Download 01 The March to War

IB Contemporary World History
Mr. Blackmon
The March to War in Europe
[The following chronology is an elaboration of a chronology found in Eubank, Keith. World War II: Roots and
Causes. (New York: D.C. Heath; 1992), pp. xi-xiii. I typed the chronology found on those pages and added some
events and a commentary]
1918
November 11
Armistice ends World War I
1919
January 18
Peace Conference convenes in Paris
June 28
Treaty of Versailles signed
1923
November 8-9
Hitler's Beer Hall Putsch in Munich fails.
1924
April 1
Hitler sentenced to 5 years in prison
December 20
Hitler released from prison
October 5-16
Locarno Conference. Gustav Stresemann offers a German
guarantee to respect the eastern borders of France and Belgium as
defined by the Treaty of Versailles. Stresemann further agrees to
demilitarization of the Rhineland. These provisions are guaranteed
by Britain and Italy.
1925
Germany is to be admitted to the League of Nations. On behalf of
France, Aristide Briand yielded all claims to invade German soil in
order to enforce treaties. France concludes separate treaties with
Poland and with Czechoslovakia to provide mutual assistance in case
of attack. France is trying to create a cordon sanitaire around
Germany. (Sontag 120)
1928
August 27
Kellogg-Briand Pact, which outlawed offensive war, signed.
1930
January 4
The French National Assembly votes Fr 3 billion to begin
construction of a fixed line of fortifications along the Franco-German
border. The Minister of War is Andre Maginot, a wounded hero of
Verdun, and so the line is named for him: the Maginot Line.
France suffers from severe demographic problems. In 1919,
metropolitan France had a population of only 39 million compared to
Germany's 59 million. (Horne 64) She had suffered the death of 27%
of all men between 18-27 (Horne 49) By 1935, her conscription
classes showed the effects of the war time carnage, with only 184,000
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men available compared to Germany's 464,000. (Horne 76) The most
realistic assessment that could have been made from these facts is that
France required a closely coordinated military
and diplomatic strategy that would ensure she
would fight with allies. This did not occur.
The lessons of the First World War, especially Verdun, were
improperly drawn. Worse, French military strategy contained a
contradiction within itself, and did not support its diplomatic strategy.
The Maginot line was intended to serve as a continuous line from
Basle to Longwy, forcing the Germans to batter themselves against
sophisticated fixed positions and to be chewed up by French artillery.
Such a strategy was intended to conserve French lives and expend
German lives.
It was never intended to fortify the 250 mile Belgian border, since
Belgium was an ally, and the French did not wish to fortify the border
and leave the Belgians out. The Belgians would have no choice but
to revert to neutrality. As late as 1934, Pétain had made it clear that
he intended to advance into Belgium and fight the Germans there,
should they duplicate the route of the Schlieffen Plan, thereby
avoiding the Maginot Line. (Horne 75)
In the event, only 87 miles were fortified, in large part due to
expense. This expense, coupled with chronic budgetary crises and a
large Socialist bloc opposed to rearmament in principle ensured that
the French Army would be forced to cut corners in the mobile forces.
The worst aspect of the Maginot Line was that it fostered a
fortress mentality in the French high command. No
coherent doctrine was evolved. Offensive doctrine, once the
obsession of the French officer corps, completely atrophied. Inertia
reigned and with inertia remained the methods of 1918--slow,
methodical, set-piece advances with tanks used as strictly infantry
support weapons. In 1935, Minister of War Gen. Maurin, speaking
in the Chamber of Deputies, made it clear that the French Army had
given up all idea of the offensive. (Horne 80) The fatal flaws in this
are (1) the French Army now has no viable plan to
support
Belgium,
or
to
act
or
react
aggressively against the Germans, thus giving
the Germans the initiative, and (2) France has no
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possibility whatever of assisting its Eastern
allies, the cordon sanitaire. This lack of capability
means that Czechoslovakia and Poland are doomed. (cf Horne 80-82)
1930
September 14
Nazi Party wins 107 seats in the Reichstag
1931
September 18
The Mukden Incident: Japanese troops attack Manchuria and
establish a puppet state of Manchukuo. (Ienaga 60)
1932
February 2
Geneva Disarmament Conference convenes. Public pressure forces
Great Britain to support the Disarmament Conference. French
weakness forces them to act in concert with Great Britain. The
British try to reconcile the French with the German position--ie.
decrease French armaments and increase German. Politically,
neither country could rearm while the Conference dragged on.
When he attains power, Hitler will be able to use the Conference to
mask the crucial (and riskiest) first 15 months of his rearmament.
(Bell 205-6)
1933
1934
July 31
Nazi Party wins 231 seats in the Reichstag
January 30
Adolf Hitler is named Chancellor of Germany
May
Germany renews the Treaty of Berlin with the Soviet Union (Bell
219)
July
Hitler signs a condordat with the Vatican (Bell 219)
summer
Four power talks with Great Britain, France, Italy and Germany. (Bell
219) This is a smokescreen.
October 14
Germany leaves the Geneva Disarmament Conference and the
League of Nations.
January 26
German-Polish Nonaggression Pact. Needless to say, Hitler is not
really sincere. He is attempting to lull France and Great Britain, most
of whose citizens wish to be lulled.
February
Louis Barthou becomes French Foreign Minister.
His is by far the strongest hand at the tiller for France in the decade.
