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Armistice
The Armistice was an agreement made by the opposing sides in WWI to bring an end to the fighting. Troops however, didn't find out out the war had come to an end until two days later. -
Treaty of Versailles
World War 1 officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. With little to no participation from Germany, negotiations occurred mainly between America, Britain and France. The final treaty left Germany responsible for the damage of WW1, forcing them to pay for repairs, restricting their military capabilities as well as taking away land. -
The Nazi Party was Created
Was originally created as the German's Workers Party, supporting German pride and anti-Semitism. It grew into a mass movement and ruled Germany through totalitarian means from 1933 to 1945. -
League of Nations
After the first World War, the League of Nations was an international organisation created to provide a forum for solving international disputes. Germany wasn't initially invited to the League of Nations but was only added several years later. -
Hitler becomes leader of the Nazi's
After the Nazi party was reestablished, Hitler announces himself as the leader. Gains people's approval as he campaigns so make Germany great again, to have power again. -
France and Belgium occupied the Ruhr River
France and Belgium invaded the Ruhr, an industrial area full of factories and coal mines in German bordering their own countries. France and Belgium intended to use these resources to make up for the unpaid reparations. When German workers went on strike, the French brought in their own workers and arrested the leaders of the German strikers and the police, therefore leading to violence on both sides. -
Germany signs the Treaty of Versailles
Germany had little participation when it came to the negotiating of the Treaty of Versailles. This resulted with heavy penalties placed on them and although the German government signed the treaty, it wasn't without protest. -
Germany accepted into League of Nations
The decision to accept Germany into the League of Nations was considered a politically important move that recognised Germany's power and the Leagues weakness. This was attempt to get Germany to understand that they were all on the same side. -
Beginning of the Great Depression
The great depression was the longest and deepest economic downturn in the history of the Western industrialized world. The height of the depression was 1933, seeing a 25% unemployed and a 42% decrease in workers wages. -
Weimar Government of Germany Falls
After WWI, Germany adopted a democratic form of government with a constitution and free elections. The Weimar party was a democratic government but only lasted 14 years before Hitler and the Nazi's were elected into power of Germany. -
Hitler becomes the Leader of Germany
After becoming leader of the Nazi party, Hitler is announced chancellor of Germany. Hitler, a charismatic speaker, channeled popular public discontent with the Weimar government into support for his fledgling Nazi party. The party went onto win the votes, taking the power from the Weimar Republic. -
Germany Invades and Annexes Austria
During the encounter with Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, Austrian Chancellor Kurt von Schuschnigg was bullied into naming several top Austrian Nazis to his cabinet. Although Schuschnigg relented, he finally gave in to pressure from Hitler, resigning and pleading of German forces to not resist the Germans. When Hitler accompanied German troops into Austria, they where met by enthusiastic crowds. -
Hitler and Mussolini form the Axis Powers
Initially, Hitler and Mussolini signed a friendship treaty that formed the Italian-German Axis. Germany and Japan also signed an Anti-Comintern Pact, which was against communism. These three countries later on all signed the Tripartite Pact, creating the Axis Powers. -
Germany invades Poland
Germany claimed that the massive invasion on Poland was a defensive action. Britain and France however were not convinced and ended up declaring war on Germany. -
Italy declares war on France and Britain
As Mussolini only wanted to be on the victorious side, German's occupation of Paris seemed to the trick. Italy decided to join in and declared war on France and Britain. -
Pearl Harbour Attack
The Pearl Harbour attack was basically the first move on America between the Germany-Japan alliance. The bombing servely damaged the USA’s naval vessels and resulted in over 3,000 casualties.This resulted in the a war declaration against Japan. -
US declares war on Japan
A day after the Pearl Harbour bombing, America declared war on Japan. This ultimately led to the declaration of war on the US from Germany, Japan's Axis Power ally. -
The Fall on Singapore
The fall of Singapore consisted of Japanese military forces taking over the British military based in Singapore. The fight last 8 days, ending with Japan victorious. This brought fear upon Australians as the Japanese were one step closer to an invasion. -
German Sixth Army surrenders at Stalingrad
Despite Hitler demanding that "Surrender is out of the question", Germany surrenders at Stalingrad. Despite several attempts, the sixth army could not break through the Soviet 62nd Army defence force. After launching a counteroffensive that ended with the Soviets encircling the enemy, surrender was Germany's only hope for survival. -
D-Day Allies in Normandy
The D-day invasion was one of the largest amphibious military assaults in history and required extensive planning. The war lasted several months, resulting in all of northern France being liberated, followed by the defeat of the Germans by the Allies. -
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was the largest German offensive in WWII. It was Hitler's attempt to split the Allied armies in the northwest Europe by a surprise "blitzkrieg". -
Germany surrenders to the Allies
Germany unconditionally surrendered to the allies on May 7th, bringing an end to the European conflict in WWII. Although they tried negotiating to surrendering the forces fighting the western allies but was demanded complete surrender. If this demand wasn't met, General Dwight Eisenhower was prepared to seal off the Western front, preventing Germans from fleeing to the West in order to surrender, therefore leaving them in the hands of the enveloping Soviet forces -
Attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
USA dropped atomic bombs on two major Japanese cities. Hiroshima was first bombed on August 6th, 1945, wiping out 90% of the city. Nagasaki was then bombed 3 days later, resulting in a unconditional surrender on behalf on Japan. -
Japan Surrenders
After the Japanese military and navel was destroyed and the bombing of major cities left the country and it's economy devastated. This resulted in Japan surrendering, therefore signifying the end of WW2.