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Mussolini takes over Italy's Government
After WWI Italy was a war torn country and in need of a strong government to help restore Italy back to its prosperous days. Mussolini had ideas to bring this dream to life and created a Fascist Party.
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Nazi's Reach a Political Majority in Germany
Hitler started building up his Nazi party after WWI with speeches to the German citizens about the pride of being a German and blaming the Jews for many of Germany’s problems. He connected to the citizens and soon became the Fuhrer of the Nazi's.
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Beer Hall Putsch
This was Hitler's first attempt in gaining control of Germany. On this day Hitler and his Nazi followers captured the Bavarian government and forced them into supporting the Nazi party. Although on the next day Hitler and his men were surrounded by armed officials and Hitler was sent to prison.
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Kellogg-Briand Pact
This pact, better known as the Pact of Paris, was created by French and U.S diplomats. The pact agreed the the two countries could not call war on the other. It was later agreed to by 15 other countries, but proved to be useless because the lack of reinforcements it provided.
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U.S. Stock Market Crash
When WWI came to an end the production levels of supplies dropped drastically. Soon there were less jobs being offered to people and wages dropped. Then on Black Tuesday 16,410,030 shares were traded that the stock market crashed.
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Japan Invades Manchuria
Japan had a growing population and not enough space to fit all of their citizens. So the Japanese looked to Manchuria which was rich in resources and had enough space to solve their population problem. Japan sent troops to Manchuria and when they were ordered to return the troops went against their government's orders and attacked.
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Hitler Becomes Germany's Chancellor
Hitler was gaining popularity with the German citizens with his speeches of restoring Germany to its glory days, but not everyone was fond of Hitler. The President at the time felt that Hitler should have no part in the German government and tried everything to keep him out. The Preident was soon persuaded differently though by the Chancellor Franz von Papen.
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Japan Withdraws from the League of Nations
After Japan's invasion of Manchuria the League was called to order to discuss Japan's actions. The League advised Japan to withdrawl from Manchuria but they refused and withdrew from the League.
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First Anti-Semitic Law is passed in Germany
This law was a discriminatory law against the Jews that prevented them from having the same rights as other German citizens. This put restrictions on certain occupations Jews could hold and certain types of schooling they were allowed to have.
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The night of the long knives (Rohm Purge)
On this night Hitler planned to dispose of everyone in his party he felt no longer fit. Hitler and men of the SS killed members of the Weimar Republic and those who were part of his private army, the SA.
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Hitler openly announces to his cabinet he will defy the Treaty of Versailles
On this day Hitler announced to his cabniet that he was going to go against the League of Nations and start building up the German army. No one in the German government tried to stop Hitler with this risky move.
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Creation of the Nuremberg Laws
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Italy invades Ethiopia
When Mussolini took over Italy he had plans of expanding Italy's empire and wanted to start in the south. He decided on Ethiopia due to the embarrassment of losing to them in the past. The League of Nations did not prevent or discourage this attack.
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Hitler Militarizes the Rhineland
After Hitler had built up his new German army he decided to take another risky move. He would go against the Treaty of Versailles again and enter the Rhineland. When he entered he expected some kind of resistance but it never came. He was not punished for any of his actions.
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Rape of Nanking
When Japan was invading China they soon captured the capital, Nanking. In an attempt to coax the Chinese into surrendering Japan's General Matsui ordered his troops to destroy the city. The soldiers committed crimes of all multitudes in Naking and killed nearly half of the city's population.
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Germany Annexes Austria
Hitler was planning on expanding Germany's empire even more by annexing Austria. When troops marched into Autria the Austrian citizens did not resist the invasion they instead welcomed the chance of becoming part of the German empire.
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Hitler demands the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia
Hitler also wanted the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia to be added to his empire. So on this day Hitler gave the Sudetenland the ultimatum of surrender or military action. This demand sparked the military mobilization of Britain and France.
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Munich Conference
This conference was held between the League of Nations and Germany to discuss Hitler's recent demand of the Sudetenland. When the conference was over the League had gave in to Hitler's demands as long as he agreed this was the end of Germany's imperialism.