He sets about systematically to strengthen France's alliances with
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Czechoslovakia, Poland, Rumania, and Yugoslavia. He also desires
a firm alliance with the Soviet Union, which was absolutely crucial
to the success of France's Eastern strategy. This policy was perhaps
doomed to failure because the Eastern states had no wish to be sheep
guarded by Russia's wolf, but it had the virtue of being a realistic
approach to the strategic problem France faced. (Bell 223)
1935
June 30
Hitler purges the SA in the Night of the Long Knives.
July 25
Austrian Nazis assassinate Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss, and
attempt a coup d'etat. The plot fails, and Mussolini supports Austrian
independence by maneuvers on the Austrian border.
August 2
Death of President Paul von Hindenburg. Adolf Hitler becomes
Führer, combining the offices of Chancellor with President.
October 9
Louis Barthou, while riding in a car with King Alexander of
Yugoslavia, is killed when Croatian terrorists assassinate the king.
Barthou is succeeded by Pierre Laval., who is a disaster.
December 4
Murder of Party Secretary Sergei Kirov in Leningrad. Stalin uses this
as a pretext to begin his Great Purge. Estimates as to total victims
range from 400,000 deaths and 4 million arrests to 10 million deaths
and 7 million arrests.
March 16
Germany repudiates military clauses of the Versailles Treaty.
May 2
Franco-Russian Treaty of Mutual Assistance ratified, having been
negotiated by Barthou before his death. Germany will use
this as an excuse to repudiate the Locarno
Treaty and remilitarize the Rhineland. (Bell 208)
October 3
Italy invades Ethiopia. Great Britain did not regard
Ethiopia as involving any vital interests; they are reluctant to act
forcefully and poison relations with a potential enemy at a time when
Britain has too many potential enemies. France also is trying to
improve relations with Italy, and has little stomach for a real
confrontation. Mussolini knows this.
Public opinion in Great Britain, however, forces Britain to ask for
League sanctions. These are a disaster: (1) oil was not embargoed,
hence, no truly vital product was cut off (2) Britain did not close the
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Suez Canal to Italian vessels, which would have stopped all Italian
reinforcement (3) the sanctions did hurt Italy, and caused Italy to
strengthen economic ties to Germany, which is the last thing Britain
and France needed.
The failure of League sanctions discredits the League, and is a
triumph for Mussolini. (Bell 206-8)
1936
March 7
Germany denounces the Locarno Treaty and
German troops reoccupy the Rhineland. (Eubank xii)
Great Britain is primarily concerned with Italy and Abyssinia. The
British felt that the Germans were merely occupying their own soil.
Furthermore, in 1934, the Barthou Declaration had stated that "France
will henceforth guarantee her own security by her own means."
(Horne 83) The British refuse to act.
France could easily have overwhelmed the 3 German battalions that
marched into the Rhineland, especially since the Germans had orders
to withdraw if the French resisted. But Gen. Maurice Gamelin, the
Commander-in-Chief, refusing to admit that the French Army was
unready for offensive action, grossly exaggerated the size of the
German army (he claimed 300,000 men in the Rhineland, where
3,000 would have been too many). He told the government that it
would require a general mobilization to eject the Germans. The
government, with elections 6 weeks away, categorically rejected a
general mobilization on the grounds that the public would not accept
it. Moral cowardice at the very top had cost
France its best chance to prevent World War II.
July 18
The Spanish Civil War breaks out.
August
Stalin purges Kamenev, Zinoviev in show trials
October
Rome-Berlin Axis Alliance formed
October 14
Alarmed by the apparent lack of French resolve, Belgium
revokes the Franco-Belgian alliance. This was a very
unwise move, (to say the least!!) It left the French plan of defense,
based on the Maginot plan, in shambles (but the French did not
reevaluate their plan). The refusal of the Belgians to allow joint
planning or cooperation bore bitter fruit in 1940. It was a delusion
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that the Belgians could rely on the good will of Germany, especially
Hitler's Germany. The very existence of the Maginot line virtually
guaranteed that Belgium would become a battle ground.
1937
1938
November
Germany and Japan sign the Anticomintern (Anti Communist
International) Pact.
Both nations share a common enemy:
Communist Russia.
May 28
Neville Chamberlain becomes British Prime Minister.
June 11
Stalin begins to purge his military. Tukhachevsky is shot. Stalin
shoots the entire high command, and half the remaining officer corps.
Understandably, the Red Army suffers a loss of efficiency.
July 7
Incident at the Marco Polo Bridge; Japan invades China
November 5
The Hossbach Conference between Hitler and Constantin Freiherr
von Neurath, his Foreign Minister, and Werner von Blomberg and
Werner von Fritsch, his top generals, in which he outlines Germany's
need for living space in the East. All three are resistant to his
proposals.
December 12
Panay incident on the Yangtze River
January 12
Werner von Blomberg marries a young woman with a shady past; this
leads to his forced resignation. (Barnett 34-35)
February 4
Werner von Fritsch returns from leave to find he has been framed on
charges of homosexuality. He resigns his post to face a Court of
Inquiry, is exonerated, and retires. (Barnett 33-35) Hitler shakes up
the command structure of the German armed forces and becomes his
own Minister of War. He places pliable men (Wilhelm Keitel and
Alfred Jodl, both of whom were executed at the Nuremberg Trials) in
Blomberg's and Fritsch's positions and takes administrative control of
the army.
February 12
Hitler invites Austrian Chancellor Kurt von Schuschnigg to
Berchtesgaden to pressure him into accepting Nazis into his cabinet.
