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The Rise of Fascist Dictators in Europe
Fascism called for extreme nationalism. The fascist dictators didn’t have any one set of beliefs. Benito Mussolini was the first fascist dictator to rise to power. He influenced others to emerge. (1919-1930) -
Japanese Aggression in Asia
Japan wanted to be on the same level as the western powers, so on September 19, 1931, Japan decided to invade Manchuria. The area of Manchuria falls within Eastern China, thus allowing Japan to proceed through Eastern China once conquering Manchuria in 1937. However, when Japan began their plan to take over Manchuria, the League of Nations strongly disagreed. Japan simply withdrew their position in the League, and continued their mission. -
Annexation of Austria
Hitler took over Austria through the Nazis, but made it official with the Anschluss. He created the Anschluss to unify Austria and Germany. Hitler made a speech to let Austria know that he would be the new leader of the country, which would soon be his. The Anschluss went against the Versailles treaty, causing a threat of war, but Hitler found yet another way to skirt the threats and get what he wanted. -
Munich Conference
Hitler wanted Germany to annex Czechoslovakia, the only other democracy besides Finland in Europe, because Sudetenland in western Czech had about 3 million Germans. Britain and France did not want to go to war to save Czech, so at the Munich conference in September of 1938, both chose appeasement. Appeasement is giving into the demands of an aggressor, in this case Hitler, for peace. He also got them to coax Czech into surrendering their land, for Hitler’s promise of no further expansion. -
Battle of Atlantic
This was the longest battle of WWII. It caused Allied ships to go against German submarines. Germany started using unrestricted submarine warfare on English ships because they realized that that was their weakness. The more German ships came into the battle, the weaker the British got. Roosevelt helped by giving "fifty obsolete four piper destroyers" for the use of British bases in the Carribean. (1939-1945) -
Nazi-Soviet Pact
Hitler skillfully created a secret pact with the Soviet dictator, Joseph Stalin, that he announced in August of 1939, binding them as allies. The two dictators agreed that they would not fight if the other were at war, and that they would split Poland and other countries in Europe between each other. They both feared each other. Russia was scared of fascism in Germany, and likewise; Germans feared Russian communism. But, in the end, both countries were not very loyal to the pact. -
Phony War
The six month period from September 1939 to April 1940, where nothing really happened. The battle in Poland had just ended and all the countries were awaiting the aftermath, but nothing came. Arrangements were being made by Hitler in Poland. A propaganda bombing of Britain on Germany occurred; Britain attempting to show Germans the cruelty of the Nazis, and the weakness of Germany when it came to these propaganda bombs. A bill was also passed, The Emergency Powers (Defense) Bill. -
Miracle of Dunkirk
German forces began an attack on France. British troops got caught between Nazis and the English Channel, causing Britain to take out all of their forces and get those troops to safety. Through all of Germany’s attacking, Britain was still able to get to safety, thus calling the rescue the Miracle at Dunkirk. -
Fall of France
Germany continued their pursuit through France, attacking Paris. Italy joined in and began attacking from the South. Overwhelmed by attack, France surrendered. Hitler made the French sign surrender papers on June 22, 1940. Germany now had control of northern France, and had forces in the south. Resistance groups in France fought back in the South, but it was nothing against Hitler’s troops. -
Battle of Britain
Germany invaded Britain, by bombing the southern coast of England on August 12, 1940. They then began to focus their attacks on London, the major city of England, around September 7th. The attacks went on for 57 days and took the lives of 15,000 people in London, yet Britain didn’t show weakness. They continued to go on with daily life, and refused to crack under the violence of Germany. They continued to bomb until June 1941, when Germany gave up. The whole attack, Operation Sea Lion, failed. -
Operation Barbarossa
June 1941 was the start of Operation Barbarossa. Three million German soldiers invaded the Soviet Union. Unprepared, Russia began to ruin its own to keep itself out of Germany’s attack. Soon, the Nazis were conquering Moscow and Leningrad, but as winter came around, the German forces could not handle the temperature. Food became scarce in Leningrad, causing food to be rationed dangerously low. Stalin hoped that Britain would help, and begged for it, causing Russia and Britain to work together. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Anger due to the ban of weaponry from the United States caused Japan to have a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. The Japanese damaged 19 ships, smashed airplanes, and killed 2,400 people. President Roosevelt asked for war on Japan. However, Germany and Italy came for war on America. -