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Kristallnacht
On this night Jewish buildings and homes were burned and demolished. Jewish worshipping areas were ruined and nearly 30,000 Jewish citizens were taken into concentration camps. This event triggered the evacuation of many German Jews trying to escape Hitler's aggressive rule.
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Einstein’s letter to FDR, “The Manhattan Project”
When Albert Einstein immigrated from Germany he found it at the upmost importance that the U.S President know the dangers of atomic bomb research. Einstein knew that the Germans were researching the same information. President Roosevelt saw the importance of this matter and started "The Manhattan Project."
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Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
This pact was signed by Russia and Germany to develop an alliance. This pact also included details on how the two countries would spit up Poland after Germany invaded and captured it. This was a safety net for Germany to make sure they would have no interruptions from other countries while they were invading Poland.
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Nazi invasion of Poland
On this day 1.5 million German troops were sent into Poland to capture the country. The German government staged this as a self defense act to their citizens to justify the invasion. The German people knew this action would result in the mobilization of other countries, but they saw it as the only option.
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Evacuation of Dunkirk
Germans were gaining land in France rapidly and the French troops could not keep up and were soon cornered. In England Churchill was planning an evacuation to get as many troops out of France as he could. On this day boats of all kinds, big and small, shipped troops back and forth to safety in Britain. This plan saved many soldiers who would have more than likely been killed otherwise.
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France Surrenders
France was overwhelmed with German soldiers and soon Paris was captured. On this day Marshal Henri Petain, the new French Prime minister, surrendered to the Nazis. Even though the French surrendered they would not accept becoming Nazis and urged Britain to keep fighting.
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Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain was a brutal air battle between the German Lutwaffe and the British Royal Air Force. The German's bombed Britain air stations and cities destroing wide amounts of land, but the British prevailed. A major advantage to the British was the use of radar for the first time and this provided much assistance.
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The Tripartite Pact
This pact joined the countries of Germany, Italy, and Japan under the axis alliance. These countries agreed to provide assistance to any of the countries involved in the treaty if they were under attack. The nations under this pact also agreed to what land each was allowed to dictate.
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Lend-Lease Act
The U.S. wanted to stay neutral in the war but they also wanted to help their allies. The Lend-Lease Act was created so that the U.S. could send war supplies their ally Britaian. This action upset the Axis powers greatly.
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Operation Barbarossa
In Hitler's mass takeover of Europe he soon became greedy. Operation Barbarossa was his plan to capture Russia. German troops expected a quick takeover of Russia and attacked on this day. But the German troops had greatly underestimated their target. Russia fought hard against Germany and eventually took victory. This action cut the ties between Germany's and Russia's non-aggression pact.
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Bombing of Pearl Harbor
On this day Japanese planes bombed an American naval base in Honolulu, Hawaii. This attack destroyed many of Americas naval ships and the relationship between Japan and the U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's first form of action after this attack was permission from Cogress to declare war on Japan. This attack brought all of the most powerful nations into the war.
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Creation of the United Nations
This was an agreement between 26 countries to attempt what the League of Nations could not, create peace in the world. All of the countries involved in this league were after the same goal, which was to end World War II by taking down Germany.
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The Wannsee Conference and the “Final Solution”
This meeting was held between Hitler and some of the high ranking German government. Here they discussed how they would dispose of the Jewish population in Germany. Since the whole population couldn't be migrated out of Europe these officials needed a new plan to efficiently kill thousands of people at a time. They held this conference until all of the variables of this new extermination plan were settled.
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Bataan Death March
The U.S. wanted revenge on Japan after Pearl Harbor, so as a result they invaded the Philippines where Japanese troops were occupied. But America underestimated Japan's troops and soon the U.S was cornered. 75,000 troops surrendered to the Japanese and were forced to walk to their prisoner camp. The Japanese troops treated the captured horribly and many died as a result.
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Doolittle Raid
In an attempt to raise America's spirits and counterattack Japan, President Franklin D Roosevelt started up the Dolittle Raid. Led by James Dolittle U.S. planes bombed some of Japan's biggest cities. This attack did limited damage but it did reveal Japans weak spots and gave the American people new hope of victory.
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Battle of Midway
Japan wanted to finish what they started and take out the rest of America's naval army. They planned on luring the U.S into the open Pacific waters then attacking in an ambush. Little did they know that American intelligence had decoded these Japanese plans and were ready for this attack. The U.S. became the victor in this battle while Japan suffered a hard loss.