March 9
Schuschnigg calls for a plebiscite on the issue of Austrian
independence for March 13. All signs pointed to an overwhelming
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"Yes" vote.
March 11
Hitler demands and obtains Schuschnigg's resignation. Hitler's
puppet in the Austrian cabinet, Arthur Seyss-Inquart, invites German
troops to enter.
March 12
The German Army crosses the border to cheers and flowers, which
partially disguises the frequent breakdown of German tanks and other
transport.
March 13
Germany announces Anschluss, the annexation of Austria.
March
Stalin purges Bukharin and Yagoda (his chief of the NKVD)
April 24
Hitler now decides to swallow Czechoslovakia. His pretext is the
sizable German minority in the Sudetenland. On Hitler's orders, the
leader of the Sudeten Nazis, Konrad Henlein, demands autonomy.
"We must always demand so much that we never can be satisfied."
(Sontag 336, Bell 231)
May 19-21
Reports of German troops movements against Czechoslovakia (which
were not in fact true) arouse fears of war. Czechoslovakia calls up
some reservists; Britain warns Germany of war with France and
Britain as well. Since Hitler had not intended to destroy
Czechoslovakia quite yet, his lack of action makes it appear as if he
had bowed to Anglo-French pressure. He is furious and resolved not
to be humiliated again. (Bell 236-7)
May 30
Hitler signs a directive for Operation Green, the invasion of
Czechoslovakia on October 1.
August
Japanese column invades Soviet claimed territory on the Manchurian
border. They are defeated at Lake Khasan despite Stalin's decision to
shoot his victorious general.
September 5
Czechoslovakian President Eduard Beneš offers to meet most of
Henlein's demands. Hitler orders riots in the Sudetenland and follows
up with a saber-rattling speech.
September 15
Chamberlain meets Hitler at Berchtesgaden and is told that Hitler
would risk war to incorporate the Sudetenland. Chamberlain agrees
in principle to Czechoslovakia's dismemberment and returns to
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consult with his cabinet. The Czechs are not consulted. (Bell 238-9)
September 22-23
Chamberlain meets Hitler at Godesberg only to find that Hitler is now
pressing Hungarian and Polish demands on Czech territory as well as
Slovakian independence. Chamberlain returns to consult with his
cabinet.
The French begin mobilization and the British mobilize the fleet.
Hitler's change of tactics leads them to fear that Hitler is not pursuing
limited goals in the East after all. (Bell 240-1)
September 29
The Munich Agreement: Chamberlain, French President Eduard
Daladier, Mussolini and Hitler agree to a German partition of
Czechoslovakia. Germany would occupy the Sudetenland, leaving
Czechoslovakia without a defensive line and without the Skoda
armaments factories. France and Great Britain guarantee the new
borders--surely a great comfort to the Czechs, who have still not been
invited to the party. His Majesties' Government is prepared to
defend Czechoslovakian sovereignty to the last drop of Czech blood.
Hitler assures Chamberlain that he had no more
territorial demands.
Chamberlain returns to Britain with the agreement and says he has
secured "peace in our time."
This is the high point of the policy of "appeasement."
Churchill rightly pointed out that it made a great deal more sense
militarily to fight for Czechoslovakia than it did for Poland. The
conditions for war would have been much more favorable in 1938
than in 1939, as any glance at a map would show. The Czech army
and its equipment were of high quality, and the Skoda works a crucial
addition to German armaments capacity. In the opinion of the
generals and of some subsequent historians, Germany could not have
gone to war in 1939 without the addition of the Czech tank fleet.
Four of Germany's ten armored divisions in 1939 were equipped
largely with Czech tanks.(Perrett 3, 29)
October 1
German troops begin occupation of the Sudetenland.
October 2-12
Poland seizes Teschen.
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1939
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October 24
Hitler's new Foreign Minister, Joachim Ribbentrop, offers a treaty to
Poland for inclusion in the Anticomintern Pact and German
annexation of Danzig in return for German border guarantees.
Poland's Jozef Beck refuses to be drawn into the German orbit at the
cost of a breach with the Soviet Union, nor will he give up Danzig or
be dictated to. This is a courageous decision, but virtually suicidal-Poland will suffer perhaps more than any single country in World
War II. (Bell 251)
February 1
Beginning of a reversal of British policy. Chamberlain expresses
unqualified support for French security. The Imperial Staff submits
a paper arguing that Home Defense required the territorial defense of
France and that Britain must build a continental army. (Bell 247)
March 10
Stalin's speech to the Eighteenth Party Congress, where he indicates
he has no preference between the competing blocs of capitalist states.
March 15
Germany absorbs Bohemia and Moravia while Slovakia becomes a
German puppet state. The SS enters the new territories, answerable
directly to Himmler. (Bell 250)
March 17
Chamberlain delivers a speech in Birmingham in which he states that
Britain will resist an attempt to dominate the world by force. He
realizes that Hitler has deceived him. (Bell 253)
In point of fact, the hardening public attitude in the West is that Hitler
simply cannot be trusted, there is no point in further negotiation, that
Hitler was bent on world domination and that he posed a very real
and palpable threat to the very moral foundations of the West's way
of life. Hitler does not comprehend this change in public opinion. It
was not rational to fight for Poland and not for Czechoslovakia; Hitler
had formed a contemptuous opinion of Chamberlain and Daladier.
March 23
Germany annexes Memel from Lithuania. (Bell 250)
March 30
Great Britain offers Poland a guarantee of independence.
