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Mussolini's Rise to Power
He created the Fascist Party in Italy, soon to be a dicator prior to WWII. Mussolini organized a para-military unit, the Black Shirts. They terrorized political opponents and increased Fascist influence. Influenced by Hitler, he instituted discrimination policies against the Jewish in Italy. -
Hitler Forms the Nazi Party and Rise to Power
Hitler took charge of the party propaganda in ealry 1920 and recruited young men that he's known in the Army. Army Captain Ernt Rohm helped him in recruiting men, who would also play a vital role in Hitler's eventual rise to power. -
Stalin's Rise to Power
The month and day isn't correct
In the late 1920s, Stalin started a series of five year plans that were intended to transform the Soviet Union from a peasant society to an industrial superpower. Stalin ruled by terror and with a totalitarian force in order to eliminate anyone who could've opposed him. -
The Beginning of the Holocaust
While other countries were fighting other countries, Hitler was fighting with his own country. Hitler believed that Jews were an inferior race and that they're a threat to the German racial purity and community. This period lasted until May 8, 1945 when the Americans came to liberate the refugees, POWs, and anyone else. 11 million people died during this period. 1.1 million were children, 6 million were Jewish and the others were Jehovah's Witnesses, homosexuals, disabled, and Roma. -
Italy's Conquest of Ethiopia
An incident between the border of Ethiopia and Italian Somaliland gave Mussolini an excuse to intervene. Rejecting and ignoring the arbitration offers, the Italians invaded Ethiopia. The invading forces slowly pused back the ill-armed and poorly trained Ethiopian army. -
Spanish Civil War
The war begins as a revolt by Spanish military officers in Morocco and then spreads to the mainland, Spain. Within three days, the rebels captured Morocco, a good majority of northern Spain, and major cities in the south. -
The 1936 Olympics
At these games, Hitler planned to show the entire world that the Aryan people were the dominate race. An "Aryans only" policy was placed upon on all German athletic organizations. "Non-Aryans" were atumoatically exlcuded from sports facilities and associations. The Nazis tried to hide their violent racist policies by temporarily removing the anti-Jewish signs and toned down their harsh words in the newspaper. After the games ended, the persecution of Jews continued. -
Sino-Japanese War
Japan invades China which starts WWII in the Pacific. When the Japanese invaded and took over Manchuria, they attacked China from their base. The Chinese suffered more and more invasions from the Japanese. There was an accident or little brawl between the Japanese and Chinese troops which then led to the second Sino-Japanese War. -
Annexing of Austria
Hitler declared Austria to be a part of the Third Reich. This was due to the violation of the Treaty of Versailles. The addition of Austria to this increased the size of Germany's population, territoary, and resources. It also happened to increase Hitler's power in Europe. -
Italy Invades Albania
In an effort to mimic Hitler's conquet of Prague, Mussolini's troops invaded and occupied Albania. Even though it was badly organized, they still managed. This invasion proved a costly enterprise for Il Duce. -
Rome-Berlin Axis Formed
Both Hitler and Mussolini created an alliance which they both began calling themselves the Axis Powers. hitler believed that the two countries' hostility towards the territorial settlements of the Treaty of Versailles could be the bases of a political partnership. -
German-Soviet Nonagression Pact
This is also called the Nazi-Soviet Pact. This agreement was publicly announced, proudly by Hitler. It was a great shock to everyone. It stated that Germany and the Soviet Union would never attack each other. If they ever went to war, they would both remain neutral. -
Invasion of Poland
The Polish army was defeated by the Germans within weeks of the invasion. German forces broke through Polish defenses with over 1,000 planes and more than 2,000 tanks. After heavy shelling and bombing, Warsaw surrendered to the Germans on September 27, 1939. -
Tojo's Rise to Power
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Tojo climbed the political ranks and was appointed Japan's Minister of War. He was a strong supporter of Hitler and wanted to follow his footsteps in regards to gain power. When he succeeded to becoming the Prime Minister, he ordered the attack on Pearl Harbor. -
Battle of Britain
On June 17, 1940, the French signed an armistice and quit WWII. Britain was left alone to fend for itself. The first attack on London happened this day. This led to the first all-air battle in history. The second attack failed with heavy losses and with a collapse of morale among German bomber crews. Germans had poor intelligence and little idea of British vulnerabilities. -
The Tripartite Pact
On this day, the Axis powers are formed as Germany, Italy, and Japan become allies by signing the Tripartite Pact in Berlin. This pact provides mutual assistance if any one of these suffer an attack by any nation not already involved in the war.
