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The Beginnings in Germany
Following its defeat in World War I, and
the signing of the Treaty of Versailles,
Germany was suffering from a series of
hardships. Reparations needed to be paid.
It lost a significant amount of territory due
to the Treaty of Versailles. Germany was
decimated due to war, and it needed to
rebuild. Due to the conditions of the treaty,
hyperinflation was to blame for the
country’s postwar economic collapse.
These factors caused many German citizens
to grow weary of the current political
leaders. Democracy is a deliberative
process, and changes often come slowly.
When conditions are desperate, people want
changes more quickly. A strong leader who
can bend the rules, break the logjams and
force quick changes can be attractive when
times are bad. This atmosphere allowed the
National Socialist Party, and its leader,
Adolf Hitler to come to power in Germany.
Leader of Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler
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The Beginnings in Italy
The leader of the National Fascist Party in Italy,
Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini came to power in Italy in
1923. At this time, Mussolini was the head
of the National Fascist Party, which ousted
the Prime Minister of Italy in 1922. This
coup came to be known as Mussolini’s
March on Rome. This made Italy a fascist
state.
Mussolini encouraged Italian nationalism,
comparing the Italy of the future to the
glory days of the Roman Empire. His
dictatorial tactics also enabled him to cut
through Italy’s notorious bureaucracy,
which gained him popularity. A standard
comment on Mussolini was that whatever
his faults, “he got the trains to run on
time.”
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Rome-Berlin Axis
Hitler, Mussolini, and their respective
parties had a strong sense of nationalism.
By this, they believed a particular
ethnicity or culture had the right to
independently constitute a political
community based on its shared history and
common goals. With Hitler’s Nazi beliefs
and Mussolini’s Fascist beliefs, they both
ran their countries in dictatorial and
repressive fashions.
When Hitler pulled Germany out of the
League of Nations, he and Mussolini came
together to form a treaty called the Pact of
Steel, and together their relationship came
to be known as the Rome-Berlin Axis.
Japan would later join the Axis, as well.
Smaller countries followed suit, and joined
the axis.
Mussolini and Hitler
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War Outbreak in Europe
German troops march through Poland
During this time, Nazi Germany and
the Soviet Union were sworn
enemies, historically and
ideologically. However, in August,
1939, the two countries signed a nonaggression pact, known as the
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. According
to the pact, neither country would
intervene if the other went to war with
a third party. The pact also partitioned
Poland, the Baltic Republics, and
Finland. It was an agreement neither
side believed would last, signed to
buy time for the war both sides knew
would come between them. The war
in Europe officially began on
September 1, 1939 when Germany
invaded western Poland.The Soviets,
with less fanfare, moved in and
occupied eastern Poland.
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Invasion of Poland
September 1–October 6, 1939
The invasion marked the beginning of
World War II. It took place a week after
the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was signed.
The invasion lasted over a month. After
defeating Poland at the Battle of Bzura in
mid-September, Germany gained a
significant advantage. Polish forces
retreated, awaiting Allied relief and a
counterattack. Sticking to the pact they
made with Germany, the Soviets invaded
Poland on September 17. All Polish
troops retreated to Romania, which
remained a neutral country. Within three
days, Britain and France declared war on
Germany.
German battleship Schleswig-Holstein
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Battle of the Atlantic
September 3–May 7, 1945
MS Pennsylvania Sun after being torpedoed by U-571
The Battle of Atlantic began right after
the Invasion of Poland and lasted until
Nazi Germany was defeated. This was
the longest military campaign of World
War II. The battle was fought primarily
between the German submarines, or Uboats, and the Allied fleets, led by the
United Kingdom, and eventually the
United States. Later in the battle, the
Italian Royal Navy joined in on the side
of Nazi Germany. Nonetheless, the
Allied powers were victorious in this
battle.
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Operation Dynamo
Operation Dynamo was the code name of the
Dunkirk evacuation. During the Battle of France,
a number of Allied soldiers were surrounded by
German troops. British Prime Minister Winston
Churchill called it the greatest military defeat in
many centuries. He said, “the whole root, the
core, and brain of the British Army was trapped
behind enemy lines.” Fortunately, Hitler
diverted most of his troops to capture Paris,
giving the British and French at Dunkirk a
chance to escape. More than 330,000 soldiers,
British and French, were rescued, by a
courageous fleet of anything that could float
dispatched hastily from the British coast.
Though in retreat, the evacuation was a great
morale booster for the British.
British troops evacuating the beaches
of Dunkirk
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Battle of Britain
July 10–September 17, 1940
Bombing of London
This battle was the first to be fought
entirely by air forces. This battle pitted the
British Empire against Nazi Germany and
Italy. This was the battle in which German
air forces were attempting to gain control of
the airspace of the United Kingdom.
Hitler’s forces hoped that the German
Luftwaffe could bomb Britain into
submission so that Germany could avoid
the difficult invasion by sea of the British
Isles by a land-based army. The British,
utilizing their strong Fighter command,
were able to defeat the Germans in the air.
