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The Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. -
The Anschluss
The Anschluss was the 1938 annexation of Austria into Germany, something forbidden by the treaty of Versailles. -
German invasion of the Sudetenland
In the Munich Agreement of September 30, 1938, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and French leaders appeased Hitler. The conferring powers allowed Germany to move troops into the region and incorporate it into the Reich "for the sake of peace." In exchange for this, Hitler gave his word that Germany would make no further territorial claims in Europe. -
Invasion of czechoslovakia
In March 1939, breaking the Munich Agreement, German troops invaded Prague, and with the Slovaks declaring independence, the country of Czechoslovakia disappeared. The entire ordeal was the last show of the French and British policy of appeasement. -
Italian invasion of Albania
After German occupation of Czechoslovakia, Italy saw itself becoming a second-rate member of the Axis. Rome delivered Tirana an ultimatum on March 25, 1939, demanding that it accede to Italy's occupation of Albania. King Zog refused to accept money in exchange for countenancing a full Italian takeover and colonization of Albania. On April 7, 1939, Mussolini's troops invaded Albania. Albania was occupied after a 3 days campaign with minimal resistance offered by the Albanian forces. -
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
Nominally, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was a non-aggression treaty between Germany and the Soviet Union. It was signed in Moscow on August 23, 1939, by the Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov and the German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop. -
Invasion of Poland
Germany and Poland were on fairly good terms until late 1938, after Munich, when Germany proposed that Poland allow Germany to take control of the largely German city of Danzig (which was under nominal League auspices), and join as a junior partner in an alliance against the Soviets. Poland refused and Hitler began planning an invasion. To deter Hitler, Britain and France announced that an invasion meant war, and tried to convince the Soviet Union to join in this deterrence. Moscow played along -
German invasion of Soviet Union
Germany attacked the Soviet Union in June 1941. Hitler believed that the Soviet Union could be defeated in a fast-paced and relentless assault that capitalized on the Soviet Union's ill-prepared state, and hoped that success there would bring Britain to the negotiation table, ending the war altogether. Hitler further wanted to preempt an attack by the Soviet Union, and in doing so catch the Soviets off-guard. -
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
The Imperial Japanese Navy attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, hoping to destroy the United States Pacific Fleet at anchor. Even though the Japanese knew that the U.S. had the potential to build more ships, they hoped that they would feed reinforcements in piecemeal and thus the Japanese Navy would be able to defeat them in detail. This nearly happened during the Battle of Wake Island shortly after.
