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Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini decided to invade Ethiopia after he was inspired by German dictator Adolf Hitler to do so. He also wanted to do this to increase Italian achievement since Italy was quite negatively affected by the defeat in the Battle of Adowa. This invasion was successful because of how weak Ethiopia was and how superior Italy's weapons were. -
This was a war between Japan and China after Japan had gained a large amount of territory in China. The conflict that led to this war was when China started a complete resistance in response to Japan's influence in its territory. The outcome of this war was Japanese victory because of how corrupt China was at this time. This war was important because it eventually allowed the Chinese Revolution to happen. -
During this conference, they made the Munich Agreement which was an agreement between Germany, Great Britain, France, and Italy stating that Germany could annex Sudetenland, Czechoslovakia. Hitler wanted to do this because a large number of the people in the Sudetenland were of German descent. This event was important because while it did not directly lead to WWII, it gave Germany more territory therefore more power since Hitler, later on, annexed the rest of Czechoslovakia. -
Germany invaded Poland during this time to both regain territory and have more power since what he truly desired was world domination. While Poland's army was strong, they were unequipped so the Germans succeeded. This invasion was very important to the course of the second world war because it was what led Great Britain to declare war on Germany by dropping bombs over Germany only a few days later and then France also declared war on Germany the same day, which would mark the start of the war. -
This was a battle between the Allies and Axis powers to take control of the Atlantic Ocean and its sea routes. The Allies wanted this because they wanted to keep their flow of supplies from North America and Europe that they used in war and other battles, so because of this reason, the Axis powers, specifically Germany, wanted to stop them from doing this. The outcome of this war was the Allies winning and staying in control of their supply route. -
Operation Barbarossa or its original name Operation Fritz was Germany’s code name for invading the USSR. This operation ended up failing because of how much the Soviets resisted and their more advanced weaponry like the T-34 tank, the lack of supplies for the winter, and the Germans simply weren't physically equipped for the invasion. This invasion/ operation was important because it made Hitler think of the USSR as his enemy which would cause more tension between the two. -
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise attack on the United State's naval base on Oahu Island, Hawaii by Japan. This attack very negatively affected the United States and its naval and air forces since so many of its battleships were completely destroyed and/or sunk and few were ever repaired fully. This event was important and impacted the war because it was what ultimately brought the United States into the second world war. -
Women began to be involved in the war once the "Women's Auxiliary Army Corps" was formed. This allowed women to get more involved in the war and work since, by 1945, there were more than 600 officers that were women, and more women were able to work in jobs that were previously only for men to do. This was important because women were able to get involved in the workforce when a lot of the men were away fighting in the war and they were able to work for themselves and not rely on their husbands. -
"Island Hopping" was a strategy several countries like the United States used during WWII that consisted of getting control and getting resources on an island in the Pacific to reset and go to the next getting closer to their opponent countries. They did this so they had access to supplies, but also in an attempt to remove Japan's bases that would allow Japanese soldiers to rescue one another with the supplies they would be able to keep there if they had control of the island(s). -
This battle began when the Soviet Union, specifically the city of Stalingrad was attacked by Germany because Hitler wanted to essentially destroy the Soviet Union. The USSR and its leader Josef Stalin were able to defend the city leaving Germany unsuccessful. The main reasons Germany was unsuccessful were because of the climate, the greater number of Soviets, and their supply routes which became sabotaged. -
The US and Britain invaded Tunisia to get more territory in Africa, but Germany ruined this original plan by invading themselves with the help of Italy and occupied this area as well. This quickly became a large disagreement that led to a disaster among the nations that left the Axis powers with 70,000 people dead and 238,000 imprisoned as well as the Allies with 76,00 people dead. -
D-Day had several other names like the Normandy Invasion and Operation Overlord and consisted of a plan for the Allied powers to invade Normandy, France, and eventually get into Germany and meet the Soviets there to hopefully defeat them and end the "Nazi Reich". The day this plan took place was called D-Day and during this, the Allied powers made 5 landings on different beachheads. -
This was a battle between the US and Japan after Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor on Japan's island, Iwo Jima which had several airfields on it. This was a very bloody battle although it only lasted 5 weeks which ended in an American victory and left 21,000 Japanese soldiers dead and 7,000 US marines dead. This battle was important because it was the United States' response essentially to Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor which was what got the US involved in the second world war.