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Period: to
Gulags
The Gulag was the Soviet Union government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems during the Stalin era, from the 1930s through the 1950s. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of extrajudicial punishment. The Gulag is recognized as a major instrument of political repression in the Soviet Union. -
Spanish Civil War
The war ended with the victory of the conservative Nationalists, the overthrow of the democratic government, and the exile of thousands of left-leaning Spaniards, many of whom fled to refugee camps in Southern France. With the establishment of a dictatorship led by General Francisco Franco in the aftermath of the Civil War, all right-wing parties were fused into the structure of the Franco regime. -
Technological developments
Technology Had advanced a lot. There are new aircraft, better tanks with better weapons. This would be a war of rapid movement without trench war stalemate. -
Allies/axis
Allies: USSR, GB,Fr, USA.
-Weapons: mosin-nagant,ppsh, lee-henfield, garand m1, m3...
Axis: Germany, Italy, Japan.
-Weapons: mp44, kar98k, gewehr 43, mp40... -
Germany attacked Poland
This event marked the main event that led to Second World War when the German Luftwaffe (airforce) and Panzer (tank) divisions attacked Poland using the "Blitzkrieg" or lightning war method. Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later, but there was little they could do. The Polish airforce was taken out and they did not possess any motorized divisions and still relied heavily on cavalry. 17th, the Soviet Union attacked Poland and by the 29th, Poland was eliminated on september. -
Battle of the Atlantic
This was the ongoing struggle of Britian trying to keep her sea lanes open from North America and her empire. German Submarines and bombers damaged shipping destroying allied ships faster than they were being produced. During the spring of 1943, German U-boats sank 107 Allied ships in a 20 day period. After this incident, radar became available on naval support groups to guide aircraft and Allied ships were now organized into convoys protected by warships. This created a safe trade route. -
The Winter War
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. Although Finland was drastically outnumbered in the terms of soldiers, aircraft, and tanks, the morale and efficiency of the Soviet forces had been crippled by Stalin's Great Purge allowing the Finns to take out many forces. Finland eventually surrendered to the Soviets and signed a peace treaty on the 12th of March, 1940. This was the first event leading up to "Barbarossa", Germany's betrayal. -
Germany invaded Norway and Denmark.
Germany respond to the action of the British and the French miniging the Norwegian ti stop the trade of iron ore by invading Norway and Denmark. The fall of Finland, Norway and Denmark led to a political crisis in Britain and France. As a result of this, the prime minister Neville Chamberlain was forced to resign and was replaced by Wiston Churchill. -
Dunkirk Evacuation
This was the evacuation of Allied soldiers from the beaches and harbours of Dunkirk when British, French, and Belgian troops were trapped by Hitler's forces. 340,000 troops were evacuated between may 27th and june 4th by the British navy and practically any sea vessel such as fishing boats and ferries. Hitler could have eliminated these forces who were trapped but did not, allowing the Allied troops to live to fight another day as well as providing them with a moral victory. -
Fall of France after Dunkirk
The German forces quickly drove through France after Dunkirk. Mussolini declared war on France on June 10th. the French forces were virtually useless to the blitzkrieg strategy. On June 14th, Germany entered Paris and caused France to surrender on the 22nd. France fell quickly because the Maginot Line was useless, France did not use their tanks effectively, the French airforce lacked quality compared to the Luftwaffe, and the extreme left and right groups both opposed the war. -
Barbarossa Operation
Germany decides to invade Russia after failing to attack and maintain London. This attack on Russia broke the Nazi-Soviet Pact and was a true test to the Russians politacally, socially and economy. This was one of the turning points of WW2. Most of the Soviet airforce was destroyed within the first day. The Red Army lacked experienced leadership due to the Purges by Stalin. -
Battle of Britain
This was a battle between Goering's Luftwaffe and the Royal Air Force for the control of the English Channel. The Luftwaffe began air raids on convoys in the Channel in July, air fields on August 12, and radar stations. British planes were outnumbered 3:1 but possessed better fighter planes and had advanced radar. Hitler tried to break the will of the British but failed and postponed the invasion at the end of September. This was the first time Hitler had been denied conquest. -