April 7
Italy invades Albania. Britain and France offer Greece and Rumania
guarantees of independence. Denmark, the Netherlands, and
Switzerland are added a few days later.
April 28
Hitler denounces the nonaggression pact with Poland.
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May
The Japanese invade Soviet territory at Khalkin Gol and dig in. The
future Marshal Zhukov envelops the position and destroys the
Japanese force.
May 3
Probable opening gambit from Stalin to Hitler: Foreign Minister
Litvinov, a Jew, is replaced by Molotov. (Seaton 7, Bell 259)
May 8
Negotiations between Britain, France, Poland, and the Soviet Union,
which ultimately break down. Only the Red Army could provide
support for Poland in a timely manner. Britain wants to include
guarantees for the Baltic and Balkan states. Stalin wishes to write a
treaty that would permit him to "protect" client states on terms that he
defines. The British, not surprisingly, are highly suspicious and
refuse to agree. The Poles also flatly refuse to permit the Red Army
on their soil, on the grounds that they would never leave. (Bell 2589)
May 22
Germany and Italy sign the Pact of Steel
May 23
Hitler tells his generals that Poland must be attacked and destroyed
as soon as possible. He also announces that the rearmament program
must be completed by 1943 or 1944. (Sontag 367)
August 22
Hitler again tells his generals that Poland must be destroyed. He sets
August 26 as the date, and assures them of access to Russian
resources. He stressed British and French weakness. He emphasizes
that they must "close their hearts to pity and act brutally, with the
greatest harshness." (Sontag 376-7)
August 23
Nazi-Soviet Non-aggression Pact signed. If either became involved
in a war, the other would remain neutral. Secret provisions divided
Poland into halves. Russia received a free hand in Finland, Estonia
and Latvia; Germany in Lithuania. Russian interest in Rumanian
Besserabia is recognized; Germany declares to have no interest in
Rumania and the Balkans (Hitler was unaware of this provision;
Ribbentrop had been given a free hand to obtain a treaty).
An economic treaty is also signed, in general favorable to Germany.
It permits Germany to make large purchases of critical materials
Hitler is a winner from the pact, despite the high price. He believes
that Britain and France will not fight with the Soviet Union out of the
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equation. Even if they do fight, he has cleared his Eastern flank. He
can quickly crush Poland and concentrate force against the West. If
he had properly followed through with this strategic situation, he
would have won World War II. After defeating Britain, he could
have turned his full attention to Russia.
Stalin, in the end, comes out a winner. His short term benefits are
massive: he gains a large buffer zone between the Soviet Union and
the German border; he also gains time, which, considering the impact
of the Great Purge on the Red Army, is enormously important.
Hitler's eventual invasion of Russia tends to disguise those benefits-Russia came perilously close to defeat. For all its brutality, Stalin is
pursuing a rational foreign policy designed to protect the Soviet
Union. Stalin believed that Germany and the West would tear each
other to ribbons, allowing him to reap the rewards cheaply.
British attempts to make a pact including the Soviet Union founder
on (1) slow and inept diplomacy (2) intense suspicion of each other's
motivations and most importantly (3) the absolute refusal of Poland
or Rumania to permit Soviet intervention--in the event, well justified,
when one notes Stalin's systematic massacre of the intelligentsia and
other leadership classes. (Seaton 8, Bell 260-2)
The Nazi-Soviet Non-aggression Pact is decisive. War is now
inevitable. Hitler is implacable in his determination to destroy
Poland. The Poles are determined to resist. Great Britain and France
are determined not to yield to further aggression because they now see
Hitler as a direct threat to their own security. Stalin is delighted to
watch the capitalists destroy each other.
August 29
German ultimatum delivered to Poland.
September 1
Germany invades Poland.
September 3
Britain and France declare war on Germany.
September 17
Soviet Union invades Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.
October 12
Hitler establishes a rump state of Poland as an SS state. A racial war
against Poles and Jews begins.
In the Western campaigns, Hitler's course bear a strong resemblance
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to Bethmann-Hollweg's program of 1914 of German domination of
Mitteleuropa.
In the East, Hitler wages racial war driven by ideology.
Mussolini's role is driven by ideology plus opportunism. As was the
case with Hitler, Mussolini had expressed long-term foreign policy
goals which he believes he can fulfill through war. (Bell 271-83)
1940
November 30
Soviet Union invades Finland. Their initial campaign fails miserably
as the Finns prove they are the best soldiers in Europe. The second
campaign is launched with such overwhelming force that the Finns
are forced to concede defeat and grant territorial concessions.
September
Sitzkrieg, the Phoney War on the Western Front.
April 9
Germany invades Denmark and Norway, which are neutral. Hitler is
securing the Swedish iron mines and control of the Baltic.
May 9
Buffeted by the disaster in Scandinavia, Neville Chamberlain resigns
as Prime Minister.
May 10
Winston Churchill is asked become Prime Minister and to form a
Cabinet .
May 10
Germany invades Holland and Belgium, which are neutral, and
France. The German right wing lures the best of the French and
British divisions north to fight a meeting engagement. The Allies
believe they are facing the Schlieffen Plan all over again.
May 13
After traversing the supposedly impassable Ardennes, the Germans
break through the French front and begin a rapid drive for the English
Channel; they penetrate successive French lines of resistance before
they can be organized. Psychologically, the French High Command
collapses.
May 27
The British army forced to evacuate at Dunkirk.
