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The Lead Up and Major Events of the War in Europe
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Hitler comes to power
On January 30, 1933 Adolf Hitler assumed the position of Chaucellor in Germany. Some are suprised to learn Hitler was actually a fairly elected official as opposed to someone who simply siezed power. He promised to usher in a "Third Reich" in Germany, a government he claimed would last 1000 years. The German people obviously bought into some of this, and elected Hitler, a member of the Nazi political party, into their government. He would change Germany forever, but not in the way Germans hoped. -
Nuremburg Laws enacted
On Septemeber 15th, 1935, a set of regulations known as the Numerburg Laws were passed in Nazi Germany. These were laws restricting the rights of Jews, mainly in the roles they could play in society. They stripped Jews of German citizenship and stated jews were not allowed to marry non-Jews. In addition, jews could not be doctors, lawyers, or hold political offices. This was Hitler's first step in isolating and eliminating Jews from Nazi Germany. -
Nazis Annex Austria
On March 12th, 1938, Hitler annexed the nation of Austria into his Third Reich. Hitler, being Austrian himself, believed the German-speaking nation was a rightful member of his Nazi empire. His toops marched across the border into Austria established a Nazi government there without firing a shot. The rest of the world watched as Hitler displayed his power, but no one took action. This was the beginning of Hitler's empire-building campaign. -
Hitler Annexes the Sudetenland
The Nazis absorbed the Sudetenland, a German-speaking portion of Czechoslovakia, on September 30th, 1938. This move made the rest of Europe and the world nervous as they saw Hitler swallowing up more territory. Britain and France, following their policy of appeasement, eventually gave the Nazis permission to occupy the land, without consulting Czechoslovakia. Hitler claimed this was his last territorial expansion. A few months later he took all of Czechoslovakia. -
Germany Invades Poland and War Begins.
Despite his claims of giving up territorial expansion, on September 1st, 1939 Hitler invades Poland. As the Nazis storm in from the west, the Soviets storm in from the east as a part of their non-aggression pact with Germany. The Germans manage to conquer Poland in about a month, and the nation ceases to exist. Britain and France have had the last straw at this point and declare war on Germany, but no actual fighting ensues yet. Hitler is on track for his dream of European domination as of now. -
France Fights with and Loses to Germany
Immediately after taking Poland, Hitler invades and takes France. Just like Poland, his conquest only takes about a month. Supporting British forces are forced to flee France, but make it safetly back to the U.K. Hitler is very satisfied in the stark contrast between the western front of WWI and his campaign in France. Western Europe Is now almost exculsively under axis control, and Briatian is the lone Allied outpost in Europe. -
Germans Find Defeat in Britain
On October 31st, 1940, Hitler experienced his first defeat. This is the date that ended the Battle of Britain. This was a mostly air battle that took place over the mainland U.K. The German Luftwaffe faced off against the British Royal Air Force and were slowly forced back. This was the only battle fought in Britain and was really the first major victory for the allies. Defeat did little to deter Hitler, however, as he turned his sights to Russia. -
The Nazis Betray the Soviets
Only two years after signing a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union, Hitler attacks them. This was a bizarre move, and many of his advisors opposed it. Up to this point he had succesfully avoided a two front war (like WWI). Intially the Nazis found great success on the eastern front and planned to take Russia just as swiftly as they had conquered other European nations. However, this invasion of Russia is most defintely one of the reasons Germany lost the war. -
Battle of Stalingrad Ends
On February 2nd 1943 German forces surrender to Soviet forces at Stalingrad. 91,000 Nazis are captured here (only 5,000 return to Germany). This battle is seen as the major turning point in the war on Europe. It proved that German forces were exhausted in Russia and couldn't push any further. Hitler's dream is beginning to crumble. -
D-Day
Allied forces finally open a western front on the heavily fortified beaches of France on June 6th, 1944. There were landings at 4 different beaches, 2 of them headed by American forces, 2 of them headed by British forces. Resistance was heavy at all sites, but the worst by far was the American landing at Omaha Beach. Thousands died, but the Allies finally had a foothold in Western Europe again and were on there way to liberating France. This marks the beginning of the end for Hitler. -
The Battle of the Bulge
December 16th was the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge. This was the last major German offensive on the Allies; it was Hitler's last ditch effort to drive them out of France. It involved driving hard at one section of the Allied line and creating a bulge in it, then circling around behind the rest of the line. The Battle of the Bulge was hard-fought, but ended in defeat for Germany. After this fight, the Third Reich had no hope. -
Hitler Commits Suicide
After having obliterated his nation and much of Europe, Adolf Hitler killed himself on April 30th, 1945. This was partly because of the terrible manner in which Mussolini was killed, and partly because he couldn't handle the destruction of his Third Reich. Without its leader, Nazi Germany quickly surrendered to the Allies. Hitler had his body burned so it could never be disrespected. The war was over, but the carnage across multiple nations was immense.
