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Rise of fascist dicators in Europe
It started when Benito Mussolini seized power in 1930. Then another dictator followed in Germany named Adolf Hitler. He seized power in 1934 and became allies with Benito. They were bothe extreme nationalists with a plan to make their country better, but they were willing to use a lot of violence to get what they want. -
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Japanese Agression in Asia
Japanese agressionstarted in 1931. The Japanese seized control of Manuchuria which was the real start of the agression. The reason for this was because the Japanese wanted to have a big empire like the western powers so they started to invade other countries. Japanese agression ended in 1937 when the Japanese invaded China. -
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Nazi Genocide
The mass murder of racial groups in Nazi Germany. This started when concentration camps were first introduced and ended after World War 2. Hitler killed approximatley 6 million jews. This was about 2/3 of the jews living in Germany at the time. The genocide was headed by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party and his reasoning behind killing all of these different races, and religions of people was to cleanse germany. -
Annexation of Austria
The Germans added Austria to Germany. Thir reasoning was that they wanted the territory that they lost after World War 1 back. This was one of the first territories added too Germany. This victory only made the Germans more confident and greedy leading them into a huge campaign that started World War 2. -
Munich Conference
The main powers of Europe annexed the parts of the country close to the borders near Germany where there were mainly German speakers. This paper was signed at a conference in munich, Germany and was seen as a failed act of appeasment towards Germany. This act only feuled the fire that was Germany making them even more confident and greedy that they can get more territory. -
Nazi-Soviet Pact
A pact between the Germans and Russians signed on August 23 1939. It was a non-agression pact promising not to fight. Also the pact said that territories in Europe that used to be under Russian and German control would be under both of their spheres of influence. the pact was also named after the russian foreign minister. -
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Battle of the Atlantic
Was the longest military campaign in World War 2. The battle was mainly between the Canadian, American, and Brittish, against the Geramans, and Italians. There was fights with warships, submarines and aircraft during the war. The end result was a victory for the Allies with the German blockade failing but at a great cost to the Allies. They lost 175 warships and 3500 merchant ships for 783 German U- Boats. -
Phony War
A period of non violence between Germany and The French and Brittish. Although both sides declared war no force made a move untill Germany was done dealing with Poland. Even thought the brittish and French had ttreaties with Poland to help them they didin't make any effort to assist them.While the French were sitting behind the Maginot line not making any move a smaller German force was making defenses across from them so that when the rest of the army got there they would be ready. -
Fall of France
The German invasion of France on May 10, 1940. The battle only lasted until June 14 and the French suffered a crushing defeat in their own country. The Germans were able to blow a whole in France and walk into an undefended capital. This demoralized the French and made the Germans even more confident that they could invade any country sucessfully. -
Miracle at Dunkirk
The evacuation of Brittish troops off the beaches of Dunkirk. The German forces at the Brittish trapped and then the Brittish troops had them all evacuated. This was a huge victory for the Brittish as 300,000 troops were returned safely home. This left the Germans frustrated as they thought they could have crushed the Brittish military right then and there. -
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Battle of Britain
This was a 3 month long bombing of Britian by the Germans. The main objective was to gain air superiority over Britain. They did this by bombing key areas such as their supply ships and airfields. Overall the battle was a win for Britain because the German objectives of getting them to surrender and destroying their air defenses failed and was a crucial turning point in the war. -
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Operation Barbarossa
The German invasion of the soviet Union begining on June 22 1941. At the begining of the campaign the Germans were winning all of the battles and pushing deep into Russia. Then at a key moment the Germans were pushed back and could never regain the offensive. Adolf Hitlers desire to conquer the Soviet Union lead him to try and continue key battle which cost him many casulties and a complete failure in Russia. -
Pearl Harbor
The date that the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor killing thousands and destroying many military ships. The Japanese wanted to expand their empire more but America was interfering with their plans so they thought by destroying the naval base in the pacific they could invade territories in the Pacific. This was the action that ultimatley brought America into the war. This also turned out to be devestating for Japan in the long run. -
Battle of Midway
The most important naval battle in the Pacific campaign. Just 6 months after pearl harbor the Americans were attacking a Japanese fleet and utterly destroyed them. The Americans inflicted unrepairable damage to the Japanese fleet. The Americans sunk four of the six aircraft carriers used in Pearl Harbor and the Japanese coulld never come back from their losses. -
Battle of El Alamein
There were two battle of El Alamein in World War 2 one In July 1942 and the other that stretched from October to November 1942. The battle took place in Egypt between Germany and Italy and the Allies, mostly Britain. After the first battle there remained a stalemate between the two. But after the second battle the Allies were able to back the Axis powers out of Egypt for good. -
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Battle of Stalingrad
A battle between the Germans and the Soviet Union that played a decisive role in the war. This was one of the most bloody battles in history with almost 2 million casulties. Even after controlling nearly the whole city at times the Germans were never able to claim control of Stalingrad, and with the casulties that they suffered it was one of the worst battles the Germans fought. Then the Soviets took control of the city and left the Germans inside for the winter causing them more casulties. -
Invasion of Italy
When allied forces invaded Italy on September 3, 1943. It was an invasion of ainland Italy directed at Sicily which proved very succeful for the Allies. After taking control of Sicily from the Axis powers Benito Mussolin was removed from power in Italy. After this battle The Allies had control over southern Italy and gained a foothold in Europe. -
D- Day
The Allied Assault on Normandy beach. This was a key assault in the war because by the end of August there were 3 million troops Allied troops in Europe. There were about 7,000 vessels 160,000 troops, and 12,000 planes used in the assault. The end result was a retreat for Germany and a victory for the Allies which was the begining of the end of World War 2. -
Battle of Okinawa
the largest amphibious assault in the pacific in the war. This battle was fought after a long campaign of island hopping and the Americans were planning to use Okinawa as a base of operations. After an assault that lasted into June the Americans gained control of Okinawa but suffering 65,000 cassulties. Just weeks after the battle Japan surrendered after the atomic bombings. -
Battle of Berlin
A battle between the Germans and Soviet forces. This battle led to the surrender of the German army at the hand of the Soviets. The Germans were badly equipped and had depleted forces and were being surrounded by the soviets eventually leading to their surrender. After surrendering the battle Adolf Hitler and A few othe german leaders commited suicide. -
Nazis Defeated
The Nazi's surrendered to the allies May 7 1945. This was caused by a lot of bad mistakes which eventually led to the loss of the Battle of Berlin. The Nazis made mistakes in invading Russia and abandoning Britain. Both of these errors led to the downfall of Germany, because they suffered millions of casulties in Russia and let the Briittish heal up from the battle of Britain. -
Use of Atomic Weapons
Americ dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to force Japan o surrender. It was the first time in history an atomic bomb was droppped and nothing like anyones ever seen before. The Americans told the Japanese before they dropped the bombs to surrender or else they would bomb them and the Japanese decide against surrendering. The effects of the bomb lasted for even years after because of all the radiation. -
Surrender of Japan
Japan surrendered to the United states on September 2 1945. After the combination of two atomic bombs being dropped and the soviets invading the Japanese ultimatley surrendered to the Allies demands. This marked the end of World War 2. Even thought the Japanese said they would fight to the bitter end they found that no one coud withstand an atomic bomb. -
United Nations
The United Nations was formed on October 24, 1945. It was formed to replace the league of nations and to stop wars between countries. Also it was built to have a floor so that all countries can talk together.. It was formed on the basis the league of nations was formed on but was backed by a lot of powerful countries.