Hitler broke off the attack in order to plan
for an attack on the Soviet Union.
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Operation Barbarossa
June–December 1941
Operation Barbarossa was the code name
for the Axis invasion of the Soviet
Union. Early in the war, Germany and
Soviet Union signed a secret nonaggression pact, promising not to go to
war with each other. However, both
countries knew they would eventually
fight each other. The Axis powers
wanted to conquer the western part of
Russia. They failed as the Soviets pushed
them back after winning several key
victories. The price was horrible; the
Russians lost about 20 million people in
this campaign. The German armies were
nearly wiped out.
On December 7, 1941, Japan and the
United States went to war. The next day,
Germany declared war on the United
States since it was allied with Japan.
Russian tanks attempt to fight back the
Germany and Axis invasion of the Soviet Union
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Operation Torch
November 8–10, 1942
Allied troops storm the beaches of Algiers in
French North Africa
Allied forces, led by the United States and
the United Kingdom, invaded French North
Africa during the North African Campaign.
The Soviet Union pressured the United States
and the United Kingdom to begin their
operations in Northern Europe to help relieve
the German pressure off Russian forces. The
Soviet Union asked for assistance in its
Operation Sledgehammer, but the U.S. and
U.K. voted against it, lobbying instead, to
storm the beaches of North Africa. British
Prime Minister Churchill was especially
skeptical of getting bogged down in an attack
against occupied France before they were
really ready for it. He favored wearing the
Nazis down gradually. In North Africa,
Allied powers looked to clear any Axis
power, gain control of the Mediterranean
Sea, and prepare for an invasion of southern
Europe.
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Allied Invasion of Sicily
July 9–August 17, 1943
Operation Husky, otherwise known as
the Allied Invasion of Sicily, was a
large-scale military campaign fought in
the air and on the water. This campaign
pitted Nazi Germany and Italy against
the Allied forces, led by the United
States and the United Kingdom. This
invasion launched the Italian Campaign.
This was largest water-borne invasion in
World War II up to that time. The Allied
forces were able to drive Axis forces
from the island of Sicily. The sea lanes
of the Mediterranean were opened, and
Benito Mussolini fell from power in
Italy.
U.S. ship SS Robert Rowan explodes after being hit
by a German bomber off the coast of Sicily.
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Invasion of Normandy
June 6–July 1944
Operation Overlord, or the Invasion
of Normandy, was the largest
seaborne invasion of all time. Allied
forces were led by U.K. and the U.S.,
but consisted of troops from
Australia, Canada, Free French
Forces, New Zealand, Norway, and
Poland. The invasion began with
Allied paratroopers landing overnight,
extreme air attacks, bombings from
naval ships, and the early-morning
invasion at five different locations
along the beaches. The result of the
invasion was a decisive Allied
victory, with heavy fighting at some
locations, like Omaha Beach, and
little resistance at some of the others.
First wave of troops arrive at Omaha Beach
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Battle of the Bulge
December 16, 1944–January 25, 1945
American soldiers fighting in the Battle of the Bulge
Also known as the Ardennes
Offensive, it was an effort by the
German forces to divide the British
and American forces in two. Four
Allied forces were destroyed in the
process. Germany secretly planned
this attack and was successfully able
to catch the Allied powers off guard.
Although the German advance was
finally halted, the Allied forces
suffered a high number of casualties
during the conflict.
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Battle of Berlin
April 16–May 2, 1945
The Battle of Berlin saw a massive
invasion of Soviet troops into
Berlin, as groups attacked from the
south and east. Americans and
British forces had agreed to let the
Russians take Berlin, due to the
bitterness they held toward
Germany after the German invasion
of Russia. The Soviets continued to
make their way into the city, killing
and capturing many German
soldiers. German Dictator Adolf
Hitler, sensing his capture was
imminent, committed suicide
alongside his wife, Eva Braun.
Soldiers hoisting the Soviet flag for their victory
at the Battle of Berlin.
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Spring 1945 Offensive
April 6 – May 2, 1945
Allied forces, led by the Fifth United States Army and British 8th Army,
launched an offensive against the last remnants of Axis forces that still
held out. The offensive was launched in the plains area of EmiliaRomagna, Lombardy, and Veneto, all regions found in northern Italy.
The offensive was a complete success, and ended with Germany’s
surrender in World War II.
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Germany Surrenders
Late April–May 1945
In the final weeks of World War II,
the two central figures of Axis forces
died. On April 28, 1945, Benito
Mussolini was captured and executed,
while Soviet troops were closing in
on Adolf Hitler before he committed
suicide on April 30. German forces
surrendered a day later in Italy, and
on May 2, following the end of the
Battle of Berlin, German forces
surrendered in Berlin. After the defeat
in Berlin, German forces around the
world began surrendering, and Nazi
Germany was disbanded. All
imprisoned civilians in German
concentration camps were freed.
General Eisenhower and Marshal Tedder at
the signing of the German surrender
documents
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