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United Nations
This was the organization of nations from all over the world that helped keep peace. All of the nation's representatices had a vote in the "General Assembly". In the group within the United Nations, was the Security Council; it was made up of five nations. The nations were the United States, Britain, China, the Soviet Union, and France. If these nations did not like a decision made by the rest of the United Nations, then they could stop them from deciding that decision. -
Rise of Fascist Dictators in Europe
First, Benito Mussolini rejected his original political party for extreme Nationalism. He got rid of the leaders in Italy and took away other types of government; he was soon the dictator of Italy. Adolf Hitler fought in World War 1 and later joined a group of extremists before becoming dictator of Germany. He organized the group called Nazis to enforce his government. Mussolini also had an organized group called the Black shirts who did the same things as the Nazis. -
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Annexation of Austria
This was when Hitler added Austria onto Germany so he could spread propaganda even further. He made his Nazis take over important government postitions in Austria. Hitler assured that he was the new leader of Austria by making a speech from Hofburg Palace, where the respected emperors lived. No one tried to stop him, so it was an easy victory for him, here. -
Munich Conference
In September 1938, when France and Britain allowed appeasement again. Hitler wanted these countries to get the people from Czechoslovakia to surrender to Sudetenland. By appeasing to him, the French and British gave him exactly that, thinking that it would satisfy him. Hitler told them that they did not have to do anything else for him because he did not plan to expand anymore. -
Japanese Aggression in Asia
The Japanese wanted to take over China and they were trying hard to do just that. In 1939 when World War 2 started in Europe, the Japanese started invading territories and used the start of the war as a distraction. The territories they invaded included the areas of Indochina and the East Indies. They took the things they needed from the countries they conquered and used them against China. -
Nazi-Soviet Pact
This was a pact that Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin made between them. They agreed to be peaceful towards each other, not to start fighting if the other person got into war, and that they would divide different areas in Eastern Europe. Both leaders need something that the pact would help them get. They did it to help themselves out with things in the war. -
Battle of the Atlantic
The Germans and Italians went across the Atlantic Ocean to transport supplies for the military. They had to push through convoys in order to get to the Soviet Union and Great Britain. U-boats attacked the convoys and sank 875 of those ships. For a time, Britain began to win this battle; they made a deal with Americans that helped them. Later, Germany bounced back and constantly sent submarines to attack, which sank more ships. And in the end, Britain won by using aircraft. -
Phony War
This was when France created the Maginot line which was a wall meant to prevent invasion. British troops traveled there, so they could wait them out. Hitler forced the war to start when he started the blitzkrieg on Denmark and Norway. He then did the same to Belgium. -
Miracle at Dunkirk
This was when France was being invaded by German forces. The British became trapped in between the group of Nazis and a body of water. The British ended up sending all the forces they could to save people who were stranded at Dunkirk and Ostend. Through plenty of dangerous attacks, people saved over 300,000 troops and that's why it is called a miracle. -
Battle of Britain
This was when Germany invaded Britain and bombed them every day. This first began on August 12, 1940. Eventually, the German forces zeroed in on London and bombed that city continuously for 57 nights, causing major destruction and about 15,000 casualties. Through this hardship, London stayed strong and they all supported each other. Hitler's plan did not work, so he took his focus off of London and onto a new victim. -
Fall of France
France was attacked by Italy and targetted in another way by Germany. They surrendered after being taken over and losing all hope. Hitler got his revenge on June 22, 1940 for Germany being defeated many years ago. He made the French sign surrender papers in the same place that Germany ended World War 1 by signing the armistice. A group of French leaders got away and went to England to try and avenge France, including Northern France, which Germany began occupying. -
Nazi Genocide
This was when leaders in Germany decided that they were going to murder the specific religious group of Jews. Jews were sent to death camps so they could be killed as a group. They were gassed, overworked, and tested in medical experiments, which killed about 6,000,000 of them, not to mention the undesirables. Undesirables were people who Hitler looked at as a burden, like mentally ill people. Some Jews' friends and family hid them, some countries managing to save most Jews in their population. -
Operation Barbarossa
This organization was led by Hitler, where Germans invaded the Soviet Union so they could get rid of European communism and also Joseph Stalin. The Russians destroyed their civilization so Germany could not get a hold on any of it. Many of the German soldiers died in the cold, harsh winter. Germany did manage to kill over 1,000,000 Russians because they were starving. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
On December 7, 1941, Japanese General Tojo attacked the American military base in Pearl Harbor. Over 2,400 people were killed that day. Also, the Japanese inflicted great amounts of damage on American planes and ships. The president at the time, President Roosevelt, then asked to declare war on Japan because of what they had done. -
Battle of Midway
America reversed the course of the war for Japan. American forces, such as ships and airplanes, inflicted damage on groups of Japanese ships. The power of the Japanese Navy was greatly weakened. Japan was then prevented from advancing in the Pacific. -
Battle of El Alamein
This was when people from Britain prevented Rommel from advancing. This took place in Egypt and the British were led by the General Bernard Montgomery. They pushed Axis forces into Tunisia. The American general named Dwight Eisenhower came upon Tunisia and joined up with Britain. They ended up capturing Rommel's army after they surrendered. -
Battle of Stalingrad
When Hitler was attempting to take over Joseph Stalin's city. German forces surrounded the area of Stalingrad, and the Russians would not go down easily. There was a big fight with about 300,000 Germans affected in one way or another. The Germans eventually surrendered when they realized that they had no chance, given the tough circumstances. -
Invasion of Italy
The Americans and the British joined up and defeated Italy. The Italians overthrew Mussolini, which caused Hitler to send in forces so he could save him. The Allies were trying very hard to weaken the German forces. They ended up being successful because Hitler then had to fight in yet another area. -
D-Day
On June 6, 1944, France was invaded. Many troops came on ferries and fought to get ashore. The troops went for Paris by breaking past the German forces, while more troops came in from Italy. The resistance of the French forced the Germans to go back, and later, France was liberated. -
Battle of Okinawa
America invaded Japan in order to get them to surrender. Okinawa was where the U.S. chose to be based, so they could build up their supplies and military forces. The Japanese forces stayed in the mountains and fired at the Americans when they advanced. A lot of Americans died, but in the end, Okinawa was theirs. -
Battle of Berlin
This battle started on April 16 and ended on May 2, 1945. It was the last battle to take place on the European front during World War 2. In this battle, the Soviet army surrounded the city of Berlin, where Hitler happened to have created his underground bunker. Germany was finally defeated when the Soviet army conquered the city. -
Nazis Defeated
Belgium and Germany fought each other in the Battle of the Bulge. Hitler's success was coming to an end, along with his support from Germany. The country was being devastatingly bombed and great amounts of people were dieing. Mussolini was killed by the Italians soon, while Hitler killed himself. Germany surrendered, and on May 8, 1945, all war in Europe was over. -
Use of Atomic Weapons
America dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, killing at least 70,000 people. Japan refused to respond to America after the bomb was dropped. America then dropped another atomic bomb, but on Nagasaki. At least 40,000 people died there. -
Surrender of Japan
Japan had their city of Hiroshima bombed by America. Later, they were invaded by the Soviet Union who also declared war on them. When there was no response from the Japanese leaders, another American bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. The Emperor Hirohito made Japan surrender due to all of the damage.
