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Rise of Fascist Dictators in Europe
In 1919, Benito Mussolini became a leader and promised to end all chaos. Mussolini formed a governement and became prime Minister. In 1922, the fascists rebelled against the governement. In 1951, Mussolini united the people. -
Japanese Agression in Asia
Japan wanted to have an empire as strong as the western powers. To do this they had to withdraw from the league of nations. In 1931, they took over Manchuria and by 1937 overran most of eatern China. Japan's easy success in gaining power strengthened militarists. -
Annexation of Austria
Hitler formed the Anschluss(union of Austria and Germany) in 1938. He sent the German army to "preserve order" in Austria. Hitler made a speech from the Hofburg Palace(former residence of Hapsburg rulers) to she that he was the ruler of Austria. Any Austrians who opposed Hitler were quickly silenced. -
Munich Conference
At the Munich Conference, Britain and France gave in to Hitler's demands and chose appeasement. They persuaded the Czechs to surrender without a fight. Because Britain and France did that, Hitler told them that he was not going to expand his territory anymore. In the end, Czechoslovakia was saved from destruction. -
Nazi-Soviet Pact
In August of 1939 Hitler announced a nonagression pact with his enemy, Joseph Stalin, Soviet dictator. Hitler and Stalin were at peace. They agreed that if one went to war the other would not fight and they would divide Poland and other parts of eastern Europe. The pact was made because Hitler feared communism and Stalin feared fascism. At the same time, Stalin actually had allies with western democracies against Nazis but word did not get around to Hitler. -
Phony War
The winter after Hitler's blitzkrieg, the French waited behind the Maginot Line. British troops waited with them. The quiet time was called the "phony war." In April 1940 the war exploded. -
Miracle of Dunkirk
British forces ran from Germans coming into France. The British were trapped between the Nazis and the English Channel. Britain sent naval vessels, merchant ships, and even fishing and pleasure boats across the English Channel to save stranded troops off the beaches of Dunkirk and Ostend. More than 300,000 troops were saved. -
Fall of France
Germany heads south toward Paris determined to get back France for defeating Germany in 1918. Italy declares war on France and attackes from the south. On June 22, 1940, Germany forces France to sign surrender documents just like how Germany had to sign the armistice ending WWI. Once France surrendered, Germans occupied northern France. In France, there were resistance fighters against Germany. -
Battle of Britain
Winston Churchill, the new prime Minister of Britain, rallied Britain to fight against Hitler. Germany started attacking the southern coast of England on August 12, 1940. On Spetember 7 Germany started bombing London. This bombing continued for 57 nights. 15,000 people died and almost the whole city of London was destroyed. Germany continued attacking until June, 1941. -
Operation Barbarossa
In June 1941, Hitler started puting his plan to take over the Soviet Union in action. He wanted to stop communism in Europe and defeat Stalin. Operation Barbarossa was the new blitzkrieg. 2.5 million Russian soldiers died trying to fend off invaders. -
Nazi Genocide
Hitler beleived that Jews were racially inferiror. Becasue of this, he forced Jews in Poland to live in ghettos and concentration camps. By 1941 Hitler decided that genocide was the answer to getting rid of Jews. He built "death camps" in Poland cities such as Auschwitz, Sobibor, and Treblinka. At the camps, people were stripped of their clothes, thier heads were shaved, families were separated, and people were brought to "shower rooms" to be gassed. By 1945, 6 million Jews were dead. -
Battle of the Atlantic
Roosevelt and Churchill met on a warship in the Atlantic to set up the Atlantic Charter, which listed goals for the war such as destroying the Nazis. They promised to support the peoples' desicions in which type of government to have and the security system. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
General Tojo of Japan set up a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Japanese planes damaged/destroyed 19 ships and crushed American planes on the ground. More than 2,400 people were killed. The US then declared war on Japan. On December 11, Germany and Italy, Japan's allies, declared war on the US. -
United Nations
United Nations was formed in April 1945. It was an international organization to ensure peace. The United States, Soviet Union, Britain, France, and China were in five permanent members of the United Nations. The organization took on many world problems such as preventing a disease outbreak or improving education. -
Battle of Midway
US warships and planes destroyed two Japanese fleets. This defeat weakened Japanese naval power. It also stopped Japanese advance. The US took the offensive after thier victory on Midway Island. -
Battle of El Alamein
The battle took place in Egypt. The British, under General Bernard Montgomery, stopped Rommel during the battle. They drove the Axis forces back in to Libya and Tunisia. Later that year, Dwight Eisenhower worked with British forces to trap Rommel's army and make them surrennder. Rommel's army surrendered in May 1943. -
Battle of Stalingrad
Hitler was determined to take over Stalin's city. Stalin was determined to defend it. The Germans surrounded the city, and that caused the battle. The Germans surrendered in 1943 due to starvation and lack of ammunition. About 300,00 Germans were either killed, wounded, or captured. -
Invasion of Italy
Britain and America combined armies and went to Italy. They defeated the Italian forces in about a month. The Italians overthrew II Duce becasue they were sick of Mussolini. The new Italian governement hoped to stop the fighting by signing an armistice, but the fighting continued. Hitler sent troops to save Mussolini. In the end, Hitler was weakened becasue the fights in Italy caused him to fight on another front. -
D-Day
June 6, 1944 was the date the Allies attacked France. Paratroopers were dropped behind enemy lines. About 176,000 Allied troops took ships across the English Channel. They made there way inland and once they got through German defenses they headed to Paris. The Germans retreated and on August 25 the Allies entered Paris. France was free within a month. -
Battle of Okinawa
The battle was bloody and there were many casualties. Japanese showed that they would rather die than suurender. Some poeple chose to become kamikaze and commit suicide by crashing their planes into American warships. -
Nazis Defeated
France and Allies went into Belgium. Germany attacked the enemies. A battle then took place which lasted about a month. After that, Hitler was losing support in Germany. Germany kept getting attacked. In April, American and Russian soldiers shook hands. Axis amries began to surrender. Hitler knew the end was near so he committed suicide. Germany surrendered on May 7. -
Use of Atomic Weapons
Scientists understood that atoms could be converted into energy. This led to the creation of atomic weapons. In July 1945 the fist atomic bomb was tested. On August 6, 1945 tan atomic bomb was used by America on Hiroshima. It wiped out 4 square miles and killed more than 70,000 people. The US dropped a second bomb in Nagasaki on August 7. This time only about 40,000 people were killed. -
Surrender of Japan
Shortly after the US dropped two an atomic bomb in Hiroshima and then Nagasaki, the Japanese surrendered. The Japanese cabinet argued about whether they should surrender or not, but on August 10 Emperor Hirohito decided to surrender. An official peace treaty was signed on September 2, 1945. This was the end of WWII. -
Battle of Berlin
Stalin was trying to force western Allies out of Berlin. He sealed of every highway and railroad leading to the western parts of the city. The western powers set up an airlift. Cargo planes sent supplies to people living in west Berlin for more than a year. The Soviets were forced the end of the blockade.
