Acts of Aggression:
Nation
Year
Act of Aggression
Japan
1931
Seize Manchuria
Italy
1935
Invaded Ethiopia
Germany
1936
“Demilitarized” the Rhineland
Germany
1937
Bombed Guernica, Spain
Japan
1937
Invaded China
Germany
1938
Annexed Austria
The Response
Act of Aggression
Responding Nations
Response and Outcome
Japan invades
Manchuria
League of Nation
Action condemned/ Japan withdrew
from League of Nations
Italy invades Ethiopia League of Nation
Supported Sanctions/ Could not
enforce them
Germany moves into
the Rhineland
“Western Democracies” Move denounced/ Nothing done to
push out
Germany Annexes
Austria
“Western Democracies” No action
Germany Demands the
Early Phases
Sept. 1, 1939: Germany invades Poland
Blitzkrieg: “lightening war”
Germany violates agreement made of the Munich
Conference
France and Britain come to Poland’s defense
“Phony War”: little fighting until April of 1940
April 1940: Germany attacks France
June 22, 1940: France surrendered/ Puppet
government installed
Africa and the Balkans:
Italy invaded Egypt (1940)
Axis powers controlled most of the Balkans by 1941
Battle of Britain:
Germany attacked Britain using bombers (Aug
1940) (got practice @ Guernica, Spain)
Britain was bombed on a daily basis
Lasted until June, 1941
W
W
II Expands
June 1941: Operation Barbarossa
Germany attacked Russia w/ a Blitzkrieg
Russia was unprepared/ German troops
moved quickly
Surrounded Leningrad for 2 years
German troops stalled because of the
harsh winter
Failed to conquer Russia
Sept 1941: US began “undeclared naval
war” with Germany
Lend-Lease Act: US was sending supplies
to allies
German U-boats began to attack/ US ships
could retaliate
Dec 7, 1941: Pearl Harbor
Japan attacked the U.S.
Angry about trade embargos
US declared war on Japan
NAZI EUROPE
ALLIES GO ON THE
OFFENSIVE
Germany and the Axis powers
controlled most of Europe by 1942
including the Balkans, Eastern
Europe and N. Africa
Spain was controlled by Francisco
Franco who was pro-fascist
France had a puppet government
controlled by Germany
Holocaust:
Hitler blamed the Jews for Germany’s
problems
Targeted Jew, Slavs, the mental ill
and others
Genocide: deliberate murder of a
large group of people
7-9 million people lost their lives
Total War: allies devoted all major resources Agreed to finish the war in Europe 1st
US fought in both Europe and the Pacific
North Africa:
Attacked Axis forces in 1942 and 1943
Allies gained control in May 1943 Battle of Stalingrad
Germany attacked in late 1942
German troops could not take the city
Surrendered in early 1943
Early 1944, Russian troops advancing toward East
Europe
July 1943: Invasion of Italy
Allied forces attacked from the South
Mussolini was overthrown/ Italy signed an armistice
D-Day: June 6, 1944
Allies invade France’s northern coast (Normandy)
Wanted to open up a second front
Broke through German lines/ Advanced toward Paris
War in the Pacific
Axis Powers Surrender
US battle Japan for control in the
Pacific
June 1942: Battle of Midway
US captured the Island
Turning point/ United States
went on the offensive
Island Hopping: jump from island
to island to reach Japan
Oct 1944: US gained the
Philippines
Dec 1944: Battle of the Bulge
Allies pushed towards Germany
Germany counterattacked/ only
delayed the Allies
March 1945:
Allies had crossed the Rhine
Russian troops were nearing Berlin
May 7, 1945: Germany surrendered
By mid 1945, the US had defeated
most of the Japanese navy and air
force
Japan refused to surrender/ US had
two options:
Invade Japan
Use the Atomic bomb
Aug 6 and Aug 9, 1945: Atomic
bombs dropped
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Over 120,000 people killed instantly
Aug 10: Japan surrendered
Fallout in Europe
Close to 40 million Europeans died during
the war
Many major cities (London, Warsaw,
Berlin) were in ruins
Factories, farmland, businesses, housing,
transportation systems were all
destroyed and/or crippled
Germany:
Divided into zones of occupation (Britain,
France, US, and Russia
Britain, France, and US consolidate/
Extends Democracy
Russia installs a communist regime
Germany is divided into East
(Communist) and West (Democratic)
1948: Stalin forms a blockade around
Berlin/ Berlin airlift
The Iron Curtain:
Eastern Europe was weakened by WWII
Russia extends a “helping hand”
START OF THE COLD
WAR
AROUND THE GLOBE
Russia and the United States emerge from WWII as the clear “superpowers”
Marshall Plan:
President Truman wanted to stop the spread of Communism (“Containment”)
Offered aid to European nations to rebuild
Expanded into the “Truman Doctrine”
NATO:
US, Canada, Britain, France, and 7 other European nations
Agreed to defend each other from attack (From whom? The world may never know?)
Warsaw Pact:
Russia and the “Soviet Block” nations
Agreed to defend each other (i.e.: Russia was protecting its interest in Eastern Europe) Atomic Arsenals (An arms race):
US used bomb in Japan/ USSR tested A-bomb in 1949
US developed H-bomb in 1952/ USSR the next year
European Colonies:
Increased push for self-rule and/or independence
India, Africa, and Southeast Asia all experience an increase in nationalism
Western nations receive increased pressure China:
Communist party comes to power in 1949 (Mao Zedong)
China forms a close relationship with Russia
US becomes nervous
US Occupation of Japan: 1945 - 1952
Japan was demilitarized
A new constitution was written/ two house Diet established
US rebuilt infrastructure, industry, housing, etc…