June 10
Italy invades France.
June 22
Final collapse of France and establishment of a puppet regime at
Vichy.
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American public opinion shifts: while hoping to avoid war, most
Americans now see Germany as posing a serious threat to U.S.
security; thwarting German victory becomes an ultimate goal.
1941
June
FDR circumvents isolationists by trading 50 over-age destroyers
desperately needed by the British for naval/air bases in the West
Indies, a brilliant and mutually beneficial action. FDR will begin
getting the US involved in the war. He must tread carefully, since the
public is opposed to entry if at all possible.
July 10
The Battle of Britain, which must secure control of the air space over
the English Channel as a preliminary to Operation Sea Lion, the
invasion of Great Britain, begins.
September 3
FDR and Churchill conclude a deal for 50 destroyers in exchange for
bases
September 14
Italy invades Egypt
September 17
Operation Sea Lion postponed indefinitely.
September 27
Tripartite Pact signed: Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis formed;
European and Pacific wars are now linked. There is, however, no real
coordination of war effort.
October 28
Mussolini invades Greece. The Greeks stop his offensive cold.
October 30
The Battle of Britain ends. The Germans switch to the Blitz, largely
ineffective night bombing raids. (Keegan 94)
November 5
FDR re-elected for a precedent shattering third term in office.
November
Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia brought into the Tripartite Pact
December
US embargoes scrap metal to Japan
December 29
FDR proclaims the U.S. the "arsenal of democracy." The enormous
US war making capacity begins to be mobilized. (Rich 243)
January 6
"Four Freedoms" speech: freedom of speech, freedom of religion,
freedom from want, freedom from fear: this represents the ideology
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of democracy.
January 7
Japanese Admiral Yamamoto initiates planning for an attack on Pearl
Harbor. (Costello 82-3)
January 22
British offensive in North Africa captures Tobruk
March 1
Bulgaria joins the Tripartite Pact
March 11
The Lend-Lease Act to assist anyone resisting aggression is passed.
Initial beneficiaries are primarily Great Britain and China.
March 30
U.S. seizes all Axis shipping in U.S. ports
March 30
U.S. occupies Greenland and extends range of naval patrols.
March 30
Hitler addresses senior commanders and tells them they would wage
a "race war without pity" against the Soviet UnionOrders were issued
indemnifying German soldiers against crimes committed against the
Soviet population. The famous "Commissar Order," by which
commissars were to be shot out of hand, is issued. "The
responsibility for the occupied territories was to be handed to the SS,
and order was to be maintained aby the deliberate spreading of terror.
This was to be achieved by mass murder, torture, deportations and
confiscations irrespective of sex or age. . . . [Hitler's] intention was to
prepare his commanders psychologically for the new pattern of
ideological war, complete in its totality, a war which would be fought
by both sides without compassion or mercy, without honor or
decency. . . . [These orders were followed by others ] forbidding the
surrender of Leningrad and Moscow, and ordering the encircled cities
to be razed to the ground by shell fire and bombing. The female
population of Stalingrad was to be transported and the males
destroyed." (Seaton 54-5)
March 31
Erwin Rommel’s offensive besieges Tobruk
April 6
Hitler invades Yugoslavia and Greece. His purpose is to bail out
Mussolini and to secure his southern flank for the invasion of Russia.
He is extremely sensitive to British air strikes against the Ploesti oil
fields.
April
Failure of Ambassador Nomura's mission to resolve differences
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between Japan and the U.S.
April 13
Ignorant of Hitler's plans, Japan concludes a nonaggression pact with
Russia; Japan wants to clear its flank before moving into Indochina
and the Dutch East Indies. Not keeping the Japanese informed is a
serious blunder by Hitler. Eventually, the Russians will use Siberian
troops to launch their winter counter-offensive before Moscow. A
coordinated German-Japanese attack could have been decisive. (Rich
229-30)
June 14
All Axis assets in the U.S. frozen
June 22
Operation Barbarossa begins: Germany invades the Soviet Union;
the bloodiest, most savage war in human history begins. Hitler
embarks on a fatal course of action, a two front war with Russia in
front of him and Great Britain (backed by the United States) to his
rear.
June 24
FDR extends Lend-Lease aid to the Soviet Union
July 8
U.S. occupies Iceland and extends North Atlantic patrols still further
July 28
Japan invades Indochina, in part to cut China's supply line of LendLease aid
FDR freezes Japanese assets and embargoes oil sales to Japan;
without a compromise, a Pacific war is now inevitable within 6
months.
August 14
FDR and Churchill meet and issue the Atlantic Charter
August 17
The Germans capture Kiev
September 4
Greer incident; FDR issues a "shoot-on-sight" order; U.S. is now
fighting an undeclared war in the North Atlantic
September 8
The siege of Leningrad begins. It will last 900 days; 2,000,000
civilians will die
October 17
Hideki Tojo becomes Japanese premier; Japan decides on war with
the U.S. and sets the plan for Pearl Harbor in motion
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October 17
USS Kearney torpedoed
October 20
USS Reuben James sunk
September 30
Germans launch Operation Typhoon, the final drive on Moscow
November
Continued fruitless negotiations between Nomura and Cordell Hull
with neither side willing to compromise
December 5
Operation Typhoon grinds to a halt
December 7
" . . . a date that will live in infamy . . ."; Japan attacks the U.S. at
Pearl Harbor; beginning of a Pacific onslaught
December 8
Japan attacks Hong Kong, the Philippines, and invades Malaya
December 8
the United States declares war on Japan
December 11
Japan attacks Burma.
