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Soviets Take Over Russia
Vlamir Lenin attempts to take over Russia in 1917. This led to a civil war a death of millions of Russian citizens. Once Lenin died, his left hand man, Joseph Stalin or "man of steel", takes over. The only thing that kept the Soviets in power was fear and propoganda. Stalin and the Soviets instilled this fear by killing all "suspected traitors". -
Mussolini Controls Italy with His Fascist Party
Italy faced a great depression at the end of WWI. Mussolini promoted nationalism and promised to make Italy great with his Fascist group known as the Black Shirts. King Victor Emmanuel III gave official control to Mussolini, also known as "El Duce". While in control, Mussolini outlawed political parties, took over the press, started a secrey police, organized youth groups to indoctrinate the young, and suppress strikes against him. He wasn't as poerful or brutal as the other Axis powers. -
Japan Becomes Militarists
Military leaders took power in Japan around 1930 and insisted on expanding power. Unlike the others, militarists did not have one leader emerge. They kept their current emporer. In 1931, Japan attacked Manchuria and in 1937, Japan took over the Chinese railroad on the coast. They killed 200,000 Chinese civilians in Nanjing in the process. -
Hitler and the Nazis Take Over Germany
Because of Germany's severe depression in the 1930's, Hitler had no struggle becoming Chancellor in 1933 and sole leader in 1935. Hitler and his Nazis promoted Germany ethnicity over social class interests. All of Hitler's thoughts and plans are explained in detail in his book Mein Kampf, which also includes his prejudice towards Jewish people. Although his ways were brutal and he murdered millions, his economic policies brought Germany out of their depression. -
War Erupts in Europe
Japan took over much of China in 1938. By the end of 1938, France and UK started to prepare for war with Germany. The real tipping point was Hitler's move. In 1939, Hitler broke the Munich Pact by taking over all of Czechoslovakia and adding it to Germany. This created a chain of affects and eventaully the sides were decided. UK, France, US, Russia, and China were the official Allies. Germany, Italy, and Japan were the Axis Powers. -
Battle of Britian
Germany's Luftwaffe attacked the Royal Air Force, known as Operation Sea Lion. UK losst 1000 planes, but Germany lost 1700. France fell after only 35 days. Germany bombed everything they could. UK used radar to figure out where they would attack which saved the UK from falling to Germany. -
Turning the Tide at Stalingrad
Germany attacked Russia in June of 1941. Initiialy, Hitler led three armies into Russia. The Germans got deep into Russia and killed millions of Russians, but couldn't conquer the Soviet Union. In !942, Hitler focused on Stalingrad and the Caucasus Oil Fields. The winter was brutal and German troops began to starve and become sick. Hitler refused to surrender, but in January 1943, 91,000 German troops surrendered. This ended any realistic plans of Hitler dominating Europe. -
Strategy Plans
By June, the Allies were struggling, but still fighting. The Axis Powers didn't have a true strategy, but they each had their own idea. Hitler wanted to dominate Europe and eliminate "inferior" people in concentration camps. Mussolini wanted an Italian Europe. Tojo, militarist leader of Japan, wanted control of the Western Pacific and Asia. The Aliies, on the other hand, all shared the same goal. Churchill, FDR, and Stalin considered Germany the most dangerous enemy, known as "Europe First". -
Turning the Tide in the Pacific
In May of 1942, the Japanese gained control of the Philippines, Malaya, Dutch East Indies, Hong Kong, Wake Island, Guam, and Burma. Japanese decided that they would also take over Midway, an American naval base in the Central Pacific vital to the defense of Hawaii, in order to force America defenses back to the California Coast. Admiral Chester Nimitz knew the Japanese palns for Midway and concentrated his forces there. The attack began June 4, 1942. It was the most important naval battle of WWI -
The Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was Hitler's counter attack, which almost succeeded but Germans caught the Allies by surprise, created a bulge in the American line, and captured several key towns. On December 23, the skies cleared and Allied bombers attacked and steadily pushed the Germans out of France. Hitler desperately attempted to drive a wedge between British and American forces, but failed. -
The Allies Win
By January, the Allies were pushing toward northward Italy. In April, Mussolini was captured trying to flee to Switzerland and was exectued. By the time the Americans, British and Russians reached Berlin, Hitler was a wreck. He was shaken by tremors, paranoid from drugs, and kept alive by mad dreams of final victory. Finally, on April 30, he and a few of his closest associates commited suicide. On May 7, Germany surrendered in a French schoolhouse that had acted as Eisenhower's headquarters. -
The Atomic Bomb Ends the War
In 1942, FDR gives the development of an atomic bomb top priority. This becomes the start of the Manhattan Project, which was the codename given to the atomic bomb project. In the late summer of 1945, Truman decided to use the atomic bomb on Japan, because she only cared about saving American lives. Aug. 6, US pilots dropped an atomic bomb, called Little Boy, on Hiroshima. Finally after dropping a second bomb, called Fat Man, on Nagasaki, Japan surrendered. 379,000 Japanese citizens were killed.
