WWII

By jennysarahi21

  • Benito Mussolini seizes power.

    Played on fear on economic collapse, communism.

  • Adolf Hitler comes to power.

    Extreme racism, anticommunist.

  • Germany invades Austria

    controlled Austria, 6 million Germans.

  • Germany invades the Sudentenland

    • Though not yet at war with Europe, the annexation of the Sudetenland is considered to be a pivotal move towards the invasion of Czechoslovakia and the onset of World War 2.
    • The Sudetenland was made up mostly of ethnic Germans, and Hitler gained the territory by proclaiming himself a champion of these citizens.

  • Germany invades Poland

    • Germany invades Poland.
    • Britain and France declare war on Germany and WWII begins.

  • Great Britain & France declare war on Germany.

    • The first casualty of that declaration was not German—but the British ocean liner Athenia, which was sunk by a German U-30 submarine that had assumed the liner was armed and belligerent.
    • As for Britain's response, it was initially no more than the dropping of anti-Nazi propaganda leaflets—13 tons of them—over Germany.

  • Battle of Britain

    • On 18 June 1940, Churchill gave a rousing speech to the British people, announcing: "... the Battle of France is over. The Battle of Britain is about to begin." Four days later, France surrendered to Germany and Hitler turned his attention to Britain.
    • The battle began in mid-July and, initially, the Luftwaffe concentrated on attacking shipping in the English Channel and attacking coastal towns and defences. From 12 August, Goering shifted his focus to the destruction of the RAF, attacking ai

  • Triparte Pact (Axis Powers) are formed

    • Americans were jolted by news that Germany, Italy, and Japan had signed a mutual defense treaty.
    • The three nations.

  • Lend Lease Act

    • In July 1940, after Britain had sustained the loss of 11 destroyers to the German Navy over a 10-day period, newly elected British Prime Minister Winston Churchill requested help from President Roosevelt.
    • In the 1940 Presidential election campaign, Roosevelt promised to keep America out of the war.

  • Germany invades The Soviet Union

    • Under the codename Operation "Barbarossa," Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, in the largest German military operation of World War II.
    • The destruction of the Soviet Union by military force, the permanent elimination of the perceived Communist threat to Germany, and the seizure of prime land within Soviet borders for long-term German settlement had been a core policy of the Nazi movement since the 1920s.

  • Japan attacks Pearl Harbor

    • The Japanese launched a surprise air attack on the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.
    • The attack at Pearl Harbor so outraged Americans that the U.S. abandoned its policy of isolationism and declared war on Japan the following day -- officially bringing the United States into World War II.

  • Douglas MacAurther

    • Recalled to active duty in July 1941, MacArthur conducted a valiant delaying action against the Japanese in the Philippines after war erupted in December. He was ordered to Australia in March 1942 to command Allied forces in the Southwest Pacific Theater.
    • As Allied commander of the Japanese occupation in 1945–51, MacArthur effectively if autocratically directed the demobilization of Japanese military forces.

  • Battle of Midway

    • The Battle of Midway, fought in June 1942, must be considered one of the most decisive battles of World War Two.
    • The Battle of Midway effectively destroyed Japan’s naval strength when the Americans destroyed four of its aircraft carriers. Japan’s navy never recovered from its mauling at Midway and it was on the defensive after this battle.

  • Manhattan Project

    -splitting a uranium atom
    -produce a bomb capable of unspeakable destruction.

  • Operation Overload (D-Day)

    - Operation Overlord was the code-name given to the Allied invasion of France scheduled for June 1944.

  • Battle of the Bulge

    • December 16, with the onset of winter, the German army launched a counteroffensive that was intended to cut through the Allied forces in a manner that would turn the tide of the war in Hitler's favor.
    • The battle that ensued is known historically as The Battle of the Bulge. The courage and fortitude of the American Soldier was tested against great adversity.

  • Unconditional surrender of Germany

    • On May 7, 1945, Germany signed an unconditional surrender at Allied headquarters in Reims, France, to take effect the following day, ending the European conflict of World War II.
    • Due to the failure of Nazi troops in Berlin and elsewhere, Dönitz and his fellow negotiators lost any leverage in asking for certain conditions in regard to the surrender.

  • VE Day

    • On Mar. 7, 1945, the Western Allies—whose chief commanders in the field were Omar N. Bradley and Bernard Law Montgomery—crossed the Rhine after having smashed through the strongly fortified Siegfried Line and overran West Germany. -May 8 marks the formal celebration of the Allies' victory in Europe during World War II.

  • Nagasaki

    • Nagasaki suffered the same fate as Hiroshima in August 1945. The bombing of Nagasaki on August 9th was the last major act of World War Two and within days the Japanese had surrendered.
    • Nagasaki was not America's primary target.

  • VJ Day

    • On August 14, 1945, it was announced that Japan had surrendered unconditionally to the Allies, effectively ending World War II.
    • The term has also been used for September 2, 1945, when Japan’s formal surrender took place aboard the U.S.S. Missouri, anchored in Tokyo Bay.

  • Hiroshima

    -atomic bombings of the cities of Hiroshima
    -bombings were the first and remain the only use of nuclear weapons in wartime.

  • Numberberg Trials

    • No trial provides a better basis for understanding the nature and causes of evil than do the Nuremberg trials from 1945 to 1949.
    • Twenty-four major political and military leaders of Nazi Germany, indicted for aggressive war, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, were brought to trial before the International Military Tribunal.

  • Surrender of Japan

    • In the morning of 2 September 1945, more that two weeks after acceping the Allies terms, Japan formally surrendered.
    • The ceremonies, less than half an hour long, took place on board the battleship USS Missouri, anchored with other United States' and British ships in Tokyo Bay.

  • Dwight Eisenhower.

    • Commanded the US troops in WWII
    • He was looked upon as a hero.