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Italian Invasion of Ethiopia
After Italy was defeated by the Ethiopians at the battle of Adowa in 1896, the Italians were still seeking revenge and decided to invade Ethiopia on October 3rd, 1935. The League of Nations attempted to assist Ethiopia by enforcing sanctions against Italy, but they didn't have enough power. By early 1936, Italy had successfully conquered Ethiopia. -
Occupation of the Rhineland
The Germans went against the Treaty of Versailles in 1936 when they occupied the rhineland, which was the land in between France and Germany. This was Hitler's first illegal act in foreign relations. -
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The Spanish Civil War
Francisco Franco led a revolt in 1936 that was the start of the civil war. There were two sides: the Nationalists and the Loyalists. Both comitted dangerous acts and left many innocent civilians killed. The civil war ended in 1939 when Francisco Franco came in to power and created a dictatorship similar to those of Hitler and Mussolni. -
Air Raid On Guernica
Guernica is a small market town in Spain and in 1937 there was a German air raid on the town. Their planes dropped loads of bombs and flew low to machine gun anyone else. About 1,000 people were killed, but to the Nazis, the attack was just an experiment to see what their new planes were capable of. -
The Anschluss
The Anschluss was the union of Austria and Germany. However, Austira's chancellor refused to agree to Hitler's demands and Hitler sent in the German Army. This went against the Treaty of Versailles and created a brief war scare. In the end, Hitler had his way and Austria and Germany formed together. -
Munich Conference
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Annexation of Czechoslovakia
The next year, Hitler went against the agreement made at the Munich conference and annexed all of Czechoslovakia. Czechoslovakian President Emil Hácha gave into HItler's demands, wanting to avoid war. -
Nazi-Soviet Pact
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Invasion of Poland
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Formation of the "Free French"
The "Free French" was a group of French officers that had escaped to England and set up a government-in-exile. Charles de Gaulle led them in the task of liberating thier homeland. When fighting, they used guerrilla military strategies against the German forces in France. -
Fall of France
With German forces headed toward Paris and Italy attacking from the south, France surrendered. Hitler forced the French to sign the documents in the same train car in which Germany had to sign the armistice ending World War I. -
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Battle of Britain
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Formation of the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis
Germany, Italy, and Japan decided to join together against Britain, France, and the United States and fight against Soviet communism. They also agreed to not interfere with each other's plans for territorial expsnsion. -
Operation Barbarossa
Hitler created a new blitzkrieg in the Soviet Union in order to take over, cruch communism in Europe, and finally defeat Josef Stalin, his rival. This act went against the Nazi-Soviet Pact and surprised Stalin. Stalin alsed Britain for help and the two powers agreed to work together. An extremely cold winter was also a major factor that caused the German advance to stall. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
General Tojo led a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Japanese airplanes bombed the American fleet at the harbor, taking the lives of about 2,400 people and destroying battleships and aircraft. Four days later, Germany and Italy, Japan's allies, declared war on the United States. -
Battle of Midway
At the Battle of Midway, which was fought entirely from the air, the Americans were able to achieve a victory against Japan. They destroyed four Japanese carriers and more than 250 planes. Japan suffered a terrible loss and was unable to launch any more offensive operations after this battle. -
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Battle of Stalingrad
Hitler was determined to capture Stalingrad, and Stalin was determined to defend it. The Germans surrounded the city, but when winter came both sides suffered many losses. In November, the Soviets encircled the Germans and the Germans, without any food or ammunition left, finally surrendered in January. -
El Alamein
Already committed to total war against the Axis powers, the Allies achieved victory in North Africa. General Bernard Montgomery, leading the British, fought Rommel. Later on in the year, the Allies trapped Rommel's army, which surrendered in May 1943. -
Formation of Vichy France
After France surrendered, Germany occupied northern France. But, in the south the Germans decided to set up a "puppet state." Its capital was at Vichy and the government even began to adopt some German-influenced anti-Semitic policies. -
D-Day
D-Day is also known as the day the Allies chose to invade France. Allied planes dropped paratroopers behind enemy lines and also took ships across the English Channel. However, the ships didn't have sonar to see the German naval mines submerged under water and many troops were killed. But, they made their way inland and advanced toward Paris. Other Allied forces sailed from Italy to land in southern France. Once in Paris, French forces rose up against the Germans and the Germans retreated. -
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Battle of the Bulge
As the armies of the Allied forces advanced into Belgium, Germany launched a counterattack. At this battle, both sides suffered terrible losses and the Allied advance from the west was delayed for six weeks. -
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Iwo Jima
Using the island-hopping campaign to recapture some Japanese-held islands, the American forces arrived on the islands of Iwo Jima in 1945. This was a brutal battle where the Japanese showed they would not surrender and fight to the death. Some became kamikaze pilots who voluntarily crashed their planes filled with explosives into American warships. In the end over 6,800 Americans and 18,917 Japanese had died. The Americans displayed their victory by raising an American flag on top of Suribachi. -
V-E Day
V-E Day, also known as Victory in Europe, was the day the war in Europe officially ended. Mussolini was captured and executed and Hitler had committed suicide. The day before, May 7, Germany had surrendered. -
Decision To Use Atomic Weapons
On this day, the first atomic bomb, which was called the Manhattan Project, was successfully tested in Alamogordo, New Mexico. President Harry Truman decided to use this weapon against Japan. On August 6, 1945 an American plane dropped an atomic bomb over the city of Hiroshima in Japan. It instantly killed more than 70,000 people and many more later died from radiation sickness as well. -
V-J Day
V-J Day, or Victory in Japan Day, was the day that Japan decided to surrender to the Allies. This day officially marked the end of World War II.
