-
End of WWI
WWI (The Great War) ended with the armistice, soon after the Treaty of Versailles was created to ensure blame on Germany. WWI was believed to be the 'War to end all wars' though, because WWII arose not too long after, it was not. -
Paris Peace Conference
The treaty was created at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 by the allied and victorious (Britain, France and the US). The Treaty of Versailles was created to ensure blame for WWI on Germany. -
The Great Depression
A period of severe economic hardship. Germany was one of the worst affected nations, with mass unemployment becoming a major problem. The instability resulted in the rise of Hitler -
Adolf Hitler rises to power in Germany
After serving time for treason, Hitler decided that the Nazi's should try to gain power by using the political system rather than attacking it. The Great Depression brought them great opportunity. By January 1933, Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany. -
The failure of appeasement
By the late 1930's, Britain and France were desperate to avoid another war with Germany, though they were already violating the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, they did not act aggressively. Hitler agreed in a conference with Britain, France and Germany that there would be no further claims over territory, making these nations think that there was not another WW on the horizon. Though later Hitler invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia -
Germany Invasion of Poland
In September 1939, Germany invaded Poland. Therefore, forcing Britain, France and British Dominions to declare war of Germany. -
The Phoney War
The period after Germany invaded Poland and war was declared, was known as the 'Phoney War'. Up until April 1940, there were no major battles. This ended in April 1940, when Germany attacked and defeated Denmark and Norway. -
The Battle of France
In May 1940, Germany invaded the Low Countries (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) and France using Blitzkrieg tactics. The British government, despite having outnumbered the Germans, had to evacuate through Dunkirk. -
The Battle of Britain
Germany then planned to invade Britain requiring the tactic of Luftwaffe to destroy Britain's air force. Resistance caused Germany to change its tactics to focusing on bombing Britain's industrial cities. Britain resisted these attacks from July 1940 to May 1941. -
The Rats of Tobruk
Italy entered the war on the side of Germany in June 1940. Australian troops leaded the British counterattack into Libya. Germany thought that they has trapped these troops like rats, however Australian troops ended up successfully capturing Tobruk in June 1942. -
Operation Barbarossa
Code named 'Operation Barbarossa', Germany planned an attack on the Soviet Union. With a force of over 3 million troops, 3,600 tanks and 4,300 aircraft. In 1939, the parties had signed a treaty, agreeing to remain neutral if either was attacked. The invasion in 1941 broke this agreement.The invasion was fueled by the fact that they wanted the land space and hated Russia's Communism. The Soviet Army was forced to retreat and German forces were able to capture Moscow. -
Period: to
The Soviet Union entered World War One
In September 1941, Stalin told British diplomats that he wanted two agreements: 1) a mutual assistance/aid pact. 2) a recognition that, after the war, the Soviet Union would gain the territories in countries that it had taken pursuant to its division of Eastern Europe with Hitler in the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. -
Period: to
The Holocaust
A genocide during World War II in which Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany, with aid, systematically murdered some six million European Jews, around two-thirds of the Jewish population of Europe. Nazis called it the "Final Solution to the Jewish Question" -
D-Day and Allies invade Germany
D-Day is during World War II, on June 6, 1944—the day of the Normandy landings—initiating the Western Allied effort to liberate mainland Europe from Nazi Germany. -
Hitler commits suicide and Germany Surrenders
Allied group troops invaded Germany from the west, bombing major German cities (including Berlin). In April, the Soviets encircled Berlin and launched a final assault. Hitler remained in bunker in Berlin although most of the cities population was mobilized. After fighting for a week in the streets, Hitler committed suicide on the 30th of April 1945 and Germany surrendered on May 7th 1945.