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Mussolini Becomes Prime Minister of Italy
Mussolini gains power of Prime Minister in 1922, and although his followers were unarmed, they were able to congregate in Rome and eventually forced the government from power and Mussolini gained his title. -
Stalin Comes to Power
Stalin came into power in 1929 after he outmaneuvered his rivals, and also after the death of the previous leader of the Communist Party. -
Hitler Becomes Chancellor of Germany
Although denied the title of Chancellor, at first, Hitler eventually gained the title because of his followers. The entirety of Germany, was trying to get him the title. -
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Holocaust
The worst part of the war. Hitler orders his men to build concentration camps to put Jews into. Ultimately they were used to kill them. It was a system they used to kill about 6 million Jews. -
Non-Aggression Pact
This pact between Germany and the Soviet Union was concluded a few day before WWII began. This pact was only created so that Germany could expand and invade Poland, and so that Germany does not have to face France and Britain without simultaneously having to fight the Soviet Union. -
Invasion of Poland and The Start of WWII
After making the pact with the Soviet Union Hitler was able to invade Poland without the pressure of facing a two front war. Hitler sent 1.5 million troops. Along with Luftwaffe, German warships and U-boats. -
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Battle of the Atlantic
The longest continuous battle running from the beginning of the war until Germany surrendered in 1945. It was a naval blockade by the Allies to block Germany from moving. The UK was highly dependent on the goods coming in, so they had to protect it from reaching German hands and aiding them. The outcome of the battle was a strategic victory for the Allies, the German blockade had failed, but at great cost: 3,500 merchant ships and 175 warships were sunk for the loss of 783 U-boats. -
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Phony War "Sitzkreig"
The Phony War was an eight-month period at the start of World War II, during which there were no major military land operations on the Western Front. It began with the declaration of war by the western Allies against Nazi Germany on September 3, 1939, following the German invasion of Poland, and ended with the German attack on France. -
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Battle of Britain
was a combat of the Second World War, when the Royal Air Force defended the United Kingdom against the German Air Force attacks from the end of June 1940. It is described as the first major campaign fought entirely by air forces. The British officially recognise its duration as from July 10 until October 31, 1940, which overlaps with the period of large-scale night attacks known as the Blitz -
Lend-Lease Act Passed in the US
This act was placed so that the US can provide military aid to foreign countries during World War II. Having this act placed allowed the transfer of supplies to Britain, China, the Soviet Union, and other countries without compensation. It also permitted the United States to support its war interests without being overextended in battle. -
Hitler Invades the Soviet Union
Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union was launched on June 22, 1941. The operation was driven by an ideological desire to conquer the Western Soviet Union so that it could be repopulated by Germans, to use Slavs as a slave labor force for the Axis war-effort, to seize the oil resources in the Caucasus and to seize the grain supply in Ukraine. -
Pearl Harbor Attack
The attack on Pearly Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Territory, on the morning of December 7, 1941. The attack led to the United States' entry into World War II. -
America Declares War and Enters WWII
The United States Congress declared war on the Empire of Japan in response to that country's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor the prior day. It was formulated an hour after the Infamy Speech of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt. -
War Production Board Created
The War Production Board, WPB, was an agency of the United States government that supervised war production during World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt established it on January 16, 1942, with Executive Order 9024. The WPB replaced the Supply Priorities and Allocation Board and the Office of Production Management. -
Executive Order 9066
Executive Order 9066 was a United States presidential executive order signed and issued during World War II by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942. This order authorized the Secretary of War to prescribe certain areas as military zones, clearing the way for the internment of Japanese Americans, German Americans, and Italian-Americans to concentration camps in the United States. -
Battle of Coral Sea
Between Japan and the US and Australia in the Pacific. Japan wanted to strengthen their defense in the South Pacific. Japan had taken their defenses to push forward and the US had become aware of this. The US, with help from Australia, tried to defend the attack but lost many ships in the process, leaving this a tactical victory for Japan. -
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Battle of Midway
The Japanese operation sought to eliminate the United States as a strategic power in the Pacific, similar to Pearl Harbor. Japan hoped that the US would surrender the Pacific, aiding in Japan in its dominance. Their plan however failed because of faulty assumptions, which allowed the US to plain its own ambush. -
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Battle of Stalingrad
Major battle on the Western Front. Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad. it is often regarded as one of the single largest and bloodiest battles in the history of warfare. German attack was supported by intensive Luftwaffe bombing that reduced much of the city to rubble. The fighting ended up into house-to-house fighting, and both sides poured reinforcements into the city. The Axis forces were overrun and Hitler ordered his men to stay. -
Operation Torch
The Soviet Union had pressed the US and UK to start operations in Europe and open a second front to reduce the pressure of German forces on the Soviet troops. An attack on French North Africa was proposed instead, which would clear the Axis powers from North Africa, improve naval control of the Mediterranean Sea, and prepare for an invasion of Southern Europe in 1943. FDR suspected the African operation would rule out an invasion of Europe in 1943 and agreed to support Churchill. -
Office of War Mobilization Created
The Office of War Mobilization, OWM, was an independent agency of the United States government formed during World War II to coordinate all government agencies involved in the war effort. -
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Invasion of Italy/Sicily
The US and UK looked ahead to the invasion of occupied Europe and the final defeat of Nazi Germany. After 38 days of fighting, the U.S. and Great Britain successfully drove German and Italian troops from Sicily and prepared to assault the Italian mainland. -
D-Day
Largest seaborne invasion of the history, it aided in the Allies victory of the Western Front. In the months leading up to the invasion, the Allies conducted a military plan to mislead the Germans as to the date and location of the main Allied landings. The Allies failed to capture all 5 points of the beach they set up on the first day, but the win allowed them to move forward and gain control -
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Battle of Iwo Jima
The US had the intent of taking complete control of the island. The island was completely useless in terms of using it to aid the fight in the war for most of the army, but Navy Seabees needed the land to build runways for the B-29 planes to emergency land. -
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Battle of Okinawa
The US planned to use Okinawa as a base for air operations for their planned invasion of the Japanese homeland. During the 82 day-long fight, the Japanese used the "kamikaze" strategy. With the continued strategy, the battle is remembered as the typhoon of steel because of all the continuous kamikaze attacks. -
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Battle of Berlin
The Red Army had temporarily halted on a line 60 km east of Berlin. Germany established its defense plan for the city with Operation Clausewitz. Soviet offensive resumed on April 16, two Soviet fronts attacked Berlin from the east and south, while a third German force positioned north of Berlin. Before the main battle in Berlin commenced, the Red Army encircled the city after successful battles of the Seelow Heights and Halbe. -
Hitler Kills himself
burrowed away in an air raid shelter, he consumes a cyanide capsule then shoots himself. He was there with his wife who had only married 2 days prior. He was warned that Russians were only a day away from over-taking his bunker. He was urged to retreat to Berchtesgarden but ultimately picked death. -
V-E Day
Marked the end of WWII in Europe, May 8 1945. German Military Leaders signed the surrender document all over Europe May 7, and it goes in effect the next day. -
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Dropping of the Atomic Bomb
The atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. It is the only use of an atomic bomb in the history of war. The bomb was dropped during the final stages of WWII. "expect a rain of ruin from the air, the like of which has never been seen on this earth." - Harry S. Truman -
End of World War II
The official end of WWII was on September 2 1945, almost 6 years exactly from when it started. The war still kept going on after Germany surrendered. It was left to the US and Japan. Although the war ended after the US bombed Japan and they surrendered, the official surrender wasn't until September when Japan signs their surrender.
