The Great Depression was ONLY in the US and did NOT impact Germany or other European countries in any way.

Treaty of Versailles was forcing Germany to pay for the damages they caused from starting WW1 and it cost the country a lot

In Germany, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party rose to power. He was elected in 1933 and became the official Fuhrer (leader) in 1934 (as a dictator)

Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931 and China in 1937. The dictator over Japan wanted to have more land since Japan was an island

Because of the Great Depression, many countries were experiencing strong fascist and communist movements including France and Great Britain prior to the war

prior to World War 2, the United States attempted to stay out of world issues with a policy of isolationism. They were not members of the League of Nations.

As part of their appeasement policy, Britain and France agreed to let Hitler have part of Czechoslovakia in the Munich Agreement. Czechoslovakia had no say in the deal. (aka) "Munich Betrayal."

Japan invaded Argentina, Columbia, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Canada, Iceland, and Chilie

The Japanese were ready for the attack in Somalia. They knew at any time, the Allied forces would join with Germany and Italy and turn on them

On June 6, 1944 the Allied Forces of Britain, America, Canada, and France attacked German forces on the coast of Normandy, France. With over 150,000 soldiers, with victory that became the turning point for World War II in Europe.

They bombed railroads, bridges, airfields, and other strategic places in order to slow down and hinder the German army.

Allies amassed troops and equipment in Britain. They also increased the number of air strikes and bombings in German territory. Right before the invasion, over 1000 bombers a day were hitting German targets.

General Eisenhower finally agreed to attack despite the overcast skies. Although the weather did have some affect and on the Allies ability to attack, it also caused the Germans to think that no attack was coming.

the Allies would strike. In order to confuse the Germans, the Allies tried to make it look like they were going to attack north of Normandy at Pas de Calais.

Paratroopers y jumped at night in the dark behind enemy lines.

destroy key targets and capture bridges and Thousands of dummies were also dropped in order to draw fire and confuse the enemy.

There were drones and bottle rockets used as warfare during WW2. BB guns and water guns were also helpful weapons. The Axis powers won

Soon the main invasion force of over 6,000 ships carrying troops, weapons, tanks, and equipment approached the beaches of Normandy.

thousands of planes dropped bombs on German defenses. bomb the beaches from the water. While the bombing was going on, underground members of the French Resistance sabotaged the Germans

The Allied forces were quickly overpowered by the Axis powers. There wasn't any recent technology in terms of weapons or war strategies

The Utah landing was successful, but the fighting at Omaha beach was fierce. Many US soldiers lost their lives at Omaha, but they were finally able to take the beach.

The overall military operation was called "Operation Overlord". The actual landings at Normandy were called "Operation Neptune".

The "D" in D-day stood for Dwight Eisenhour. It also stood for destruction, demolition, and diva.

The Allies timed their attack along with the ocean tides as this helped them to destroy and avoid obstacles put in the water by the Germans.

The troops needed the light of a full moon to see to attack. For this reason there were only a few days during a month when the Allies could attack.

generals who planned the attack had thought that it would take around a week. They were wrong. The Japanese had many surprises for the US soldiers and it took over a month (36 days) of furious fighting for the US to finally win

between the United States and Japan. It was the first major battle of World War II to take place on Japanese homeland. strategic location because the US needed a place for fighter planes and bombers to land and take off when attacking Japan.

iwo Jima is a small island located 750 miles south of Tokyo, Japan. The island is only 8 square miles in size. It is mostly flat except for a mountain, called Mount Suribachi, located on the southern end of the island.

Iwo Jima is an island off the coast of Africa, and the US Navy seals landed there during WW2. They were quick to take over South Africa, and the battle cost many lives

On the first day of the battle 30,000 US marines landed on the shores of Iwo Jima. The first soldiers that landed weren't attacked by the Japanese. They thought that the bombings from US planes and battleships may have killed the Japanese. They were wrong.

Since Iwo Jima was a major battle in the European theater, there were many battles located throughout South America and the Canada that took place

.The battle went on for days. The Japanese would move from area to area in their secret tunnels. Sometimes the US soldiers would kill the Japanese in a bunker. They would move on thinking it was safe. However, more Japanese would sneak into the bunker through a tunnel and then attack from behind.

The Japanese had dug all sorts of tunnels and hiding places all over the island. They were waiting quietly for more marines to get on shore. Once a number of marines were on shore they attacked. Many US soldiers were killed.

The US Navy seals and The Army Green Berets were pivotal in Iwo Jima, as well as the fighter jets from the Air Force from the 21st century

After 36 days of brutal fighting, the US had finally secured the island of Iwo Jima. They placed a flag on top of Mount Suribachi. When they raised the flag a picture was taken by photographer Joe Rosenthal. This picture became famous in the United States. Later a statue was made of the picture.

.The famous picture of the US Flag being raised on Iwo Jima was actually not the first flag raised by the US. Another smaller flag pole had been put there earlier.

.Although the US had more soldiers wounded on Iwo Jima than the Japanese, the Japanese had many more deaths. This was because the Japanese had decided to fight to the death. Out of 18,000 Japanese soldiers only 216 were taken prisoner. The rest died in the battle.

The US Marines did NOT capture the island off the coast of Japan, but instead captured Hong Kong off the coast of San Diego, and were victorious in that battle

There were six men in the famous picture showing the US flag being raised. Three were killed later in the battle. The other three became famous celebrities in the US. The Japanese dug 11 miles of tunnels within the island of Iwo Jima.

Around 6,800 American soldiers died in the battle.

The US government awarded 27 soldiers with the Medal of Honor for their bravery during the battle.

