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Mussolini comes to power in Italy
Benito Mussolini created Facism through literary means. Mussolini gained enough support to take Italy through Fascism. Mussolini took control of Italy and the position of prime minister through a coup d'état. -
Japan invades Manchuria
As a part of Japan's expansionist efforts, and attempts to obtain more natural recources, it invaded the Chinese Manchuria. This was the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese war. After taking Manchuria, the Japanese set up a puppet-state there and called it Manchukuo. -
Adolf Hitler becomes dictator of Germany
Adolf Hitler grew political power through his book, speeches and the Nazi Party. Hitler was thrown in jail after a failed coup, and was only held for a year. Hitler, then, sought for democratic election and won. -
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Holocaust
The Holocaust was the systematic genocide of jews in Nazi Germany. First Jews were denied rights as citizens, then treated as slaves until they died of exaustion, or killed in mass shootings, or taken away to extermination camps. It is believed that most of the German citizens didn't know what their government was doing to the Jews, or at least not the extent that it was being done.
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Italy invades Ethiopia
A small border dispute between Italy and Ethiopia turned into a full on war, with Italy as the agressors, in about a year. As the war went on, Ethiopia called on the League of Nations for support. The League of Nations did very little to support Ethiopia or prevent war. -
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Spanish Civil War
The Spanish civil war was an authoritarian rebellion (Nationalists) against the left-wing, republican government. The Nationalists recieved support from Germany, Italy, and Portugal. The Republicans recieved support from the Soviet Union and Mexico. After a bloody war, the Nationalists won out, and forced many of the Republicans to leave the country. -
Japan invades China
In an effort to expand its empire's resources, Japan invaded China. Japan quickly took control of large areas of China including the nations capitol. The Japanese soldiers were so brutal the taking of Nanjing was often referred to as "The Rape of Nanjing" -
Appeasement effort by France & Britain
Appeasement
Was an attempt to prevent war with agressive dictatorships by giving them some of what they want. However this appeasement made the dictatorships want to "test the limits" of this appeasement. -
Kristallnacht
A series of attacks on Jews living in Nazi Germany. Over 30,000 Jews were arrested by stormtroopers and civilians while authorities watched doing nothing. The story of what happened was spread across the world by reporters, and did not paint a good picture of Germany in the public eye. -
Germany Invades Poland
After signing a nonagression pact with the USSR to avoid a war on two fronts, Germany enacted a "lightning war" against Poland. Germany attacked Poland on three fronts. Germany defeated Poland within the month. -
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Battle of the Atlantic
The Battle of the Atlantic was Germany's blockade of Britain. Britain needed imports because it is an island nation, and didn't have the natural recources it needed to fight a war. The allies were struggling to get resources to Britain, and it was a constant struggle untill the war ended. -
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Battle of Britain
The combat between German and British airforces over England was called the Battle of Britain. This battle determined who would have control over British skies and what course the rest of the war would take. The Battle of Britain was one of Germany's first major losses of WWII. -
Lend Lease Act
This act allowed the US to supply the allied forces, without explicitly violating their nutrality. This allowed the US to "sell, transfer title to, exchange, lease, lend, or otherwise dispose of, to any such government [whose defense the President deems vital to the defense of the United States] any defense article." While it didn't bring the US into the war, it made it very obvious which side they were on. -
Germany invades Soviet Union
The nonagression pact that the Germans had with the soviets didn't prevent Germany from invading the Soviet Union. The German war tactics were excessively brutal. However the soviets put up a better defence than the Germans expected and were soon pushed back. -
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Battle of Leningrad
Leningrad was besieged by German troops as a part of Hitler's Operation Barbarossa. Hitler wagered that he could take Leningrad and Moskow in about two months. Over 500,000 people died of starvation in the seige. -
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Japan attacks Hawaii, Philippines, and Malaysia
A part of Japan's attempts to strengthen its influence in the Pacific. These attacks were meant to cripple the US naval and airforce strength in the Pacific. This was also this real military attack on the US in WWII -
America shifts its industries and military respond to crisis
The United States was not prepared for war, so it had to convert from peacetime industry to wartime industry. The war drew a large number of the workforce away, so those not typically a part of the workforce had to work. The US government and its businesses promoted the new industry. After industries had been converted, the US became the most massive industrial power in the world.
(No actual date for this one) -
Battle of Midway
The battle of midway was supposed to be a Japanese ambush that would severely demoralize US troops. However, US codebreakers managed to figure out the date and location of the attack, allowing the US to ambush the Japanese. The Japanese suffered very heavy losses in the battle, and a great victory for the US. -
Battle of El Alemein
The first battle of El Alemein was an attempt by the axis forces to gain control in Egypt. The terrain of the desert made combat difficult, because most large movements (vehicles and the like) would kick up a lot of dust, giving away troop positions. And the lack of trees or sufficient greenery, made it hard to hide. -
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Battle for Guadalcanal
The Battle for Guadalcanal was the US's first major attack on the Japanese Empire. -
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Battle of Stalingrad
The battle between the Germans and the Soviets for the control of the city of Stalingrad. It was one of the bloodiest battles in the war. The battle was a defeat for the Axis forces. -
Allies invade Sicily
The invasion of Sicily was a large scale naval, air, and land assault. This invasion cleared the way for further invasion into Italy. -
Invasion of Normandy
The allied invasion of Normandy was an attempt to secure a position in France, and prepare for an invasion into Germany. The battle was prepared for months, and soldiers practiced for the mission specifically for months more that the actual infasion took. The invasion was one of Germany's worst in the entire war. -
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge mas a Large German military offensive in Belgium. The purpose of the attack was to split the allied forces, so they could be surrounded and defeated seperatly. The German forces managed to catch the allied forces by surprise, in a poorly defended area. The harsh weather forced the allied air force to be grounded, and thus unable to provide support. Despite all this, the allied forces managed to foil the offensive. -
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The Allied Bombing of Dresden
The civillian city of Dresden was bombed very heavily by the British Royal Air Force. -
U.S. forces invade islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa
A part of the United States "island hopping" campaign during WWII. The islands were invaded to aid in the US's air raid of the Japanese mainland. These invasions were some of the most brutal fighting in the US's Pacific campaign. -
Germany surrenders to the Allies
On May 7 Germany surrendered unconditionally to Allied forces. Another surrender was given a day later specifically to the Soviets. FDR did not live to see the end of the war, instead dying a few weeks before. -
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Atomic bomb dropped on cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Around the end of WWII the US dropped two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki (one each, not two on both). The bombs were dropped in order to prevent a bloody invasion of the mainland that would cost many lives on both sides. Japan's surrender soon followed these bombings.