Battle of Midway
In the Battle of the Coral Sea and Midway Island, America damaged Japanese fleets, greatly weakening them. Using the technique of island-hopping, America would soon reach Japan to attack them for Pearl Harbor. Island-hopping is attacking Japanese islands while using them to get from island to island, eventually reaching Japan. In 1944, America reached Japan and began the attack. The British started fighting into Burma and Malaya. Japan refused to surrender. -
Battle of Stalingrad
Hitler proceeded to take control over Russia, mainly the city of Stalingrad. German soldiers invaded, the Russians quick to match Hitler's army. The fight lasted until early 1943, when Germany finally surrendered. 300,000 soldiers were lost in this battle for Germany. -
Battle of El Alamein
Under the rule of general Bernard Montgomery, the British turned against Rommel, also known as the Desert Fox, stopping his advance and instead driving the Axis forces across Libya and into Tunisia. The Anglo American force in Algeria and Morroco was taken over by Dwight Eisenhower in 1942. Eisenhower teamed up with the British in May of 1943, and the joint forces were able to trap Rommel who later surrendered. -
Invasion of Italy
America and Britain came together and defeated the Italians. The civilians were completely irritated with Benito Mussolini, so they overthrew him, and with their new governement, they signed an agreement to end all fight (an armistice). However, it backfired. Hitler and his army came to save Mussolini, causing the fight to last another 18 months. The Allies started pushing on Hitler, forcing an already weak Germany, to fight again. -
D-Day
Eisenhower became the Allies' commander, and led them to set up bombs along German cities and destroy aircrafts and factories. They then invaded France. 176,000 troops went across the English Channel at dawn to Paris. They managed to get past German forces, while other troops tried to get to souther France. The Allies got to Paris on August 25th, after Germany left. France was free, but then the focus was on defeating Japan and taking over Germany. -
Nazis Defeated
Once the Allies freed France, Germany was next on the list. The forces moved into Belgium in December of 1944. Germany launched a counterattack on the Allies, being one of Hitler's last successes. This continued for 2 years. In April, America and Russia "shook hands" and Axis powers began to let up. Mussolini was executed. The war ended on May 8, 1945, the day after Germany surrendered. -
Nazi Genocide
Hitler demanded to exterminate those who were “racially inferior” to the Nazis. He focused on Jews, not only in Poland, but all over his territory. The solution was to force these groups into concentration camps and other forms of torture, but in 1941 came a final decision. There would be genocide (deliberate+systematic murder) of all Jews. Death camps were created. In 1945, 6 million Jews were killed, and this genocide was named the Holocaust. Other places in the world pretended not to notice. -
United Nations
The countries put the United Nations together to keep peace. Delegates from 50 nations met in San Francisco. They worked through the faults of the League of Nations, in hopes that this organization would be better. In the end, the UN became incredibly important, and did help many worldly situations. -
Battle of Berlin
Soviet forces started on Berlin. America and Britain were on their side, however, this mission was entirely done by the Red Army. In this battle came Hitler's death, suicide. The battle of Berlin ended fighting in Europe. -
Battle of Okinawa
The invasion of Japan was becoming necessary, but the fear for casualties was high.There would be too many. Scientists began researching into the idea of pure energy. In July 1945, the first atomic bomb was created and tested in Alamorgordo, New Mexico. President Truman decided on using the weapon in Japan. Japan ignored a threat from the U.S., and were surprised when the bomb hit them, as they had never experienced it before. -
Use of Atomic Weapons
The use of the atomic bomb on Japan by America has been an ongoing controversy. Should America have used it? Why did they use it instead of save it? Truman's reasons were that if America didn't use a weapon that would not only take many Japanese lives but also American lives, there was no way they would surrender. He also wanted to impress the Soviet Union with the amount of power America had. In the end, the atomic bomb is a main reason for why World War II ended. -
Surrender of Japan
The atomic bomb is dropped on Japan, and the aftermath is horrid. Then, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan on August 8th, and invade Manchuria. Japan still refuses to back out. On August 10th, 1945, Emperor Hirohito forced Japan to surrender. On September 2, 1945, a peace treaty is signed.
