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Japan thought they should have an empire equal to the Western Powers. Japan seized Manchuria in pursuit of this goal starting WW2.
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Mussolini decided to act on his own imperialist ambitions. Ethiopia was no match with their outdated weapons even though they resisted bravely.
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The Japanese military was not only better armed and organized, they were also incredibly brutal. The rape of Nanking was one of the most terrible atrocities of World War II.
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The idea of a unification of all German-speaking people under one flag had been an idea that had existed since the end of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. Most Austrians were happy with the arrangement of having their own independent nation.
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Hitler demanded parts of Czechoslovakia be absorbed into Germany, and British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain agreed, giving Hitler a chunk of Czechoslovakia that was home to three million ethnic Germans.
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The blitzkrieg utiized improved tank and airpower technonolgy. While Germany attacked from the west, Stalin's forces invaded from the east.
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German warships enter major Norwegian ports, from Narvik to Oslo, deploying thousands of German troops and occupying Norway. At the same time, German forces occupy Copenhagen, among other Danish cities.
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he French abandon Paris, declaring it an open city. This allows the Germans to enter the French capital on June 14 without resistance. The Armistice is signed on June 22. Under its terms, two thirds of France is to be occupied by the Germans.
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Hitler wanted land in the east for the German people to expand into and settle on. He regarded Slavs, like the Russians, as inferior subhumans.
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Japanese airplanes bombed American fleet at Pearl Harbor. The attack took the lives of 2,400 people and destroyed battleships.
