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American Stock Market Crashed
Many investors believed that stock prices were becoming too high, so they sold their stocks thinking that the prices would soon go down. The prices went down very quickly, and suddenly everyone wanted to sell stocks that no one wanted to buy. Prices reached an all time low, and the market collapsed. This negatively affected economies all around the world, leaving many countries in a depression. -
Japan Takes Manchuria
Despite protests from the League of Nations and the Japanese parliament, Japan's army captured Manchuria in search of coal and iron. This was the first large defiance of the League of Nations, and it contributed to World War II because it showed that the League of Nations could be defied without punsishment. It paved the way for further disobedience by other countries ruled by fascist leaders. -
Hitler Goes Against The Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles stated that Germany was not allowed a large military, and they were not allowed to take the Rhineland. Adolf Hitler had plans of going against these rules, so in March of 1936 he went over the permitted size for his army, and got away with it without severe punishement. Later that month, German troops yet again went against the treaty and seized the Rhineland. This angered countries in the League of Nations, and gave Hitler more power than ever before. -
First Move of World War II
German troops executed a surprise attack on Poland in order to take over the country. Hitler ordered bomb raids on the capital (Warsaw). Poland quickly fell, and was annexed by Hitler. This was the first time Germans tested out their new war tactic called blitzkrieg, where they attack quickly and by surprise with large numbers and violence. The downfall of Poland caused France and Great Britain to declare war on Germany. -
Stalin Invades Finland
Stalin wanted to annex the countries north of Poland, so he conquered Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia with ease. Finland however put up a strong fight that Soviet troops were unprepared for. The Finns defended their country through the winter, and there were many Soviet deaths because the Russians were not equiped for a winter battle. By March, Stalin finally took control of all countries north of Poland. -
Phony War
The French and British set up their troops along the Maginot Line awaiting an attack from Germany. France, Britain, and Germany stayed at a standstill for months until in April Germany raided Denmark and Norway. Denmark fell right away but Norway resisted for two months. After stabilizing Denmark and Norway, Germany had a great position to launch a strike on Great Britain. -
Germany Launches an Attack on France
Hitler swept through the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg as a strategy to attack France. While the Allies were focusing on those countries, Hitler sent larger troops through the Ardennes and straight to the northern coast of France. Then, German troops in Belgium met up with the German troops in France, and they had the Allied forces trapped in Lille. -
Great Britain's Heroic Act of the War
Germany forced the Allies trapped in Lille to retreat to the French port of Dunkirk near the Belgian border. Great Britain then sent 850 ships across the British Channel to Dunkirk while being heavily attacked by the Germans. They rescued 338,000 soldiers in France and brought them to safety. -
France Falls
By June 14th, Germany had completely taken over Paris. Eight days later, French leaders surrendered and Germany took control of France. Part of the country was controlled by a puppet government. -
Battle of Britain
In the summer of 1940, Germany began bombing British airfields and aircraft factories. In September, the Germans began focusing more on major cities in Britain, such as London. Despite being outnumbered, the British did not fall. They began to strike back using new war technology. They deciphered German codes and used that information to execute launches on the Germans. -
Mussolini Invades Egypt
While the Battle of Britain was going on, Mussolini decided to attack Egypt (which was controlled by Britain). He wanted Egypt for the Suez Canal because it was essential for reaching oil mines in the Middle East. In a week he had pushed 60 miles into Egypt, forcing British troops out. -
Hitler Takes Eastern Europe
Hitler started his invasion of Eastern Europe in October, and by April of 1941 he had complete control of the Balkans (Greece, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Yugoslavia). By June, he attacked the unprepared Soviet Union. As he went into Russia, Russians used the scorched-earth policy to starve the German troops. Leningrad refused to all, so Hitler moved onto Moscow. There, tired and cold Germans fought until March of 1943. They gained nothing but loss of lives. -
Britain Strikes Back
Italians are left in disaster when Britain takes their first move in December to take back Egypt. By February of 1941, Italy had been pushed back 500 miles out of Egypt, and 130,000 people had been taken as a prisoner by British forces. Hitler sent Erwin Rommel in charge of a tank force to help his Italian allies. The British retreated, but they quickly began to fight back. The battle went back and forth between Italy/Germany and Great Britain, but eventually the British were defeated. -
Germany Surrenders
After months of fighting with the British during the Battle of Britain, Hitler decided to surrender because he knew that he could not win. Instead, he focused more on Eastern Europe. Britains victory showed the Allies that Hitler's attacks COULD be blocked. -
Pearl Harbor
American ships in Hawaii were bombed by Japanese planes, sinking 19 ships, killing over 2,000 people and wounding over 1,000 Americans. Preisdent Roosevelt called a meeting of Congress, where they agreed to declare war on Japan. -
Japan Conquers Asian Land
Japan started their invasion of the Phillippines. Japan eventually took the Bataan Peninsula in the Phillippines. They also seized Hong Kong, Thailand, the Dutch Indies, and Burma. In the end, Japan had taken over 1 million square miles of Asian land. -
The Battle of Midway
Americans intercepted a Japanese message that said they were going to attack American ports in the Midway Islands. As the Japanese planes flew in to bomb Midway, American planes swooped in and attacked the Japanese aircrafts. By June 7th, the Japanese withdrew, and this changed the tide of war in the Pacific. -
Battle of Stalingrad
Germans were bombing the Russian city of Stalingrad which had left the city in ruins. Nevertheless, Stalin ordered his troops to defend the city no matter what. By November, Germans controlled 90% of the city, but the Soviets counterattacked and trapped the Germans inside. The dying soldiers finally surrendered to the Soviets. Even though almost the entire city was ruined, Germany was now on the defense and the Allies were on attack. -
Italy Falls and the Allies are on Their Way to Success
Great Britain and Americans decide to take out Germany's allies, so they invade Italy. Italy falls in a month, and Mussolini is finally killed after he regained power once, but was thrown out of power. Germany moves into northern Italy, and fighting continues untill Germany is defeated in 1945. -
D-Day
American, Canadian, British, and French troops fought their way onto the 60 mile stretch of beach known as Normandy. After a long battle, the Allies made a dent in the German troops at Saint-Lo. A month later, the Allied forces marched into Paris. By September they had freed not only France, but Luxembourg and Belgium. -
The Battle of the Bulge
German troops were split at two fronts by the Allied forces. On the western front, German tanks broke through American defenses, but the Germans were soon pushed back. The Germans had to retreat because there were no reinforcements, and the Allies win this battle. -
Germany Crumbles
Allied forces started closing in around Germany, and in no time the Soviets had the German city of Berlin surrounded, Hitler and his wife commited suicide 2 days later. -
V-E DAy
Germany officially surrendered and the Allies finally had victory in Europe. The surrender was signed in Berlin. -
Bombs are Dropped in Japan
American president (Truman) warned the Japanese that if they did not surrender, then they could expect a "rain of ruin from the air." There was no reply from the Japanese, so American planes dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. Many were injured and killed. Three days later, another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. -
Japan Surrenders
After the 2 bombs were dropped on Japan, the Japanese finally surrendered to General Douglas MacArthur. World War II had finally come to an end with Japan's surrender.