Germany and Italy declare war on the U.S. The German declaration
of war against the U.S. is a colossal blunder--some historians rank it
as Hitler's fatal mistake (my own view is that Barbarossa is). The
U.S. is now fully committed to a global war.
December 23
Japanese seize Wake Island
January 11
Japan attacks the Dutch East Indies
February 15
Japan captures Singapore
April 9
Bataan surrenders to the Japanese
April 18
Doolittle Raid on Tokyo
May 6
Corregidor surrenders to the Japanese
May 6-8
Battle of the Coral Sea–the first carrier to carrier naval battle; the two
fleets never actually saw each other.
May 30
1,000 Bomber Raid on Cologne
1942
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Mr. Blackmon
Page 17
June 4
Battle of Midway Island; Japan loses 4 carriers, the US one. This is
the turning point of the war in the Pacific.
July
Regular air raids against the Ruhr and Hamburg
September 13
Battles of Stalingrad begin
October 23
Battle of El Alamein begins; Rommel is defeated and driven west;
this is the turning point of the war in North Africa
November
High point of U-Boat sinkings
November 8
Operation Torch; Allies land in Morocco and Algiers
January 14-24
Casablanca Conference; FDR and Chruchill meet.
February 2
Stalingrad surrenders to the Soviets
April 19-May 16
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
May 12
Axis forces in Tunisia surrender
May 26
Discovery of the Katyn Massacre
July 5-August 6
Battle of Kursk fought; Russian counter-offensive liberates Orel and
Belgorod
July 10
Allied invasion of Sicily
July 25
Mussolini dismissed by the King
August 17
US daylight bombing raid on Schweinfurt and Regensburg
1943
Quebec Conference
August 23
Soviets liberate Kharkov
September 3
Allies invade Italy; Italy surrenders
Soviets liberate Novorossisk and Smolensk
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October
Soviets liberate Zaporozhe and Dnepropetrovsk
November 6
Soviets liberate Kiev
US Marines assault Tarawa
November 22-26
Cairo Conference
November 28-Dec 1
Tehran Conference
Churchill accepts the Curzon line in Poland and Soviet territorial
gains 1939-41
Churchill proposes in 10/44 “spheres of influence” in the
southeastern Europe
i.
Romania
USSR 90% Britain 10%
ii.
Bulgaria
USSR 75% Britain 25%
iii.
Hungary
USSR 50% Britain 50%
iv.
Yugoslavia USSR 50% Britain 50%
v.
Greece
USSR 10% Britain 90%
vi.
Molotov asked for further revision, no agreement was made,
and Roosevelt never signed off on it. (McCauley Origins 389, 54)
January 12
Allies land at Anzio
January 27
Siege of Leningrad lifted
February 15
Allies bomb Monte Cassino
April 2
Soviets enter Rumania
June 4
US troops enter Rome
June 6
Operation Overlord. The Allies successfully land in Normandy.
Bitter fighting ensues as the Allies attempt to break out of the bocage
country
June 12
First V-1 bombs strike London
June 15
US invades Saipan
1944
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First US B-29 raids against Japan
June 23-July 3
Soviets launch Operation Bagration; German Army Group Center is
annihilated; Belarus is liberated
July 20
Attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler fails.
July 23
Soviets capture Lublin and create the Polish Committee of National
Liberation
August
Field Marshal Albert Kesselring establishes the Gothic Line
August
US recaptures Guam and Tinian; they will be used as bases for B-29
attacks against Japan
August 1-October 2
Warsaw Home Army uprising against the Germans
August 24
French General Leclercq liberates Paris
September 3
Brussels liberated
September 8
First V-2 rockets strike London
September 12
Romania signs an armistice
September 17-30
Operation Market-Garden; daring air-borne operation to breach the
Rhine fails
September 19
Finland signs an armistice
October 20
US forces land in the Philippines
October 20
Yugoslav Partisans enter Belgrade
October 25
Battle of Leyte Gulf
November
Systematic bombing of Japan begins
December 16
German Ardennes Offensive (Battle of the Bulge) begins.
January 12
Soviet general offensive begins
1945
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Page 20
January 17
Soviets liberate Warsaw
February 4-12
Yalta Conference 2/45
vii.
Big Three
(1)
Franklin Delano Roosevelt--US
(a)
Chief goal is to secure Soviet declaration of
war on Japan
(2)
Winston Churchill--Great Britain
(3)
Josef Stalin--USSR
viii. Agreements regarding Europe
(1)
USSR receives part of eastern Poland
(2)
Poland compensated by moving western border to the
Oder.
(3)
USSR would receive largest share of the reparations
from Germany
(4)
Germany to be divided into US, British, French, and
Soviet zones of occupation (ZOC)
(5)
Berlin to be jointly governed by the Four Powers
(6)
Democratic interim governments were to hold free
elections in the liberated states.
(a)
“democratic” and “free” proved to be
enormously flexible.
ix.
Agreements regarding Asia
(1)
USSR would receive Sakhalin island and the Kurile
Islands, plus rights in Manchuria (including the naval
base at Port Arthur and the operation of the
Manchurian Railroad): in other words, a return to the
status quo ante 1905 (before the Russo-Japanese War)
(a)
Outer Mongolia becomes a Soviet satellite
(2)
Stalin promised to declare war on Japan between 60
and 90 days after Germany’s surrender.
