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Chancellor
On January 30, 1933, Hitler was named chancellor of Germany. President hindenburg; however, was very reluctant to this. He was eventually overwhelmed by the public opinion of Hitler, and had no choice but to name him chancellor. This was the beginning of his rising through the ranks of the German government and becoming a dictator. -
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World War II
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Fuhrer
On this day, Hitler became Fuhrer, acheiving what he had been striving for since 1923. Germany's army swore an oath of allegiance to their new leader, and the last remnants of Germany's democratic government were destroyed. Hitler had paved the way for his Third Reich, which he assured his people would last a thousand years. -
Nazis Invade Poland
On September 1, 1939, the armies of Nazi Germany invaded Poland. The Polish army was defeated within weeks of the invasion. Poland surrendered to Germany on September 28, 1939. Germany split Polish territory with the Soviet Union along the Bug River.This act caused Great Britain and France to declare war on Germany, starting World War 2. -
Invasion of Europe
On this day, Germany invaded France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. The main German attack went through the Ardennes Forest, catching French troops completely offguard. This resulted in a quick defeat of France and the rest of Western Europe. Belgium and the Netherlands surrendered in May, and France signed an armistice with Germany in June. This brought Western Europe completely under Nazi control. -
Operation Barbarossa
On June 22, 1941, Hitler broke the non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union and launched a suprise attack on them. This invasion, known as Operation Barbarossa, caught the Soviet Union completely offguard. By November, 1941, German armies had pushed deep into Soviet territory, threatening to take The Soviet Union out of the war. Later on; however, the Red army would launch a devastating counterattack at Stalingrad, resulting in the destruction of an entire German army. -
Pearl Harbor
On December 7th, 1941, a date which will live in infamy, the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by air and naval forces of the Empire of Japan. This attack was the result of the U.S. sanctions against the Japanese, resulting in the Japanese losing 90% of their oil supply. This attack broke U.S. neutrality and isolation, and brought them into the second world war. -
Operation Torch
Operation torch was the U.S. invasion of Axis held North Africa. The goal of this operation was to clear the African continent of Axis troops to make way for a future invasion of Southern Europe. This attack was devestating for Allied forces, and it wasn't until May of 1943 that the last Axis troops were finally driven out. -
Invasion of Italy
On July 9-10, Allied forces landed at Sicily, beginning the invasion of Italy. This invasion, codenamed Operation Husky, was highly successful. The invasion caused a coup in Italy, which deposed Mussolini as head of the Italian government. This new government began appraoching the allies for peace, but would soon be dissolved when Germany occupied Rome and put Mussolini back in his spot of leadership. -
D-Day
http://www.teachertube.com/video/d-day-invasion-112929 On June 6, 1944, more than 160,000 Allied troops landed on a 50 mile stretch of heavily fortified beaches in Normandy, France. General Dwight D. Eisenhower called D-Day an operation that would accept nothing less than victory. More than 5,000 ships and 13,000 aircraft supported this invasion. Over 9,000 Allied troops were killed, but their sacrifice made it possible for the Allies to finally gain a foothold on continental Europe. -
Battle of the Bulge
On December 16-27, Germany's last major offensive of World War 2 against the Allies occured. The battle took place in the densely forested Ardennes region of Belgium, France, and Luxembourg. The suprise attack took the Allies completely offguard. American forces took the brunt force of the attack and incurred their highest casualties of any operation in the war. The German offensive was eventually pushed back and they suffered heavy losses. -
victory in europe
On May 7, 1945, Germany unconditionally surrendered to the Allies. Soviet forces had taken Berlin and almost completely destroyed it. Also, Allied troops were pouring in by the thousands from the West. Germany had two options: surrender, or face complete annihilation. This day has become known as VE day, or Victory in Europe day. -
VJ Day
On this day, the Japanese agreed to an unconditional surrender. Nagasaki and Hiroshima had been utterly destroyed by atomic bombs. The Soviet Union had declared war on them and was invading Manchuria. This left the Japanese emperor no choice but to surrender to the U.S. and the Allies. This day became known as VJ day, or Victory in Japan Day.
