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Both Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophia, were shot to death during a visit to the Bosnian capital. This event led to the outbreak of WWI. -
During the revolution, the Bolsheviks, who were led by Vladimir Lenin, seized power and destroyed the government. The Bolsheviks later became the communist party of the Soviet Union. -
The conference happened in Versailles, which is just outside of Paris. It was held to figure out the terms of peace after WWI. -
The March on Rome was the insurrection by which Mussolini came to power in Italy. This marked the beginning of fascist rule. -
Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party led a coalition group in an attempt to overthrow the German government. This became known as the Beer Hall Putsch because it began at a beer hall in the city of Munich. -
The Five Year Plan focused on developing heavy industry and agriculture. The plan overall was created to transition the Soviet Union from a weak, agricultural state, into an industrial powerhouse. -
This was a war of aggression fought between Italy and Ethiopia. The conflict resulted in Ethiopia’s subjection to Italian rule. -
Adolf Hitler, Nazi leader, violated the Treaty by sending military forces into the Rhineland. The Rhineland is a demilitarized zone along the Rhine River in western Germany. -
It was a military revolt against the republican government of Spain. When the initial military failed to win control of the entire country, a civil war broke out. -
The Japanese butchered an estimated 150,000 male war prisoners, massacred an additional 50,000 male civilians, and raped at least 20,000 women and girls of all ages, many of them were killed in the process. -
Germany’s approach was characterized by extensive bombing early on to destroy the enemy’s air capacity, railroads, and communication lines. There was also a land invasion with a lot of troops and tanks. -
The Germans invaded and defeated France and forced the British off the continent. France then formally surrendered to Germany. -
It was a surprise attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor. More than 2,400 Americans died in the attack, including civilians, and another 1,000 people were wounded. -
It was the first major victory for the Allies in the Pacific theater. With Japanese troops stationed in the Solomon Islands, U.S. marines launched a surprise attack and took control of an airbase. -
It was one of the most decisive battles on the Eastern Front in WWII. The Soviet Union inflicted a defeat on the German army in and around the Volga river. -
This battle marked the culmination of the WWII North African campaign between the British Empire and the German-Italian army. The battle was fought in the deserts of North Africa and is seen as one of the decisive victories of WWII. -
It was the first day of a large military operation. Allied airborne forces parachuted into drop zones across northern France. Ground troops then landed across five assault beaches. -
This conference is best known for President Truman’s conversation with Stalin, informing him that the United States had successfully detonated the first atomic bomb. -
An American bomber dropped the world’s first deployed atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days later, a second bomber dropped another bomb on Nagasaki. -
He directed the occupation mission with absolute authority. The purpose of the occupation was to disarm Japan and punish the war criminals so that Japan would never be a menace to the Allied countries. -
The United Nations is an international organization founded after WWII by 51 countries committed to maintaining international peace and security. -
It was a U.S. program providing aid to Western Europe following the devastation of WWII. It provided more than $15 billion to help finance rebuilding efforts on the continent. -
NATO was created by the U.S., Canada, and several Western European nations to provide collective security against the Soviet Union. -
The Soviet Union and seven of its European satellites signed a peace treaty establishing a mutual defense organization that put the Soviets in command of the armed forces.