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Benito Mussolini's (il duce) fascist government in Italy
He knew how to appeal to Italy's wounded national pride and played on the fears of economic collapes and communism; this is how he won their support. He then established a FASCIST GOVERNMENT which stressed nationalism and placed the interests of the state above those of the people. Fascists argued that to strengthen the nation the power must rest with a strong leader and a small group of members also known as the BLACK SHIRTS. Italy became totalitarian state. -
Joseph Stalin's totalitarian governement in USSR
He focused on making a communist state. He made both agricultural and industrial growth the prime economic goals of the USSR. 1928- he outlined the 1st of the five-year plans to direct industrialization. 1937- USSR became the world's 2nd largest industrial power. It became a TOTALITARIAN GOV that tried to exert complete control over its citizens. People had no rights and the government suprressed all opposition. -
Japanese invasion of Manchuria
The militarists launched a surprise attack and seized control of the Chinese province of Manchuria. Japanese troops controlled the entire province, a large region about twice the size of Texas, that was rich in natural resources. The success of the Manchurian invasion put the militarists firmly in control of Japan's government. -
Storm Troopers
Also known as Brown Shirts. This was created because many men were unemployed and those out of work joined Hitler's private army. The Germany people were desperate and turned to Hitler as their last hope. -
Hitler's military build-up in Germany
Hitler pulled Germany out of the League in 1933. In 1935, he began a military buildup in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. -
Mussolini's invasion of Ethiopia
Mussolini began building his new Roman Empire and his first target was Ethiopia, one of Africa's few ramining independent countries. By fall, tens of thousands of Italian soldiers stood ready to advance on Ethiopia. The League reacted with brave talk of "collective resistance to all acts of unprovoked aggression". By May 1936, Ethiopia had falled and HAILE SELASSIE, Ethiopian leader, appealed to the League for help. Nothing happened. -
Hitler invade the Rhineland
He sent troops into Rhineland; demilitarized German region bordering France and Belgium. The League did nothing to stop him. -
Francisco Franco
He led a group of Spanish army officers that rebelled against the Spanish republic. Revolts broke out and the Spanish Civil War began. About 3K Americans formed the Abraham Lincoln Battalion and traveled to Spain to fight against Franco. Franco won and established him as Spain's fascist dictator. Once again a totalitarian governemtn ruled in Europe. -
Rome-Berlin Axis
The war forged a close relationship between the German and Italian dictators who signed a formal alliance known as the Rome-Berlin Axis. -
Hitler's Anschluss
The majority of Austria's 6 million people were Germans who favored unification with Germany. So German troops marched into Austria unopposed. A day later, Germany announced that its ANSCHLUSS also known as a union with Austria was complete. The US and the rest of the world did nothing. -
Munich Agreement
Hitler invited French premier Edouard Daladier and British prime minister Neville Chamberlain to meet with him in Munich. When they arrived, he declared that the annexation of the Sudetenland would be his "last territorial demand". In their eagerness to avoid war, Daladier and Chamberlain chose to believe him and signed the Munich Agreement, which turned the Sudetenland over to Germany. -
Nonagression pact
Stalin signed the nonaggression pact with Hitler. Once bitter enemies, fascist Germany and communist Russia now committed never to attack each other. Germany and USSR also signed a second, secret pact, agreeing to divide Poland between them. -
Blietzkrieg
The German Luftwaffe (air force) roared over Poland, raining bombs on military bases, airfields, railroads, and cities. This invasion was the first test of Germany's newest military strategy the Blietzkrieg/lightning war. This was used of advances in military technology, such as fast tanks and more powerful aircraft, to take the enemy by surprise and then quickly crush all opposition with overwhelming force. -
Britain and France declare war on Germany
They declared war on Germany but the blitzkrieg tactics made the fighting over in 3 weeks, long before France, Britain, and their allies could mount a defense. In the last week of fighting, USSR attacked Poland from the east, taking some territory. Thr portion Germany annexted in western Polan had almost 2/3 of Poland's population. By the end of the month, Poland had ceased to exist and World War 2 began. -
Hitler's invasion of Denmark and Norway
Hitler launched a surprise invasion of Denmark and Norway in order "to protect those contries' freedom and independence". But in truth, he planned to build bases along the coasts to strike at Great Britain. -
Germany and Italy's invasion of France
Italy entered the war on the side of Germany and invaded France from the south as the Germans closed in on Paris from the north. On June 22 1940, at Compiègne, itler handed French officers his terms of surrender. Germans would occupy the northern part of France. After France fell, a French general named Charles de Gaulle fled to England, where he set up a government-in-exile. -
The Battle Of Britain