(a)
Stalin kept this promise to the day.
x.
A “Declaration on Liberated Europe” was issued
(1)
Stalin once told Anthony Eden that a declaration was
“algebra” and an agreement was “practical
arithmetic.” Stalin did not disparage algebra, but he
preferred practical arithmetic. (McCauley 55)
xi.
Factors to Remember
(1)
The Battle of the Bulge left the West in a poor
bargaining position
(2)
Location at Yalta gave Stalin a stronger bargaining
position
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(3)
FDR’s military advisers were adamant on the subject
of Soviet help with Japan. FDR has to pay Stalin’s
price.
February 13
Budapest surrenders to the Soviets
February 11-14
Firebombing of Dresden
March 7
US forces cross the Rhine at Remagen Bridge
April 1
US lands on Okinawa
April 12
FDR dies; Harry S Truman succeeds as President
April 13
Soviets enter Vienna
April 16
Final Soviet offensive against Berlin begins
April 28
Mussolini is shot by partisans and hung up side down on display
April 30
Adolf Hitler commits suicide in his bunker in Berlin
May 2
German forces in Italy surrender
May 7
Germans surrender in Rheims
May 9
Soviets enter Prague
July 17-26
Potsdam Conference
August 6
US drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima
August 8
Soviet Union declares war on Japan
August 9
US drops an atomic bomb on Nagasaki
August 14
Japan capitulates
September 2
Japanese surrender signed on the deck of the USS Missouri
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Weapons Production of the Major Powers 1939-45
1939
1940
1941
1942
1943
1944
1945
Aircraft
Britain
7,940
15,049
20,094
23,672
26,263
26,461
12,070
USA
5,856
12,804
26,277
47,826
85,998
96,318
49,761
USSR
10,382
10,565
15,735
25,436
34,900
40,300
20,900
Germany
8,295
10,247
11,776
15,409
24,807
39,807
7,540
Japan
4,467
4,768
5,088
8,861
16,693
28,180
11,066
Major Vessels
Britain
57
148
236
239
224
188
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64
USA
--544
1,854
2,654
2,247
1,513
USSR
-33
62
19
13
23
11
Germany (U-boats
only)
15
40
196
244
270
189
0
Japan
21
30
49
68
122
248
51
Tanks *
Britain
969
1,399
4,841
8,611
7,476
5,000
2,100
USA
-c.
400
4,052
24,997
29,497
17,565
11,968
USSR
2,950
2,794
6,590
24,446
24,089
28,963
15,400
Germany
c.2,200
1,300
5,200
9,200
17,300
22,100
4,400
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Mr. Blackmon
Page 24
Japan
c.
200
1,023
1,024
1,191
790
401
142
Artillery Pieces **
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Britain
1,400
1,900
5,300
6,600
12,200
12,400
USA
-c.29,615
1,800
72,658
67,544
33,558
19,699
USSR
17,348
15,300
42,300
127,000
130,300
122,400
31,000
Germany
c.5,000
2,000
7,000
12,000
27,000
41,000
* Includes self-propelled guns for Germany and the USSR
** Medium and heavy caliber only for Germany, USA, and Britain, all calibers for the USSR
(Overy 331-2)
Distribution of German combat divisions by theatre June 1941 - March 1945
IB Contemporary World History
Chronology: Road to World War II
East
West
Norway/
Finland
Denmark
Balkans
Italy
Africa
27
June
1941
134
(32)*
38
(0)
13
(0)
17 (6)
(0)
2 (2)
Sept.
1941
144 (32)
14
(0)
17 (0)
(0)
3 (3)
Dec.
1941
146
(32)
32
(2)
15
(0)
18 (0)
(0)
3 (3)
March
1942
164 (32)
16.5
7 (0) (.5)
3 (3)
June
1942
171
(34)
27
(3)
16.5
(.5)
18 (0)
(1)
3 (3)
Sept.
1942
171 (33)
15.5
(.5)
19 (0)
(1)
4 (3)
Dec.
1942
178
(33)
36
(5)
15.5
(.5)
210(0)
(1)
6 (4)
March
1943
175 (29)
16.5 (.5)
115(0)
(1)
7.5 (4.5)
June
1943
179 (28)
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42
(8)(.5)
16.5
217(0)
(1)
Sept.
1943
181 (26)
18
(0)
2.5
(.5)
19
(1)
7 (6)
Dec.
1943
175
(34)
37
(6)
17
(0)
5.5
(.5)
24
14 (2)
(6)
March
1944
169 (36)
16
(0)
4.5
(.5)
21
19 (5)
(6)
6157
June
1944
(30)
56
(11)
16
(0)
3.5
(1.5)
20
22 (4)
(6)
Sept.
1944
127
(33)
55
(14)
15
(0)
2.5
(.5)
17
21 (3)
(4)
Dec.
1944
132
(44)
71
(15)
14
(0)
2.5
(.5)
16
22 (3)
(4)
March
1945
166
(43)
63
(9)
9.5
5.5 (0)
(.5)
19 (3)
* Number in brackets = panzer and motorized divisions
Source: Ellis Statistical Appendix Table 35
Number of German combat divisions engaged by the Russians and by the Western Allies June 1941 - March
1945
IB Contemporary World History
Chronology: Road to World War II
Date
Number
of
divisions engaged
Number
of German
German
engaged by
by Russians
W. Allies
Percentage
engageddivisions
by Russians
Percentage engaged by W. Allies
27
June
1941
147
(32)*
298(2)
(97)
2 (3)
Dec.
