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WWI Ends
WWI ends on this day. Peace conferences become a reality between the nations to officially settle things. After this event, Germany remains angry because it was not at the peace conference to help negotiate and decide their fate. Japan and Italy are also upset because they did not get as much land as they would have liked. Tensions rise and the presence of a second world war become very real. -
Fascist Party Forms This Year
In 1919, Mussolini formed the Fascist Party which promoted nationalism and promised to make Italy great. They became known as "Black Shirts" because of their fighting in the streets against socialists and communists and eventually King Victor Emmanuel III gave control to Mussolini. Following this, Mussolini gave himself the name "Il Duce" (meaning "the leader"). Mussolini outlawed political parties, took over the press, made a secret police, etc. Unfortuantely he was never as powerful as Stalin. -
Lenin Dies
Vladimir Lenin took over Russia and turned it communist in 1917. When he died in 1924, Stalin became his successor. He had a strong and frightening air about him and this fear and also propoganda kept him in power. Stalin was completely heartless and was not against accusing his own people of being traitors and killed all who were suspected, innocent or not. Because of this, he was not much liked. -
Military Leaders Take Over Japan This Year
Around 1930 military leaders started taking control of Japan and expanding their power. At the beginning no one leader emerged, but in 1931 Japan got greedy and attacked Manchuria for resources and land. Then, in 1937, they took over the Chinese rail links on the coast of China. Eventually this continued until the leader of the Japanese army, Tojo, became widely known and then became prime minister. By 1938 much of China was taken over and the military was in charge across the board. -
Hitler Takes Over Germany
In the 1930's, Germany was in a severe depression. Adolf Hitler, a German citizen, started gaining power in his country by writing Mein Kampf-- a book about the problems with the country and how he would solve them. Following this, Hitler became Chancelor by 1933 and sole leader by 1935. His economic policies eventually brought the country out of depression and boosted his appeal among the people. Soon after, Hitler began promoting a pure Nazi Germany and getting out of the Treaty of Versailles. -
Hitler Breaks Munich Pact
In 1939, Hitler broke the Munich Pact by absorbing Czechoslovakia into Germany. The Munich Pact was a pact made by Germany, Italy, France, and the UK in which they gave part of Czechoslovakia to Germany. When Germany absorbed the entire country, it broke the pact. France and the UK did not want to get into another conflict after just finishing WWI, so they let it go. But because of this, they knew they would need to continue preparing for war. -
Non-Agression Pact
In August of 1939, Germany signed a non-agression pact with the Soviets. This pact basically said that Germany and the Soviets would avoid armed conflict with each other and would instead resolve their disputes peacefully. Stalin did not want forces coming into their country to take over so this seemed like a good idea to him. On the flip side, France and the UK feared this partnership and their enterance into the war neared closer, -
Issues With Poland
On September 1, 1939, Hitler blitzkreiged Poland (blitzkreig-sudden attack using lots of firepower to damage as much as possible as quickly as possible). This completely went against everything Germany and the UK/France had agreed on and increased tensions tremendously. Later, Russia attacked Poland from the east and Poland fell to German control. Nobody fought for 8 months after Poland fell. -
France and UK Declare War on Germany
With Germany's increase in power and total takeover, France and the UK decided it was finally time to step in. They were worried that Hitler would try to spread and take over their countries as well as the rest of the world. So, despite the fact that they were both still suffering from the after effects of WWI, they declared war. FDR, dealing with a depression, decided to stay out of it. He wanted to focus on the US economy instead and decided to keep watch on the progress made over seas. -
Pearl Harbor
Trouble between the US and Japan had been brewing for years. Now, with the US support of China and US presence in the Phillippines, the Japanese saw them as a threat. So, early in the morning on December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked the US Navy's main Pacific base, Pearl Harbor, in two waves. This attack was to prevent the US from influencing Japan's war effort in Southeast Asia. Luckily, several of our ships were on patrol that morning and not in the harbor, but the damage was still bad. -
US Enters the War
The day after the Pearl Harbor disaster, FDR asked Congress to declare war on Japan. 2,402 people had been killed, 1,282 had been wounded, 4 battleships and 2 destroyers had been sunk, 188 aircrafts had been destroyed, and another 155 had been damaged. This attacked stopped the US for 6 months. Because of this, December 8, 1941, became "a day that will live on in infamy". The US had entered Worl War II.
