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Benito Mussolini's fascist government in Italy
Benito Mussolini was establishing a totalitarian regime in
Italy, where unemployment and inflation produced bitter strikes, some communist-led. Fascism stressed nationalism and
placed the interests of the state above those of individuals. -
Mein Kampf
In his book Mein Kampf [My Struggle], Hitler set forth the basic beliefs of Nazism that became the plan of action for the Nazi Party. -
Japanese invasion of Manchuria
Japanese troops controlled the entire province, a large region about twice the size of Texas, that was rich in natural resources. The watchful League of Nations had been established after World War I to prevent just such aggressive acts. In this greatest test of the League’s power, representatives were sent to Manchuria to investigate the situation. Their report condemned Japan, who in turn simply quit the League. -
Adolf Hitler's rise to power in Germany
Nazism, the German brand of fascism, was based on extreme nationalism. Hitler was appointed chancellor (prime minister). Once in power, Hitler quickly dismantled Germany’s democratic Weimar Republic. In its place he established the Third Reich, or Third German Empire. -
Storm troopers
Many men who were out of work joined Hitler’s private army, the storm troopers (or Brown Shirts). -
Third Reich
Once in power, Hitler quickly dismantled Germany’s democratic Weimar Republic. In its place he established the Third Reich, or Third German Empire. According to Hitler, the Third Reich would be a “Thousand-Year Reich”—it would last for a thousand years. -
Hitler's military build-up in Germany
In 1933, Hitler pulled Germany out of the League. In 1935, he began a military buildup in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. A year later, he sent troops into the Rhineland, a German region bordering France and Belgium that was demilitarized as a result of the Treaty of Versailles. -
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. -
Hilter invades the Rhineland
The League did nothing to stop Hitler. he sent troops into
the Rhineland, a German region bordering France and Belgium that was demilitarized as a result of the Treaty of Versailles. -
Mussolini's invasion of Ethiopia
When the invasion began, however, the League’s
response was an ineffective economic boycott—little more
than a slap on Italy’s wrist. By May 1936, Ethiopia had fallen. -
Francisco Franco
In 1936, a group of Spanish army officers led by General Francisco Franco, rebelled against the Spanish republic. After a loss of almost 500,000 lives, Franco’s victory in 1939 established him as Spain’s fascist dictator. -
Hitler's Anschluss
The majority of Austria’s 6 million people were Germans who favored unification with Germany. On March 12, 1938, German troops marched into Austria unopposed. A day later, Germany announced that its Anschluss, or “union,” with Austria was complete. -
Munich Agreement
the führer 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. On September 30, 1938, they signed the Munich Agreement, which turned the Sudetenland over to Germany without a single shot being fired. -
Joseph Stalin's totalitarian government in the Soviet Union
By 1939, Stalin had firmly established a totalitarian government that tried to exert complete control over its citizens. In a totalitarian state, individuals have no rights, and the government suppresses all opposition. -
Phony war
The blitzkrieg had given way to what the Germans called the sitzkrieg (“sitting war”), and what some newspapers referred to as the phony war -
Nonaggression pact
Stalin surprised everyone by signing a nonaggression pact with Hitler. Once bitter enemies, on August 23, 1939 fascist Germany and communist Russia now committed never to attack each other. Germany and the Soviet Union also signed a second, secret pact, agreeing to divide Poland between them. -
Blitzkrieg
This invasion was the first test of Germany’s newest military strategy, the blitzkrieg, or lightning war. Blitzkrieg made use 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. On September 3, two days following the terror in Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany -
Britain and France declare war on Germany
On September 3, two days following the terror
in Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany -
Hitler's invasion of Denmark and Norway
On April 9, 1940, Hitler launched a surprise invasion
of Denmark and Norway in order “to protect [those countries’] freedom and independence.” But in truth, Hitler planned to build bases along the coasts to strike at Great Britain. -
Hitler's invasion of Netherland
Next, Hitler turned against the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, which were overrun by the end of May. The phony
war had ended. -
Germany and Italy's invasion of the France
Compiègne, as William Shirer and the rest of the
world watched, Hitler handed French officers his terms of
surrender. Germans would occupy the northern part of
France, and a Nazi-controlled puppet government, headed
by Marshal Philippe Pétain, would be set up at Vichy,
in southern France. After France fell, a French general named Charles de Gaulle fled to England, where he set up a government-in-exile. -
Marshal Philippe Petain
Nazi-controlled puppet government, headed
by Marshal Philippe Pétain, would be set up at Vichy,
in southern France -
The Battle of Britain
Germans began to assemble an invasion fleet along the
French coast. Its goal was to gain total control of the
skies by destroying Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF). The Battle of Britain raged on through the summer and
fall. Night after night, German planes pounded British targets.