1941
161
(32)
398(3)
(91)
2 (9)
June
1942
187
(34)
398(3)
(92)
2(8)
Dec.
1942
183
(33)
697(4)
(89)
3 (11)
June 1943
195 (28)
Mr. Blackmon
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Chronology: Road to World War II
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Works Cited
Barnett, Corelli. Hitler's Generals. New York: William Morrow, 1989.
Bell, P.M.H. The Origins of the Second World War in Europe. New York: Longman, 1986
Costello, John. The Pacific War: 1941-1945. New York: Quill, 1981.
Eubank, Keith. World War II: Roots and Causes. 2nd ed. New York: D.C. Heath, 1992.
Horne, Alistair. To Lose a Battle: France 1940. New York: Penguin 1990.
Ienaga, Saburo. The Pacific War. New York: Pantheon Books, 1978.
Keegan, John. The Second World War. New York: Penguin Books, 1989.
Messenger, Charles. The Art of Blitzkrieg. London: Ian Allan
Ltd., 1991.
Perrett, Bryan. Knights of the Black Cross. New York: St. Martin's Press,
1986.
Rich, Norman. Hitler's War Aims. New York: W.W. Norton, 1973.
Seaton, Alan. The Russo-German War 1941-45. New York: Presidio, 1971.
Sontag, Raymond J. A Broken World: 1919-1939. New York: Harper and Row,
1972.
IB Contemporary World History
Chronology: Road to World War II
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Mr. Blackmon
Chronology of Origins of World War II Test
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
Treaty of Locarno
Kellogg-Briand Pact
Mukden incident; Japan invades Manchuria
Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany
Germany walks out of the Geneva Disarmament Conference
Night of the Long Knives
Murder of Sergei Kirov in Leningrad marks the beginning of the Great Purge
Italy invades Ethiopia
Germany reoccupies the Rhineland
Spanish Civil War breaks out
Incident at the Marco Polo Bridge; Japan invades China
Hossbach Memorandum; Hitler outlines his aggressive designs
Germany announces Anschluss with Austria
The Munich Agreement leads to the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia
Germany occupies Moravia and Bohemia, and proclaims a puppet Slovakian state
Chamberlain abandons appeasement at the Birmingham speech; soon after, Britain offers Poland a
guarantee of independence and integrity
Italy invades Albania
The Nazi-Soviet Non-Agression Pact signed.
Hitler invades Poland
Stalin invades Poland and the Baltic States
The Phoney War
Hitler invades Norway and Denmark
Hitler invades Holland, Belgium, Luxemburg and France
Germans break through the French front at the Meuse
Battle of Britain
Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis formed
Lend Lease Act is passed
Barbarossa: Hitler invades the Soviet Union
Japanese occupy French Indochina; the U.S. embargoes scrap iron and oil
Japanese attack Pearl Harbor
IB Contemporary World History
Mr. Blackmon
Chronology of Origins of World War II Test
Form A
Place the following events in their correct chronological order by placing a number (1) beside the first event,
and number (2) beside the second event, a number (3) beside the third event, etc.
__________
1.
Hitler invades Holland, Belgium, Luxemburg and France
__________ 2.
The Munich Agreement leads to the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia
__________
3.
Germany reoccupies the Rhineland
__________
4.
The Nazi-Soviet Non-Agression Pact signed.
__________
5.
The Japanese attack Pearl Harbor
__________
6.
Germany walks out of the Geneva Disarmament Conference
__________ 7.
Mukden incident; Japan invades Manchuria
__________
8.
Lend Lease Act is passed
__________
9.
Incident at the Marco Polo Bridge; Japan invades China
__________
10.
Chamberlain abandons appeasement at the Birmingham speech; soon after, Britain offers
Poland a guarantee of independence and integrity
IB Contemporary World History
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Mr. Blackmon
Page 41
Mr. Blackmon
Chronology of Origins of World War II Test
Form B
Place the following events in their correct chronological order by placing a number (1) beside the first event,
and number (2) beside the second event, a number (3) beside the third event, etc.
__________ 1.
Italy invades Ethiopia
__________
2.
Stalin invades Poland and the Baltic States
__________
3.
Hitler invades Poland
__________
4.
Murder of Sergei Kirov in Leningrad marks the beginning of the Great Purge
__________ 5.
Japanese occupy French Indochina; the U.S. embargoes scrap iron and oil
__________
6.
Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany
__________
7.
Treaty of Locarno
__________ 8.
Battle of Britain
__________ 9.
Germany announces Anschluss with Austria
__________
The Phoney War
10.
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Mr. Blackmon
Page 42
IB Contemporary World History
Mr. Blackmon
Chronology of Origins of World War II Test
Form C
Place the following events in their correct chronological order by placing a number (1) beside the first event,
and number (2) beside the second event, a number (3) beside the third event, etc.
__________ 1.
Germany occupies Moravia and Bohemia, and proclaims a puppet Slovakian state
__________
2.
Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis formed
__________
3.
Hossbach Memorandum; Hitler outlines his aggressive designs
__________ 4.
Italy invades Albania
__________
5.
Night of the Long Knives
__________
6.
Kellogg-Briand Pact
__________
7.
Barbarossa: Hitler invades the Soviet Union
__________
8.
Hitler invades Norway and Denmark
__________
9.
Spanish Civil War breaks out
__________ 10.
Germans break through the French front at the Meuse