1939-1945
Fascism is a nationalistic political philosophy which is anti-democratic, anticommunist, and anti-liberal. It puts the importance of the nation above the rights of the individual. The word Fascism comes from a Latin word meaning bundle of sticks. These Fasces were used in ancient Rome to beat Senators who did not vote the way the emperor wanted.
Fascist dictators began to take over in parts of Europe in the 1920 s and 1930 s due to bad economic conditions created by WWI and the Great Depression.
Benito Mussolini became the Prime Minister of Italy in 1922. He used this position to outlaw all non-fascist political parties and soon became and dictator.
Adolph Hitler became the Chancellor of Germany in January, 1933. Through a variety of manipulative actions, Hitler soon dismantled the German government and became a dictator.
1936: German troops moved into the Rhineland. This was prohibited by the Treaty of Versailles. 1936: Hitler and Mussolini signed an alliance, creating the Axis.
1936-39: Spanish Civil War: Fascist forces aided by Italy and Germany take over Spain. (WWII dress rehearsal).
March 1938: Germany annexed Austria. Sept. 1938: Munich conference: Hitler forced the British and French to give him the Sudetenland in return for a promise not to invade the rest of Czechoslovakia. March, 1939: Hitler took over Czechoslovakia.
March 31, 1939: Britain and France agreed to protect Poland in case of a German invasion. August, 1939: Nazi-Soviet Non- Aggression Pact Sept. 1, 1939: Hitler invaded Poland, starting WWII. Sept, 3, 1939: Britain and France declared war on Germany and Germany and Italy declared war on them.
Japan wanted to expand to meet the land needs of a growing population and to obtain more raw materials and markets for its industries. 1931: Japan seized Manchuria 1937-40: Japan seized most of E. China Sept. 1940: Japan joins the tripartite pact, becoming an ally of Italy and Germany.
America initially stayed out of the war, but began a naval build up in the Pacific to counter the expansion of Japan. 1939: FDR moved the Pacific fleet from San Diego to Pearl Harbor. Disillusionment from WWI and the Great Depression contributed to the popularity of isolationism in America.
Neutrality Acts of the mid to late 1930 s made it impossible for the US to give loans to nations at war or to allow any combatant to buy on credit. FDR had to find other ways to help out the British and the French in their fight against Fascism. March 1941: Lend-lease began.
August 1941: FDR and Winston Churchill met secretly on a ship off the coast of Newfoundland to agree on war goals, since both foresaw US joining the Allies, soon. They agreed to ensure national sovereignty for all nations and drew up the outline for the United Nations. This was the Atlantic Charter.
Mid 1941: Japanese forces seized French territories in Indochina. In response, the US froze Japanese assets in the US and cut off all trade with Japan. Americans began to crack the Japanese secret code and intercepted messages saying that Japan was planning to seize more islands in the Pacific.
October 1941: General Tojo became Prime Minister of Japan and wanted war with the US. Nov. 1941: The US intercepted messages showing that a Japanese force was moving towards SE Asia to take more land. FDR demanded that it be recalled and that Japan withdraw from conquered territories.
Japanese negotiators agreed to meet with US diplomats. While they met, the Japanese decided to sent a fleet to Pearl Harbor to destroy the US Pacific fleet. Dec. 7, 1941: Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbor killing 2,400, wounding 1,200, and destroying 300 Am. Planes, 18 warships, and 8 of the 9 US battleships.
Dec. 8, 1941: FDR delivered a war message to Congress. Within 3 days, the US was at war with Japan, Germany, and Italy.
In Jan. 1942, the Axis powers had a big advantage in Europe. By then, Britain was almost defeated, the Axis controlled almost all of continental Europe, and German troops had captured most of North Africa. German subs were trying to keep food and supplies from reaching Britain.
American and British ships fought to maintain control of the Atlantic and protect Britain from defeat. Allied ships used Sonar to locate and attack German subs.
Although the subs did a lot of damage, the invention of sonar helped to defeat the German wolfpacks.
Nov. 1942: Br. General Montgomery wins the Battle of El Alamein in Egypt. This starts the retreat of German General Rommel. Nov. 1942: Am. and Br. troops commanded by Dwight Eisenhower landed in Morocco. Eventually the two allied armies met, forcing a German surrender in Africa.
January 1943: FDR and Churchill met in Casablanca, Morocco. They agreed to win the war in Europe before concentrating on the Pacific. They agreed to demand only an unconditional surrender from all of the Axis powers.
July, 1943: Am. Troops commanded by General George Patton attacked Sicily. 38 days later, Sicily fell and Mussolini was overthrown by a disillusioned Italian population. Hitler captured Mussolini and set up a fascist state in N. Italy, and Italian and German troops continued to fight the Allies in Italy.
Sept. 1943: Italy surrendered to the allies, and many Italians began to fight against Mussolini and Hitler. Sept. 1943 - Jan. 1944: US forces are stalled by Hitler s troops. Finally in January, the US landed forces behind the German lines at Anzio, just South of Rome.
This battle took 4 months and 72,000 German deaths to win. Soon after the battle, Rome fell to the Allies. N. Italy finally surrendered to the Allies in April, 1945, after 190,000 Americans and 483,000 Germans died there.
June, 1941: Germany attacked the Soviet Union with 3.6 million German soldiers. The USSR asked the US for lend-lease help, but FDR refused, afraid to be caught helping a communist nation. Eventually, the USSR repelled the German attack, but this was only a temporary victory.
1942: Germany again attacked the USSR, this time concentrating its attacks in the Southern part of the country. Sept. 1942: the Germans attacked Stalingrad, a major oil and railroad center.
From September to November, 1942, the Germans shelled and attacked the city of Stalingrad. The USSR refused to surrender the city and house - to - house fighting saved the city from defeat. By late November, the USSR launched a counteroffensive and began to win the battle.
Jan. 31, 1943: 90,000 surviving German soldiers surrendered to the Soviet army in Stalingrad. This was the turning point of the war in the east: the USSR never lost another battle, and the Germans did not launch any more offensives in the east.
The US began to bomb Germany in 1942 using carpet bombing tactics. In 1943, the amount of bombs dropped in Germany doubled. By 1944, the US was bombing Germany 24 hours a day. The bombing of Dresden was one of the most famous campaigns of the air war.
June 6, 1944: Allied troops commanded by Eisenhower landed on the beaches of Normandy and began the invasion of W. Europe and the liberation of France. Despite brutal German resistance, 2 million allied soldiers occupied France by July.
American forces continued to defeat the Germans and freed Paris by August, 1944. In Sept., Belgium and Holland were freed from Nazi control.
Dec. 1944: Germany launched its last offensive in the war attacking Americans in Belgium and Luxembourg. Patton arrived a few days later with 250,000 men. This was the largest battle ever fought by the US army and the largest battle of WWII.
The US won the battle. Over 800,000 Americans fought here and 80,000 Americans died. Germany fought with over 2 million soldiers, and lost about 200,000 men. After this battle, the Germans realized the war was lost.
The Americans continued to bomb Germany and attack from the Western front, while the Soviets continued their attacks on Germany from the East. May 8, 1945: V-E Day: Germany surrendered.