At first the Luftwaffe concentrated on airfields and aircraft.
Next it targeted cities. -
Battle of Stalingrad
Hitler hoped to capture Soviet oil fields in the Caucasus Mountains. He also wanted to wipe out Stalingrad, a major industrial center on the Volga River. In defending Stalingrad, the Soviets lost a total of 1,100,000 soldiers—more
than all American deaths during the entire war. Despite the staggering death toll, the Soviet victory marked a turning point in the war. From that point on, the Soviet army began to move westward toward Germany. -
Pearl Harbor attack
Japanese had killed 2,403 Americans and wounded 1,178 more. The surprise raid had sunk or damaged 21 ships, including 8 battleships—nearly the whole U.S. Pacific fleet. Congress quickly approved Roosevelt’s request for a declaration of war against Japan. Three days
later, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States. -
Battle of the Atlantic
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hitler ordered submarine raids against ships along America’s east coast. The German
aim in the Battle of the Atlantic was to prevent food and war materials from reaching Great Britain and the Soviet Union. The Allies responded by organizing their cargo ships into convoys. Convoys were groups of ships traveling together for mutual protection, as they had done
in the First World War. -
Operation Torch
While the Battle of Stalingrad raged, Stalin pressured
Britain and America to open a “second front” in Western Europe. Operation Torch, an invasion of Axis-controlled North Africa, commanded by American General Dwight D. Eisenhower -
U.S. convoy system
The convoys were escorted across the Atlantic by destroyers
equipped with sonar for detecting submarines underwater. They were also accompanied by airplanes that used radar to spot U-boats on the ocean’s surface. With this improved tracking, the Allies were able to find and destroy German Uboats faster than the Germans could build them. -
Unconditional surrender
Even before the battle in North Africa was won,
Roosevelt, Churchill, and their commanders met in Casablanca. At this meeting, the two leaders agreed to accept only the unconditional surrender of the Axis powers. That is, enemy nations would have to accept whatever terms of peace the Allies dictated. The two leaders also discussed where to strike next. The Americans argued that the best approach to victory was to assemble a massive invasion fleet in Britain. -
Bloody Anzio
Lasted four months—until the end of May 1944—and left about 25,000 Allied and 30,000 Axis casualties. During the year after Anzio, German armies continued to put up strong resistance. The effort to free Italy did not succeed until 1945, when Germany itself was close to collapse. -
D-Day
Under Eisenhower’s direction in England, the Allies gathered a force of nearly 3 million British, American, and Canadian troops, together with mountains of military equipment and supplies. Eisenhower planned to attack Normandy in northern France. -
The Battle of the Bulge
Tanks drove 60 miles into Allied territory, creating a bulge in the lines that gave this desperate lastditch
offensive its name, the Battle of the Bulge. As the
Germans swept westward, they captured 120 American
GIs near Malmédy. Elite German troops—the SS troopers—herded the prisoners into a large field and mowed
them down with machine guns and pistols. -
Harry S. Truman
President Roosevelt did not live to see V-E Day. On
April 12, 1945, while posing for a portrait in Warm Springs, Georgia, the president had a stroke and died. That night, Vice President Harry S. Truman became the nation’s 33rd president. -
Death of Hitler
In his underground headquartersin Berlin, Hitler prepared
for the end. The next day Hitler shot himself while his new wife swallowed poison. In accordance with Hitler’s orders, the two bodies were carried outside, soaked with gasoline, and burned. -
V-E Day
A week later, General Eisenhower accepted the unconditional surrender of the Third Reich. On May 8, 1945, the Allies celebrated V-E Day—Victory in Europe Day. The war in Europe was finally over.
