-
Adolf Hitler's rise to power in Germany
in 1919, Hitle joined a struggling group called the National Socialist German Workers' Party, better known as the Nazi Party. Hitler proved to be a powerful speaker and organizer that he quickly became the party's leader. Calling himself "Der Fuhrer" ( the Leader), he promisde to bring Germany out of chaos. -
Mein Kampf
In Hitler's book Mein Kampf, Hitler set forth the basic beliefs of Nazism that became the plan of action for the Nazi Party. One of the Nazi's aim as Hitler wrote in his book, was "to secure for the German people the land and soil to which they are entilted to on this earth" even if it could only be accomplished by "the might of a victorious sword" -
Benito Mussolini's fascist government in Italy
Mussolini had established the Fascit Party. Fascism stressed nationalism and placed the intests of the state above those of indviduals. Fascist argued power must rest with a single strong leader and a small group of party members. When important goverment officials, the army, and the police sided with the fascists, the italian king appointed Mussolini head of government. -
Japanese invasion of Manchuria
Leaders of Japan had a common belief, along with Hitler, in the need for more living space for a growing population. Ignoring the protests of more moderste Japanese officials, the militarists launched a suprise attack and seized control of the Chinese province of Manchuria in 1931. Within several months, Japanese troops controlled the entire province, a large region twice the size of texas, the was rich in natural resources. -
Storm Troopers
By 1932 some six million Germans were unemployed. Many men who were out of work joined Hitler's private army, the storm troopers or (Brown Shirts) -
Third Reich
Hitler was appointed chancellor (prime minister). Once in power, Hitler quickly dismanatled Germany's democratic Weimar Republic. In its place he established the Third Reich, or Third German Empire. According to Hitler, the Third Reich would be a "Thousand-Year Reich"- it would last for a thousand years. -
Hitler's military build up in Germany
In 1933, Hitler pulled of out the League of Nations. In 1935, he began a military build up in a violation of the Treaty of Versailles. -
Hitler invades the Rhineland
A year later after violating the Treaty of Versailles, Hitler sent troops into Rhineland, a German region bordering France and Belgium that was demilitarized as a result of the treaty did nothing to stop Hitler. -
Mussolini's invasion of Ethiopia
Mussolini's first arget was Ethiopia, one of Africa's few remaning independent countries. By the fall of 1935, tens of thousands italian soloders stood ready to advance on Ethiopia. When the invsdion begsn, the Leauge's response was an ineffective boycott -
Fransico Franco
Agroup of Spanish army officers led by Fransico Franco rebelled against the Spanish Republic. Revolts broke out all over Spain and the Spanish Civil War began. -
Rome-Berlin Axis
Hitler and Mussolini backed Franco's forces with troops ,weapons,tanks, and fighter planes. The war forged a close relationship between the German and Italian dictators, who formed an alliance called the Rome-Berlin Axis -
Hitler's Anschluss
Austria was Hitler's first target and the majority if Austria's 6 million people were Germans who favored the unification with Germany. On March 12, German troops marched into Austria unopposed. A day later Germany announced that its Anschluss or "union" with Austria was complete. -
Munich Agreement
Early in the crisic, both France and Britian promised to protect Czechoslovakia. Then just when was seemed inevatable, Hitler invited French premier Edouard Daladier and British prime minister Neville Chamberlain to meet with him in Munich. When they arrived, the fuhrer declared that the annexation of Sudetenland would be his "last territorial demand". To avoid war, they chose to believe him. signed the Munich Agreement, which turned Sudetenland over to Germany without being fired. -
Joseph Stalin totalitarian goverment in the Soviet Union
Stalin had established a totalitarian government that tried to exert complete contro; over it's citizens. In a totalitarian state, indviduals have no rights, and governement supresses all opposition. -
Phony War
For the next several months after th fall of Polsnd, French and British trrops on the Maginot line, a system of forifictions built along France's eastern border, sat staring into Germany waiting for something to happen. On the Siegfried Line a few miles away German troops stared back. The blitzkrieg had given way to a phony war. -
Hitler's inasion of the Netherlands
After invading Denmark and Norway, Hitler turned against the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxemburg, which were overrun by the end of May and the phony was had ended. -
Nonaggression pact
As tensions rose over Poland, Stalin suprised everyone by signing a nonaggression pact with Hitler. Once bitter enemies, On August 23 fascist Germany and communist Russia now comitted never to attack each other. -
Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg or lightning war, made use of advances in military technology such as fast tanks and more powerful aircrafts, to take the enemy by surprise and then quickly crush all opposition with overwhelming force. -
Britian and Framce declare was on Germany
On September 3, two days following the terror in Poland, Britian and France declared war on Germany. -
Hitler's invasion of Denmark and Norway
Hitler launced a suorise invasion of Denmark and Norway in order to "protect (those countries) freedom and independence". But in truth Hitler planned to build bases along the coats to Strike at Great Britian. -
The Battle of Britian
Summer of 1940 Germans began to assemble an invasion fleet along the french coast and because its naval power could not compete with Britian they launched airstrickes as well. Hitler had 2,600 planes at his disposal and on a single day (August 15) approximatly 2,000 German planes ranged over Britian. Battle of Britian raged on through the summer and fall. -
Germany and Italy's invasion of France
A few days after german offensive trapped almost 400,00 british sand french soliders, italy entered the war on the side of germany and invaded francr from the south while German's closed on Paris from the North. -
Marshal Philippe Petain
as William Shirer and the rest of the world watched, Hitler handed French officers his terms of surrender. Germans would occupy the northern part of France, and a Nazi-controlled puppet government, headed by Marshall, would be set up in Vichy, in the southern of France -
Pearl Habor Attack
A japanese divine bomber swooped low over pearl habor in the pacific and the bomber was followe dby more than 180 japanes warplanes launched from six aircraft carriers. In less than two hours the Japanese had killed 2,403 Americans and wounded 1,178 more. The suprise raid had eunk or damaged 21 ships, including 8 battleships. -
Battle of the Atlantic
After the attack on pearl harbor, Hitler ordered submarine raids against ships along the east american coast. In the first four months the Germans sank 87 ships off the Atlantic shor. Severa; months into the year, German wolf packs had destroyed a total of 681 allied ships in the Atlantic. -
Battle of Stalingaurd
In 1942 the germans took the offensive in the Southern soviet union. Hitler hopes to capture soviet oil fields in the Caucasus Mountians. For weeks the Germans pressed in on Stakingrad conquering it house by hnad to hand combat, -
U.S. convoy sytem
Convoys were a group of ships traveling together for mutual protection, as they had done in the first world war. The convoys were escorted across the Atlanticby destroyers equiped with sonar for detecting submarines underwater -
D-Day
the Allies gathered a force of nearly 3 million British, American, and Canadian troops, together with monutians of military supplies. Eisenhower planned to attack Normandy in the south of France. To keep their plans a secret, the Allies set up a huge phantom army wit its own headquarters and equipment. In radio messages they knew the Germans could read, the Allies sent order that they were attacking French port os Calasis instead.