The Luftwaffe began bombing over Britain. Its goal was to gain total control of the skies by destroying Britain's Royal Air Force. On a single day, approximately 2K German planes ranged over Britain. That Battle of Britain raged on through the summer and fall. At first the Luftwaffe focused on airfields and airraft. Next it targeted cities. the RAF fought back brilliantly with the help of the radar. -
Battle of the Atlantic
The German aim in the Battle of the Atlantic was to prevent food and war materials from reaching Great Britain and the USSR. The Germans sank 87 ships off the Atlantic shore. They also destroyed a total of 681 Allied ships in the Atlantic. They launched a crash shipbuilding program. The tide of the battle had turned against German. -
Battle of Stalingrad
The German army approached Stalingrad. The Luftwaffe prepared the way with nightly bombing raids over the city. USSR officers in Stalingrad recommended blowing up the city's factories and abandoning the city but Stalin ordered them to defend the city. USSR army then closed around Stalingrad, trapping the Germans and cutting off their supplies. The fighting continued until the German commander surrendered on Januarty 31, 1943. USSR lost a total of 1,100,000 soldiers. -
Bloody Anzio
This was the hardest battles the Allies encountered in Europe which was fought less than 40 miles from Rome. This lasted 4 months until the end of May 1944 and left about 25K Allied and 30K Axis casualties. -
D-Day
The Allied invasion (OPERATION OVERLORD) happened on D-Day; the 1st day of the invasion -
Harry S. Truman
When President Roosevelt died from a stroke, Vice President Harry S. Truman became the nation's 33rd president. -
V-E Day
General Eisenhower accepted the uncondition surrender of the Third Reich. This made the Allies celebrate this day also known as victory in Europe Day. The war in Europe was over. -
Death of Hitler
He married Eva Braun and on the same day he wrote out his last address to the German people saying that he blames the Jews for starting the war and his generals for losing it. The next day he shot himself while his new wife swallowed poison. In accordance with Hitler's orders, the 2 bodies were carried outside and burned. -
Adolf Hitler's rise to power in Germany
He was a powerful public speaker and organizer that he quickly became the Nazy Party's leader. He promised to bring Germany out of chaos. NAZISM was the German brand of fascism and was basd on extreme nationalism. -
Mein Kampf
Also known as my struggle. This was a book by Hitler which set forth the basic beliefs of Nazism and also became the plan of Action for the Nazi Party. One of the Nazis' aims was "to secure for the German people the land and soil to which they are entitled on this earth" even if this could be accomplished only by "the might of a victorious sword". -
Third Reich
Also known as the Third German Empire. Hitler dismantled Germany's democratic Weimar Republic and replaced it with the Third Reich. Hitler believed that the Third Reich would be a "Thousand-Year Reich"- it would last for a thousand years. -
Phony war
French and British troops on the MAGINOT LINE, a system of fortifications build along France's eastern border, waited for something to happen with Germany. The blitzkrieg had given way to what the Germans called the SITZKRIEG (sitting war_, and what some newspapers referred to as the phony war. -
Hitler's invasion of the Netherlands
Hitler turned against the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, which were overrun by the end of May. The phony
war had ended. -
Marshal Philippe Petain
a Nazi-controlled puppet government, headed
by Marshal Philippe Pétain, would be set up at Vichy,
in southern France. -
Pearl Harbor attack
A Japanese dive-bomber swooped low over Pearl Harbor- the largest U.S. naval base in the Pacific. The bomber was followed by more than 180 Japanese warplanes. In less than 2 hours, the Japanese had killed 2,403 Americans and wounded 1,178 more. The surprise raid had sunk/damaged 21 ships including 8 battleships. These losses constituted greater damage than the U.S. Navy had suffered in all of WW1. -
Operation Torch
Stalin argued that an invasion across the English Channel would force Hitler to divert troops from the Soviet front. Churchill and Roosevelt didn't think the Allies had enough troops to attempt an invasion on European soil so they launched this invasion on Axis-controlled North Africa, commanded by American General Dwight D. Eisenhower instead. -
Unconditional surrender
Roosevelt and Churchill agreed to accept only the unconditional surrender of the Axis powers. That means enemy nations would have to accept whatever terms of peace the Allies dictated. -
U.S. convoy system
The Allies responded to the Battle of Atlantic by organizing their cargo ships into CONVOYS; groups of ships traveling together for protection. They were escorted across the Atlantic by destroyers equipped with sonar for detectin submarines underwater. They were also accompanied by airplanes that used radar to spot U-boats. The Allies were able to find and destroy U-boats faster. Admiral Karl Doenitz, commander of german u-boat offensive, reported that his lossed had reached an unbearable sight. -
The Battle of the Bulge
German tanks drove 60 miles into Allied territory, creating a bulge in the lines that gave it this name. They captured 120 American GIs near Malmedy. They also herded the prisoners into a large field and mowed them down with machine guns and pistoles. This lasted for a month. They lost 120K troops, 600 tanks and assault guns, and 1,600 planes in the battle.