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Battle of Stalingrad
Still attempting to gain control over Russia Hitler moved his troops attention the the city of Stalingrad. The two countries fought hard against each other, but Germany was poorly prepared for the conditions of a Russian winter. Soon German troops in Stalingrad had to surrender against Hitler's orders or else they would have all perished. This was a monumetous win for the Allies and a devestating loss for the Germans.
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Operation Torch
This plan was made to attack the "soft underbelly" of Europe. Allied troops planned to go into the Northern half of Africa and the country of Italy to take out one of the Axis powers. Since most of the troops in these areas were French citizens the Allies hoped for little resistance in this invasion.
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Island Hopping
This was a U.S. plan to get close enough to Japan to bomb from the ground while also taking out some of their troops at the same time. In this operation U.S. troops would stop at every Japanese occupied island to elimanate Japanese occupation.
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Operation Overlord and D-Day
On this day troops from America, Britain, and Canada invaded 5 beaches of France in one of the largest assualts ever made in World War II. This invasion was carefully planned and went through every variable. The Allied forces first decieved Germany into what was thought to be an air invasion. Then Germany was caught off guard when the real invasion started. The Germans were caught up in mass confusion while the Allied powers started gaining land fast.
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Operation Valkyrie
This operation was a failed attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler. This was a plan created by Hitler himself to use if he were to lose correspondence with his government. The Reseve Army, a group against the Nazi campainge, wanted to use this plan to free Germany from Hitler's rule. The leader of this group, Major Claus von Stauffenberg, wanted a end to WWII, and planned that after Hitler was killed he would bring peace back to Germany.
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Discovery of Majdanek
In the Soviets move through Europe towards Germany they discovered the remains of the first concentration camp ever discovered in WWII. When the Soviets got to the camp it was mostly destroyed since the Nazi's had set it on fire before leaving but the fire could not fully disguise what had occured at this camp.
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Battle of the Bulge
In an attempt to split up the Allied forces Hitler ordered his troops to storm through the Ardennes mountain range in a suprise attack. The Allies were caught off guard but under the command of George S. Patton they soon assumed a stable position. The Germans used the attack method of blitzkieg and met their objective of the battle, but suffered greatly from the weather conditions and the lack of supplies making them weaker than ever before.
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Hitler’s Suicide
As the allied powers were moving closer to Germany Hitler made the decision to retire to fortified bunker underground. He stayed in this bunker underground for 100 days where he continued to give orders to his German army. Over the course of this confindment Hitler started to go insane. Then on this day Hitler and his wife of two days both swallowed cyanide pills and then Hitler continued and shot himself in the head.
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V-E Day
On this day the Allies had invaded and taken over the Rhineland pushing towards Germany from the west, while Russia was gaining land in the east. Germany was without a leader and soon they became overwhelmed. This day marks the surrender of Germany in WWII. It was a monumentous victory for the Allies and it soon became known as Victory in Europe Day.
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Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Looking to end the war the U.S. pleaded for Japan to surrender and discuss peaceful agreements to end the war, but Japan refused this offer. So as a result of this descision the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on the two Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These bombs killed thousands of Japan's people and destroyed much of their land. Japan agreed to surrender after these attacks.
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V-J Day
This was the day that Japan officailly dropped out ofthe war ending the second world war. Japan signed the Potsdam Declaration and this day later became known as Victory over Japan Day.
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The Nuremberg Trials
These trials were held to convict Nazi criminals of war. Those who were prosecuted were charged in one or more of the three areas of defenses which were; crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Those on trial were charged by a group of judges and were allowed representation. Many of those accused were sentenced to death or commited suicide.
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The Japanese War Crime Trials
These trials were held to prosecute Japanese offcials who had participated in war crimes in WWII. Unlike the Nuremburg trials the Allied powers did not participate as greatly.Instead China and Austrailia decided the fate of those who were found guilty. These trials lasted for more than two years.
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The beginning of the Cold War
The cold war started out of strong tensions berween the U.S.S.R and the U.S. The two countries had widely different thoughts on all kinds of topics after the second World War, and this soon led to more fear and hatred between the two countries.
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