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The Road to WWII Timeline

By tadum
  • Period: to

    Road to WWII

  • The Manchurian Incident

    The Manchurian Incident
    • Happened in Southern Manchuria when a section of the railroad near Mukden (Shenyang) was dynamited by Japanese Junior Officials
    • Imperial Japan’s military accused the Chinese for this incident, which created a pretext for the Japanese occupation of Manchuria
    • This occurred because Japan’s population was growing and did not have enough land to house everyone, but Manchuria did -> also wanted it for the riches and trade goods

  • Italian Invasion of Ethiopia (Abyssinia)

    Italian Invasion of Ethiopia (Abyssinia)
    • Border incident between Ethiopia and Italian Somaliland gave Benito Mussolini and excuse to intervene, which lead to the invasion of Ethiopia
    • In response to Ethiopian appeals, the League of Nations condemned the Italian invasion and voted to impose economic sanctions on the aggressor -> Remained ineffective because of general lack of support
    • Ethiopia was caught in a north-south pincer movement because of the invasion through Eritrea and Italian Somaliland -> Total war on both sides

  • Remilitarization of the Rhineland

    Remilitarization of the Rhineland
    • Hitler originally made the decision to reoccupy Rhineland in 1937, but instead decided to reoccupy it early within the year of 1936 -> Decided to change it because of the ratification of the 1935 Franco-Soviet pact
    • Hitler took back and controlled Rhineland once again -> Did not like how the Treaty of Versailles took Rhineland away from them -> by re-entering Rhineland, Hitler broke the terms of Versailles

  • Anschluss

    Anschluss
    • Feb. 1938, Hitler invited the Austrian chancellor Kurt von Schuschnigg to Germany and forced him to agree to give the Austrian Nazis virtually a free hand
    • Schuschnigg announced a plebiscite on the Anschluss question -> was bullied into canceling this and he obediently resigned, ordering the Austrian Army not to resist the Germans
    • Union between Germany and Austria -> achieved by annexation
    • Austria became a nameless entity absorbed by Germany

  • Germany Annexation of Sudetenland

    Germany Annexation of Sudetenland
    • After taking Austria, Hitler set his sight to the German speaking area of Czech. called Sudetenland
    • Sudeten Nazi Party formed riots and uprisings against the Czech Regime
    • Sept. 15th 1938 -> Hitler demanded the immediate cession of the Sudetenland, promising a German invasion if his demands were rejected
    • Czech. government resisted, but Czech’s allies, Great Britain and France, capitulated to Hitler

  • Nationalist Victory in the Spanish Civil War

    Nationalist Victory in the Spanish Civil War
    • Nationalists had military and diplomatic support from Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy
    • Nationalists had control of Spain’s colonial armies Reasons they won include: their continual success in taking territories during the war and their leader General Francisco Franco
    • Franco went to Morocco, led the Spanish army to Spain where he became leader of the insurgent government
    • Took the Falange party and combined it with the Nationalists, sought after Germany and Italy to aid them in the war

  • Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact

    Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact
    • Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union met and signed the pact, which agreed that the two countries would not attack one another
    • By signing this, Germany had protected itself from having to have to fight a two-front war -> used this pact to make sure Germany was able to invade Poland unopposed

  • German Invasion of Poland

    German Invasion of Poland
    • Germany invaded Poland as a result of a defensive act, but Britain and France were not convinced
    • To Hitler, the conquest of Poland would bring Lebensraum or “living space” for the people of Germany
    • Poland was outmatched and defeated within weeks
    • Nearly 3 million Polish Jews were killed during the German occupation of Poland

  • American Embargo on Oil to Japan

    American Embargo on Oil to Japan
    • President Franklin Roosevelt seizes all Japanese assets in America -> Britain and the Dutch East Indies followed resulted in Japan lost its access to three-fourths of its overseas trade and 88% of its imported oil
    • Japanese resources only lasted them about 3 years
    • Put Japan in a sticky situation -> had to choose either to withdraw from China, negotiate an end to the conflict, or go to war to obtain the needed resources elsewhere
    • Immediate response was to occupy Saigon