Chapter 14 Flashcards
Why did Italy invade Ethiopia?
Ethiopia had defeated Italy in battle of Adowa in 1896
In an act of revenge, Italy invaded Ethiopia
Haile Selassie
Ethiopian king at time of invasion
appealed to League for help
Ethiopia timeline
Italy invaded Ethiopia
Haile Selassie
League voted sanctions against Italy, but they had no power to enforce the sanctions
Italy conquered Ethiopia
Which of Hitler’s actions went against the Treaty of Versailles? How did the ppl of Germany + Western democracies react to this?
Built up German military
Sent troops to Rhineland, bordering France, which had to be demilitarized according to the treaty
Germans hated the treaty, so these acts made Hitler more popular at home
policy of appeasement
policy of appeasement + why?
Western democracies denounced Hitler’s moves, but did nothing
- France was too demoralized from political divisions at home to take on Hitler w/out British support
- Britain didn’t want to confront Hitler bc some ppl believed Hitler was justified bc they felt the treaty was too harsh on them in the first place
- Many ppl saw fascism as defense against communism (a greater evil)
- Depression sapped energies of Western democracies
- Widespread pacifism and disgust w war pushed govs to seek peace
Neutrality Acts
passed by US Congress
Forbade the sale of arms to any nation at war
Outlawed loans to warring nations
Prohibited Americans from traveling ships of warring nations
Fundamental goal was to avoid involvement in European war, not to prevent such conflict
what did the axis powers agree to do?
to fight communism
not interfere w one another’s plans for expansion
WWII prologue timeline
Japan took Manchuria + started 2nd Sino-Japanese War
Italy invaded Ethiopia
Hitler went against Treaty of Versailles
policy of appeasement + Neutrality Acts
Spain civil war
Annexation of Austria
Munich Pact
Nazi-Soviet Pact
invasion of Poland
WWII starts
Spain civil war timeline
old king –> new liberal gov
Leftists demanded more radical reforms
Conservatives, backed by military rejected these changes
Francisco Franco led a revolt –> civil war
- Right-wing Nationalists [fascists, conservatives]
Hitler and Mussolini supported them
- Republic supporting Loyalists [communists, socialists, democracy]
Soviet Union supported them
- Govs from Britain, France, and US didn’t join, but individuals did
Franco won and set up a dictatorship, like Hitler and Mussolini
Austria Annexation
He forced Austrian chancellor to appoint Nazis to key cabinet posts
Chancellor balked at his order, so Hitler sent in German army to “preserve order”
Hitler gave a speech from the Hofburg Palace, former home of Habsburg emperors, indicating his new role as leader of Austria
Anschluss violated Versailles treaty, causing a war scare
Western democracies took no action
Anschluss?
union of Austria and Germany
Munich Pact timeline
At first, Hitler insisted that the Germans in the Sudetenland [W. Czechoslovakia] be given autonomy
Britain and France didn’t want to go to war for it, so they caved in, and Hitler promised he had no further plans for expansion
Munich Pact was signed to give Sudetenland to Germany
reactions to munich pact?
British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain was happy bc of Munich Pact
French leader Edouard Daladier was skeptical
Winston Churchill knew Nazis would dishonor the pact
Nazi-Soviet Pact + motives?
publicly, a nonaggression pact
privately, they agreed not to fight if the other went to war and to divide up Poland and other parts of E. Europe between them
Hitler
- wanted a free hand in Poland
- didn’t want to fight Western democracies and Soviet Union at the same time
Stalin
- sought W.ern allies against Hitler, but mutual suspicions kept them apart
- tried to protect USSR from threat of war w Germany
- grabbed a chance to gain land in E. Europe
Europe WWII timeline
blitzkrieg
Invasion of France
Operation Sea Lion
Invasion of Egypt
Operation Barbarossa
Lend-Lease Act
Atlantic Charter
US joins war
Allied Victory in N. Africa + advance thru Italy
Battle of Stalingrad
D-Day + French Freedom
Battle of Bulge
Yalta Conference
V-E Day
blitzkrieg
lightning war
Hitler invaded Poland + E. Europe while Britain and France couldn’t do anything due to location
Invasion of France timeline
phony war
attack thru the Ardennes Forest in Belgium, which was thought to be invasion proof
Dunkirk
Hitler forced French to sign a treaty in the same place where Germany signed the armistice
Germany occupied N. France and set up a puppet state in S. France w capital at Vichy
Operation Sea Lion
Germany invaded Britain
started the blitz [bombed London and other British cities]
British king and queen supported Londoners by going to bomb shelters w them instead of fleeing
The bombing made the British more determined to fight the Germans
Invasion of Egypt
Italy invaded
British came to help Egyptians
Hitler sent General Erwin Rommel [aka Desert Fox], who pushed British back
Operation Barbarossa
Germany invaded USSR, nullifying Nazi-Soviet Pact
Hitler was winning, but stalled before they could take Moscow and Leningrad bc:
- Stalin was caught unprepared and his army lost its top officers in his purges
- Soviets destroyed factories and burned crops as they retreated
- German advance stalled bc they weren’t prepared for the brutal winter and thousands of Germans died
Britain and USSR became allies
Lend-Lease Act
[allowed US to sell or lend war materials to “any country whose defense the President deems vital to the defense of the US”
FDR said US wouldn’t join war, but would become “arsenal of democracy” by supplying arms to ppl fighting for freedom