RAF vs Luftwaffe
-The RAF’s pilots, though inexperienced, were highly trained, skilful and committed
-The RAF didn’t commit all its planes at the same time: it would have been too risky
-The RAF were fighting closer to their bases, so their fuel supplies lasted longer -
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of the United Kingdom by Germany during the Second World War. Hitler decided to postpone the invasion of Britain. It was now the only country actively fighting Germany. He hoped to force the British Government into making peace with a new tactic: the Blitz (it was intense bombing of British cities; it was meant to break the morale of British civilians). -
Phoney War
The Phoney War was a phase early in World War II that was marked by a lack of major military operations in which FR & BR were waiting for Hitler's next move and ad the same time Hitler was waiting to see if they would make peace. Soon Hitler realized they wouldn't, so the germans planned an offensive in the West. -
Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941. The attack was intended as a preventive action in order to keep the U.S. Pacific Fleet from interfering with military actions the Empire of Japan was planning in Southeast Asia against overseas territories of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the United States. -
The Holocaust: Nazis invented a ‘Final Solution’
The Nazis believed the Aryans, a white race, were the Master Race and other races like Jews were inferior and subhuman. Jewish people were a minority in lots of countries like Germany. Hitler used them as scapegoats for the country’s problems. The Nazi campaign against Jews began when the Nazis won power. Death Camps were built in Eastern Europe: Gas chambers were built for mass murder they were killed: mainly Jews, but Slavs, gypsies, black people, homosexuals, disabled people, Communists… -
Battle of Stalingrad
itler's forces attacked the suburbs of Stalingrad, taking large sections of it. They took each street and each building, resulting in a large amount of casualties on both sides. The Red Army eventually fought back and by February 2nd 1943, 300,000 german troops surrendered. Hitler lost some of his best troops, was denied access to the Caucasus oil fields and was now forced to be defensive. This battle marked the beginning of Eastern Europe's liberation. They surrended because of sub-zero temp. -
Battle of El Alamein
Whoever won the battle in El Alamein would control the Suez Canal, a strategic strip of water. General Montgomery and his troops defeated General Rommel and forced the German/Italian troops to retreat across Africa. The Suez Canal was not taken, denying Hitler access to the Middle East’s oil. This victory proved that Hitler’s best forces could be beaten and showed the ability of tank and aircraft warfare in North Africa along with sophisticated strategies and tactics. -
Allied Victory in Africa
During the Second World War, the North African Campaign took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts and in Morocco and Algeria and Tunisia. -
Normandy Invasion
175,000 men would be involved in an amphibious assault. Allied troops had to take five beaches: beaches named Utah and Omaha were taken by the Americans, Gold and Sword by the British, and Canada took Juno. Allies were able to capture all of these beaches by the end of the day. This event is also known as Operation Overlord, D-Day, opening a Second Front, and "The Longest Day". The event was initially supposed to take place a day earlier, but was delayed due to weather issues. -
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive, launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name, and France and Luxembourg on the Western Front. -
Main results of the war
-Germany: Divided into East and West, so was the capital, Berlin.-Europe: Divided into the Communist Eastern Bloc and the Western Nations, with the “Iron Curtain” (W. Churchill)-The League of Nations was replaced by the United Nations (UNO)-USA organized massive aid for Europe and Japan to rebuild (Marshall Plan)-NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organisation: In 1949 the Western nations formed it, against communists USSR => Warsaw Pact: The USSR said NATO was a threat and formed it in 1955 -
Atomic bombs
During the final stages of World War II in 1945, the Allies of World War II conducted two atomic bombings against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. These two events are the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date. Some historians say a demonstration explosion on an island would have made the Japanese surrender. Other say that one million soldiers' lives were saved because Japan surrender after the bombs.