The fourth signatory, Hungary. -
Italy Invades Greece
Mussolini's army invades Greece in what will soon to be a disastrous military campagin for the Duce's forces. This move surprised everyone, even Hitler. Despite a good majority of faults, Mussolini decided to attack. This ended miserably for Mussolini. -
Invasion of the Soviet Union
Under the codename Operation "Barbarossa", Nazi Germany invaded the Sovet Union. This was the largest German military operation of WWII. Even though Hitler signed the German-Soviet nonaggression pact, it was just a tactical maneuver to then attack the Sovet Union within the year. On December 18, 1940, he signed Directive 21, which was the first operational order for the invasion of the Soviet Union. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
On this day, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii which is the largest naval base the US had in the Pacific. During this attack, 2,300 Americans were killed. -
Germany Declares War on the US
Hitler declares war on the US, bringing American (which had been neutral) into the European conflict. Even to Germany, the bombing on Pearl Harbor surprised them. Hitler was convinced that the US would beat him and declare war on Germany. -
Battle of Midway
This was an important battle were the Americans defeated the Japanese. This was six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The US was able to predict and counter Japan's planned ambush of the few remaining aircraft carrier. This victory allowed the US and its allies to move into an offensive position. -
Battle of Stalingrad
This battle lasted from July 17, 1942 - February 2, 1943. This battle/war was one of the bloodiest battles in history, with combined military and civilian casualties of nearly 2 million. Soviet forces surrounded and crushed an entire Germany army. This battle is considered a turning point in the war on the Eastern Front and also one of the most crucial engagements of WWII. -
Military Operations in North Africa
These military campaigns of WWII were waged between September 13, 1940 and May 13, 1943.They were important for both the Western Allies and the Axis powers. The Axis powers aimed to deprive the Allies of access to oil supplies in the Middle East, to secure and increase Axis access to the oil, and to cut off Britain from the material and human resources. -
D-Day
More than 160,000 allied troops landed on the 50-mile stretch of the heavily-fortified French coastline, to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France. More than 5,000 ships and 13,000 aircrafts supported the invasion. More than 9,000 allied soldiers were killed or wounded. -
Battle of the Bulge
Thee German armies began the deadliest and most desparate battle of war in the poorly roaded, rugged, heavily forested Ardennes. This region came to life in chaos as American units were caught flat-footed and fought desparate battles. This proved fatal to Hitler's ambition to gain at least a draw with the Allies in the west. -
Death of Roosevelt
On this day, FDR died from a cerebral hemorrhage. He presided over the Great Depression and a majority of WWII.He also left Truman with the diffcult decision of whether or not to continue to develop, and, ultimately, use the atomic bomb. -
V-E Day
Both Great Britain and the US celebrated Victory in Europe Day. The German troops throughout Europe laid down their weapons. About one million Germans attempted a mass exodus when the fighting in Czech ended, but were taken captive by the Russians. They took about two million prisoners before and after the German surrender. Meanwhile, more than 13,000 British POWs were released and sent back to Great Britain. -
Atomic Bomb Dropped on Hiroshima
The US became the first and only nation to use atomic weapons during the war when it dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Even though this ended WWII, many historians argue that it started the Cold War. This instantly killed 80,000 people. Tens of thousands died in the following weeks from wounds and radiation poisoning. -
Atomic Bomb Dropped on Nagasaki
After the bombing of Hiroshima, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. This resulted in Japan's unconditional surrender. Nagasaki was a shipbuilding center, the industry intended for destruction. The hills surrounding the city did a better job of containing the forse, but the number killed is between 60,000 - 80,000. The blast obliterated bodies and disintergrated records. -
V-J Day
August 14, 1945, Japan surrendered to the Allies which ended WWII. August 14 and August 15 have been known has "Victoryover Japan Day". It has also been used for September 2, when Japan's formal surrender took place on the U.S.S. Missouri.
