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Rise of Fascist Dictators in Europe
Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler are two most prominent Fascist dictators that came to power during WWII. Mussolini was pretty direct with his "combat squads" terrorizing anybody who may oppose the fascists. Hitler used the already poor circumstances in Germany to his advantage and manipulated the citizens with his speeches to get them to do his bidding. -
Annexation of Austria
Hitler's lies spread to Austria, where they took root. Adolf then bullied the current chancellor until he appointed Nazis to important jobs in the Austrian government. When the Austrian leader got tired of Hitler pushing him around, he was unrooted from his position. Adolf Hitler replaced him and finalized the Anschluss. -
Munich Conference
Kid in the grocery store analogy
After Austria was annexed, Hitler moved onto Sudetenland. He claimed that it must be annexed to Germany. Though it was part of Czechoslovakia, the Czechs were not invited to the conference. Britain and France gave Germany/Hitler Sudetenland without a fight. -
Nazi-Soviet Pact
Hitler and Stalin publicly made a pact. They bother agreed on a state of peace between Russia and Germany. The pact only bound them to a certain degree though. They only agreed to not fight each other if the other went to war and to divide up Poland and other parts of Eastern Europe. -
Phony War
French and British troops waited behind the Maginot lines for a battle that wasn't coming. -
Miracle of Dunkirk
Trapped British troops needed to evacuate due to the sudden influx of Nazis. But they were stuck in the middle of both their enemies' troops and the English Channel. Mainland Brits sent all naval vessels to rescue their trapped troops. -
Fall of France
Italy attacked Southern France and quickly overran and demoralized French troops. Germany swooped in to humiliate France further by making them sign surrender papers in the same railroad car they made the Germans sign their surrender papers. France was completely overrun. -
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Battle of Britain
After Winston Churchill was appointed Prime Minister, Britains moral was high. Despite their unfortunate circumstances, they fought against Hitlr and his Nazi troops. They hunkered down and stayed strong, even through the Blitzkrieg. -
Nazi Genocide
Hitler and his Nazis designed Death Camps specifically used for the eradication of Jews, Slavs, Gypsies, and the mentally ill. These parties would be moved from Ghettos and Concentration Camps to these Death Camps in Auschwitz, Sobibor, and Treblinka. -
Operation Barbarossa
Hitler decided to attack Russia for its resources, to crush communism, and to defeat his rival. Hitler sent 3 million soldiers into Russia to begin a new Blitzkrieg. Stalin was unprepared and lost 2.5 million soldiers trying to fend off the Germans. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Japan sent a surprise attack to a Hawaiian naval base. Once there, they destroyed/damaged 19 ships, decimated grounded airplanes, and killed 2,400 people. -
Japanese aggression in asia
Japan had attempted to conquer all of China for quite some time. The Japanese empire stretched across a vast area, claiming land from the western Pacific ocean to Southeast Asia. Japan ruled over French Indochina and Britain's colonies (Hong Kong, Burma, and Malaya) -
Battle of El Alamein
Brits sent the Axis powers in Egypt packing. This stopped Rommel's advances and forced the Axis powers across Libya and into Tunisia. -
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway was known for changing the tides in Pacific warfare between America and Japan. Japan was one the offensive, and the US was on the defensive. However, the USA surprised the Japanese fleets and sank four Japanese carriers. -
Battle of Stalingrad
Hitler wanted to humiliate Stalin by taking the namesake city. Stalin resisted. 300,000 German soldiers were killed, wounded, or captured by the Russians. -
Invasion of Italy
The Allies won the battles in North Africa, allowing them to pass freely into Italy. First, they took over Sicily and Southern Italy. The rest of Italy soon overthrew Mussolini because they were angered by his actions. Mussolini escaped Italy with the help of German soldiers. The Allies slowly moved towards Europe despite the "stiff German resistance". -
D-Day
The Allies sent 160,000 troops to France to rid it of Nazis. There were 5,000 ships and 13,000 aircrafts aiding the soldiers on land. Though the cost was high, the Allies regained France and began the march towards Germany. -
Nazis Defeated
Hitler believed in fighting WWII to the death, but after numerous battles with the Allied powers as they marched towards Germany, he began to lose support within Germany. When Russian and American soldiers shook hands at the Elbe River, the Axis powers surrendered. -
United Nations
50 nations gathered in San Fansisco to draft a charter for the United Nations. It was to play a bigger role in world affairs than the League of Nations had in maintaining peace among the countries. However, the UN ended up dealing with other worldly problems as well later in time. -
Use of Atomic Weapons
America bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki with two seperate Atomic Bombs. Truman, the president of the US, is often ridiculed for his use of these bombs, but it got the job done. -
Surrender of Japan
Japan had been bombed by two consecutive atomic bombs, but their cabinet was still unsure of whether or not they should surrender. Over 11,000 lives were lost due to these bombs the United States had sent. The emperor intervened and forced Japan to surrender.
