WW2 Prewar Events

Question 1

When did the Second Italo-Ethiopian War begin and end?

Answer 1

October 1935 – May 1936

Question 2

What was the result of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War?

Answer 2

Military occupation of Ethiopia and its annexation into Italian East Africa

Question 3

What did the Second Italo-Ethiopian War expose about the League of Nations?

Answer 3

Its weakness as a force to preserve peace

Question 4

Which countries supported imposing sanctions on Italy for the invasion of Ethiopia?

Answer 4

The United Kingdom and France

Question 5

How did Italy respond to sanctions during the Italo-Ethiopian War?

Answer 5

Sanctions were not fully enforced, and Italy continued the invasion

Question 6

Who led the Nationalist rebels in the Spanish Civil War?

Answer 6

General Francisco Franco

Question 7

Which countries supported the Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War?

Answer 7

Germany and Italy

Question 8

Which country supported the Spanish Republic during the Civil War?

Answer 8

The Soviet Union

Question 9

What was the significance of the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War?

Answer 9

They were foreign volunteers who fought against the Nationalists

Question 10

When did the Spanish Civil War end?

Answer 10

April 1939

Question 11

What was Japan’s strategy in East Asia during the late 1930s?

Answer 11

To dominate the region, starting with the invasion of China

Question 12

What incident led to Japan’s invasion of China in 1937?

Answer 12

Marco Polo Bridge incident

Question 13

What was the outcome of the Battle of Shanghai in 1937?

Answer 13

Shanghai fell to the Japanese after three months of fighting

Question 14

What atrocity occurred after the fall of Nanking in 1937?

Answer 14

Mass murder of tens or hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians and disarmed combatants

Question 15

What was the first major victory for Nationalist Chinese forces in 1938?

Answer 15

The Battle of Taierzhuang

Question 16

What tactic did Chinese forces use in June 1938 to stall the Japanese advance?

Answer 16

Flooding the Yellow River

Question 17

What was the Soviet response to Japanese aggression in the late 1930s?

Answer 17

Signing a non-aggression pact with China

Question 18

What was the outcome of the Soviet-Japanese border conflicts?

Answer 18

Japan was defeated at Khalkin Gol in 1939

Question 19

When did Japan and the Soviet Union sign a Neutrality Pact?

Answer 19

April 1941

Question 20

What was the focus of Japan’s doctrine of Nanshin-ron?

Answer 20

Expansion southward, leading to war with the United States and Western Allies

Question 21

What did Germany annex in March 1938?

Answer 21

Austria

Question 22

What was the Munich Agreement?

Answer 22

A pact that conceded the Sudetenland to Germany in exchange for a promise of no further territorial demands

Question 23

What territories were ceded to Hungary and Poland after the Munich Agreement?

Answer 23

Additional parts of Czechoslovakia and the Trans-Olza region

Question 24

What action did Germany take in March 1939?

Answer 24

Invasion of the remainder of Czechoslovakia

Question 25

What was the German ultimatum to Lithuania in 1939?

Answer 25

Concession of the Klaipėda Region

Question 26

What guarantee did the United Kingdom and France give Poland in 1939?

Answer 26

Support for Polish independence

Question 27

What was the Pact of Steel?

Answer 27

An alliance between Germany and Italy

Question 28

What did the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact include?

Answer 28

A non-aggression agreement and secret protocol defining spheres of influence

Question 29

When did Germany decide to attack Poland?

Answer 29

After the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, initially scheduled for 26 August 1939

Question 30

Why did Germany delay the attack on Poland?

Answer 30

Due to the UK-Poland mutual assistance pact and Italy’s neutrality

Question 31

What demands did Germany make on Poland in August 1939?

Answer 31

Handover of Danzig and a plebiscite in the Polish Corridor

Question 32

When did Germany declare its claims on Poland rejected?

Answer 32

30-31 August 1939