalin pledges to defend the city. This was considered as a turning point in World War II because the Soviets were able to successfully protect their capital from being captured and the German army ends up being defeated after 5 months of combat against the USSR. -
The United States Enters the War on the Side of the Allies
The United States did not enter the war until after the Japanese bombed the American fleet in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7. On that same day, the US decides to enter the war, joining the side of the Allies. During the time, Germany had occupied most of Europe and Japan was starting to attack countries in Asia. For the US to succeed against the Axis power with the Allies, the entire US economy had convert their current economy into a war economy. -
Battle of Kasserine Pass
German General Erwin Rommel and his Afrika Krops launched an offensive attacks against the US for the first time in Tunisa, North America. It was the site of the United States' first major battle defeat of the war. General Rommel was dispatched to North Africa to prevent his Italian Axis partner from losing its territory to the British. Since the American troops were inexperienced and poorly trained, they suffered many causalities and were quickly pushed back. -
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad rages between the Germans and Russians. Germany and its allies fought against the Russians for control of Stalingrad. It was the largest and bloodiest battle in the history of warfare. The Russians launched a major counter offensive at Stalingrad, which annihilated the German 6th Army. On January 31, the German Field Marshall Friedrich von Paulus surrenders at Stalingrad. -
Grand Council of Fascism
As the Allies invaded Sicily in June 1943, the Grand Council of Fascism member Dino Grandi proposed a vote of no confidence in Mussolini as the leader of the council and the party. The vote was held on the night of July 25 through July 26. It was passed with 19 votes against the 8 against the vote. Among those 19 votes, one was Mussolini's son-in-law Galeazzo Ciana, who was a former minister of foreign affairs. Shortly after, Mussolini was arrested after the meeting and martial law is declared. -
Italy Declares War on Germany
On October, one month after Italy surrendered to Allied forces, it declared war on Nazi Germany, who used to be allies and joined forces with the Allied forces. Italy was led by fascist leader, Benito Mussolini. Germany had troops stationed through Italy and seized the disorganized Italian military. Hitler had been making plans to invade Italy to keep the Allies from gaining foothold so it would be easy for them to reach the German-occupied Balkans. -
D-Day
On D-Day, also known as Operation Overland, when 156,000 American, British, and Canadian forces landed on a 45 mile stretch of a beach in Normandy, Northern France, had resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from the control of Nazi Germany. This invasion was one of the largest amphibious assaults in history. It required extensive planning. By late August, all of northern France had been liberated from the Germans. -
The Yalta Conference
The Yalta conference was a meeting held by Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin to discuss how to divide Germany after the war and to plan the final defeat and occupation of Nazi Germany. Stalin agreed to permit free elections in Eastern Europe and to enter the Asian war against Japan. Stalin ends up not keeping that promise, At the time these agreements were kept a secret so no one knew about it. Yalta become controversial when the Cold War occurred between the Soviets and the US. -
V-E Day
V-E Day, also known as Victory in Europe, both Great Britain and the United States celebrate victory in Europe Day. Cities in both countries celebrated by putting out flags and banners for the defeat of Nazi Germany. The Russians took about 2 million prisoners just after the surrender of the Germans. Meanwhile, more than 13,000 British prisoner of war were released and sent back to Great Britain. It was a good day throughout the whole world and many people were happy.
