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Period: to
World War II
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Roosevelt takes office
As the incumbent President in 1904, he was opposed by Alton Parker, a New York judge. -
End of World War I
The Treaty of Versailles was the peace settlement signed after World War One had ended in 1918 and in the shadow of the Russian Revolution and other events in Russia. The treaty was signed at the vast Versailles Palace near Paris - hence its title - between Germany and the Allies. -
Hitler joins the Nazi party
Adolf Hitler joined this small political party in 1919 and rose to leadership through his emotional and captivating speeches. He encouraged national pride, militarism, and a commitment to the Volk. -
Facist Party established under Mussolini in Italy
In March 1919, Mussolini formed the Milan fascio. It had no clear-cut programme except a belief in action. It only had vague ideas about radical reforms. -
Establishment of the USSR
A union of socialist republics, which were run via the only recognized political party, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. It existed from 1922 until 1991. -
Mussolini takes over in Italy
Established himself as leader or il duce of the fascist party and ultimately hoped to take total control of Italy through the alliance with Hitler’s Germany; however, with the defeat of the Italian forces in WWII, Mussolini’s imperial dream quickly ended. -
Death of Vladimir Lenin; &Control of USSR to Joseph Stalin; deaths of 8-13 million Russains
After the death of Vladimir Lenin in January 1924, leadership campaigns between Leon Trotsky and Josef Stalin emerged. -
US and 61 other countries sign Kellogg-Briand Pact
In 1928 America and 61 nations signed the Kellog-Briand pact which outlawed war as part of a nation's policy. -
Japanese invasion of Manchuria
The Japanese invasion on 18th September 1931 of Manchuria signalled the end of the period of apparent internationals stability. -
Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany, establishing the Third Reich
Having secured supreme political power, Hitler went on to gain public support by convincing most Germans he was their saviour from the economic Depression, the Versailles treaty, communism, the "Judeo-Bolsheviks", and other "undesirable" minorities. -
US begins passing Neutraility Acts
The Neutrality Acts were a series of laws passed in the United States in the 1930s, in response to the growing turmoil in Europe and Asia that was to lead to the Second World War. -
Civil War begins in Spain under Franciso Franco
The Spanish Civil War was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939. It began after a military rebellion by a group of conservative generals led by Francisco Franco against the established Government of the Second Spanish Republic. -
German troops invade Rhineland
In 1936, Hitler argued that because France had signed a new treaty with Russia, Germany was under threat from both countries and it was essential to German security that troops were stationed in the Rhineland. -
Italien troops conquer Ethiopia
The war was fought between the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy and the armed forces of the Ethiopian Empire. The war resulted in the military occupation of Ethiopia and its annexation into the newly created colony of Italian East Africa -
Japan invades China
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany, the Soviet Union and the United States. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the war merged into the greater conflict of World War II. -
Hitler begins military buildup
Hitler ordered his army generals to prepare to treble the size of the army to 300,000 men. He ordered the Air Ministry to plan to build 1,000 war planes. Military buildings such as barracks were built. -
Hitler announces secret plans for lebensraum
Hitler changed the concept of Lebensraum. Rather than adding colonies to make Germany larger, Hitler wanted to enlarge Germany within Europe. -
Czechoslovakia falls to Hitler
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Hitler takes Austria
Hitler took over Austria in 1938 because many links were shared between Germany. He created an 'Anschluss' with Austria. -
Munich Agreement; Sudetenland to Germany
The Munich Agreement was popular with most people in Britain because it appeared to have prevented a war with Germany. -
Franco is successful in Spain
Negotiations were successful with the last two on 25 July and airplanes began to arrive in Tetouan on 2 August. On 5 August Franco was able to break the blockade with the newly arrived air support, successfully deploying a ship convoy with some 2,000 soldiers. -
Totalitarian government established in USSR
The government helped to provide for the fullest development and security of all individuals. Russia (1917-1939), Italy (1922-1939) and Germany (1933-1939) might be regarded as mean totalitarian states. Within these states, the individuals had no right of free speech, free publications and free associations. The individuals had no right to form political parties. -
Russain army into Finland
A military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive, ended with the Moscow Peace Treaty. -
Non-agression pact; Germany and Russia; divide Poland
This agreement stated that the two countries - Germany and the Soviet Union - would not attack each other. If there were ever a problem between the two countries, it was to be handled amicably. The pact was supposed to last for ten years; it lasted for less than two. -
German invasion of Poland; blitzkrieg
The Polish army was defeated within weeks of the invasion. From East Prussia and Germany in the north and Silesia and Slovakia in the south, German units, with more than 2,000 tanks and over 1,000 planes, broke through Polish defenses along the border and advanced on Warsaw in a massive encirclement attack. -
British and French defeat at Dunkirk
By 22 May, the British had decided that the battle was lost, and they began to withdraw their troops to the sea port of Dunkirk. This opened up a gap in the Allied line which the Germans exploited. The Belgians surrendered on 28 May. -
Defeat of the Netherlands, Belgium and Leuxembourg by Germany
The Battle of the Netherlands was part of Case Yellow, the German invasion of the Low Countries and France during World War II. Dutch troops in the province of Zealand continued to resist the Wehrmacht until 17 May when Germany completed its occupation of the whole nation. -
Italy enters the war on the side of Germany and invades France
During World War II, the Kingdom of Italy had a varied and tumultuous military history. Defeated in Greece, France, East Africa and North Africa, the Italian invasion of British Somaliland was one of the only successful Italian campaigns of World War II accomplished without German support. -
France surrenders to Germany
Hitler unleashes his blitzkrieg invasion of the Low Countries and France with a fury on May 10, 1940. Within three weeks, a large part of the British force, accompanied by some of the French defenders, is pushed to the English Channel and compelled to abandon the continent at Dunkirk. -
Plans for an invasion of Great Britain; beginning of the Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to the air campaign waged by the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940. -
German invasion of Denmark and Norway
In the early morning of 9 April 1940 Germany invaded Denmark and Norway, ostensibly as a preventive manoeuvre against a planned, and openly discussed, Franco-British occupation of both these countries. After the invasions, envoys of the Germans informed the governments of Denmark and Norway that the Wehrmacht had come to protect the countries' neutrality against Franco-British aggression.
