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The Great Purge
Soviet Leader Stalin decides to purge the communist party and government officials. The purge lasts from 1936 -1938 and had one million or more killed, through camps or executions. It crushed and rid of the Red Army leadership, they had heavy police surveillance, mass imprisonments, and killed many without trial. It is often compared to the French Revolution, The Reign of Terror. -
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Road to WW2
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Austria Falls
Hitler believes that for Germany to flourish, it needed more land under control. He planned to take over Austria, and when he did, they did not resist. Austrians had favored siding with them. -
Sudetenland Takeover
The he wanted to control Czechoslovakia, for its land, but also for its natural resources. He sent forces on the border of that land, and soon after held a meeting with the Prime Minister of Britain and French Premier. Hitler had said it would be the last territorial demand, and they chose to believe him. Sudetenland was handed over without any conflict. -
Czechoslovakia Falls
Hitler, after gaining Sudetenland, not soon after sent soldiers to Czechoslovakia and took it over completely. This marked the beginning of German Offensive, World War II -
Non-Aggression Pact
He now planned on taking Poland over, however, it would likely cause Britain and France to declare war due to their promise of protecting them. It would also cause conflict with Soviet Russia, Poland bordering them. So when Soviet Russia and Germany signed a non-aggression pact, It reduced much risk in a war on two fronts. The two also signed an secret pact to split Poland's land for the both of them. Hitler then would invade Poland. -
Poland Falls
On September 1st, Hitler attacked. German air force rained bombs over military bases, airfields, railroads, and cities. While that happened, tanks road across into Poland, causing destruction and confusion. This became their new battle strategy, blitzkrieg; taking the enemy by surprise and quickly crushing all opposition. Two days after the attack Britain and France declared war. In 3 weeks fighting was over, before Britain and France could do anything. Russia attacked and took land as planned. -
Hitler Assassination Attempt
On this day, Hitler was celebrating his 1923 coup, his first big gain in power. He was commemorating and addressing those who were faithful to him and his party from the start. 12 minutes after, a bomb exploded, killing seven, and wounding 63. The party knew it was a Anti-Nazi group, so they set up a elaborate plan, captured two British intelligence officers, getting info on the assassination. They found out it was a German carpenter, who made the bomb. The 3 were sent to concentration camps. -
Phony War
Months after taking Poland, France and Britain send soldiers to the borders of France to fight, but nothing ever happened. In the meantime, Hitler invaded Norway, Denmark, and fought against The Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. Stalin also fought Finland until they surrendered. Hitler would use Norway and Denmark to fight against Britain, building bases along the coast. -
France Falls
While war generals sat at the borders of France, German generals sent tanks along a route believed to be impassable northeast of France. They avoided both British and French forces, later trapping them on the beaches of Dunkirk. Those on the beaches fled on a makeshift fleet, sending 330,000 across to safety. Italy then entered the war and invaded France from the south, pushing towards Paris. France surrendered, and Germans occupied the north, and a Nazi puppet controlled government in the south -
Britain Fights
In the summer of 1940, Germans assembled an invasion fleet to invade Britain. They knew however, that they wouldn't win that fight, so they did war by air as well. They bombing runs over Britain to destroy their air force. Hitler sent 2,000 planes, and bombed London everyday for two months straight. Germans after destroying main targets, bombed cities. British air force however, did a great job in defending. Hitler called the attacks off six weeks after Sept 15, 1940.