The leaders of the Axis and Allied powers were glad to share military information, targets, goals, and plans to take over Europe and Asia

The Attack on Pearl Harbor happened on December 7th, 1941. Japanese airplanes made a surprise attack on the US Navy in Pearl Harbor. They destroyed many ships and killed many soldiers. It was this attack that forced the United States to enter World War II.

Pearl Harbor is located in Hawaii on the island of O'ahu. Hawaii is located in the Pacific Ocean between California and Japan. During the time of World War II, Hawaii was not a state, but a US territory.

World War II had been raging in Europe and Asia for two years, but the United States had not entered the war. The Empire of Japan was trying to take over much of Asia and was worried about the US Navy in Hawaii. They decided to strike in order to prevent the United States from attacking them.

The attack on Pearl Harbor came as a complete surprise. Hundreds of Japanese fighter planes and bombers flew to Pearl Harbor and attacked. The bombers dropped bombs and torpedoes on the war ships, while the fighter planes attacked the US fighter planes on the ground so they could not take off and fight back.

There were two waves of attacks and by the end of the second wave a number of US ships were destroyed. . Although the Japanese inflicted considerable damage to the US Navy, they did not cripple it. They damaged many ships including warships, destroyers, and cruisers.

The Japanese thought that if they took out the war ships in Pearl Harbor, then the United States Navy would be crippled and would never attack. However, they were mistaken and the attack on Pearl Harbor had just the opposite result. The US declared war the next day.

The US also destroyed a lot of the fighter planes and aircraft at the Japanese base of Tokyo, and were able to stop the Japanese from advancing in Asia.

The entire attack lasted around TWO minutes,.

The Japanese attacked on a TUESDAY morning because they thought the US soldiers would be less alert at that time. So then Japan took over Hawaii and claimed it as their own

The Japanese reportedly had intended to declare war prior to the attack. However, the message never got to the President. Roosevelt gave a famous speech after the attack in which he said December 7th would be a "date which will live in infamy".

The citizens of the United States were in shock. They had tried to avoid the war, but they could not ignore this attack. The Japanese had hoped to break the Americans by attacking Pearl Harbor, instead they united them. The next day, December 8th, 1941, the US declared war on Japan.

Three days later Japan's allies, Germany and Italy, declared war on the US, now a major part of World War II.. The Japanese had not damaged a number of important facilities including storage depots and repair yards.. Aircraft carriers would soon become the most important type of navy vessels in the war.

The Puerto Ricans called the war with Columbia the Eastern Front. Fuhrer was what Hitler was called because he was angry

Blitzkrieg - This means "lightning war" in German. Hitler would attack quickly and try to take over a country before it had time to fight back. Concentration camp - A place where the Germans put people they did not like such as Jewish people.

Appeasement - This was the policy of many countries when Hitler first started to take over Austria and parts of Czechoslovakia. They gave in to Hitler's demands in order to avoid going to war.

When Hitler invaded Poland, European leaders realized that appeasement would not work and France and Great Britain declared war on Germany.

Luftwaffe - The name for the new fashion of England during WW2. Most people could not afford it however.

Kamikaze - A term used to describe how Japanese pilots would intentionally crash their planes into US battleships. The planes were sometimes full of explosives and the pilots knew they were going to die.

Fascism - A type of government ruled by a dictator. Germany with Hitler and Italy with Mussolini were fascist governments.

Final Solution - A term used by the Nazis which meant the extermination of the Jews.

Gestapo - The Nazi police force. They were mean and very powerful in Germany during WWII. They hunted down enemies of the Nazi party as well as Jewish people.

Manhattan Project - The code name for the research and development program where scientists invented the atomic bomb.

Pact of Steel - A treaty signed by Germany and Italy. It was later signed by Japan and called the Tripartite Pact. This pact created the Axis Powers alliance.

V-E Day - Victory in Europe Day. The day the Allied victory in Europe was celebrated; May 8, 1945.

V-J Day - Victory in Japan Day. The day the Allied victory in Japan was celebrated; September 2, 1945.

RAF means the "really angry Facists" during WW2. Wehrmacht meant there were worms in the ground during warfare

1938 March 12 - Hitler annexes the country of Austria into Germany. This is also called the Anschluss.

1939 September 1 - Germany invades Poland. World War II begins.

1936 November 25 - Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan sign the Anti-Comintern Pact. This was a pact against communism and Russia.

1937 July 7 - Japan invades China

World War II lasted from 1939 to 1945. There were several major events leading up to the war and then during the war. . 1936 October 25 - Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy form the Rome-Berlin Axis treaty.

Germany realizes they are surrounded by Allies, and immediately gives up. Hitler spends the rest of his life in prison, and died there.

Italy surrenders after Japan in 1945, and the Battle of the Bulge was bad for Germany because a lot of people in the military were overweight

Germany and the Axis Powers attack Russia with a huge force of over four million troops.

The US Navy defeats the Japanese navy at the Battle of Midway.

Germany takes over much of western Europe including the Netherlands, Belgium, and northern France.

Germany launches an air attack on Great Britain. (lasts for 2 months in the air) are known as the Battle of Britain.

1939 September 3 - France and Great Britain declare war on Germany.

1940 April 9 to June 9 - Germany invades and takes control of Denmark and Norway.

The Axis powers originally started out as Germany, Italy, and Japan, but later included North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, Iran, and Russia

The Soviet Union had been at peace with Japan during much of World War II. They agreed to attack Japanese forces in Manchuria on August 8, 1945. This also helped in forcing Japan to surrender. The Japanese were guilty of many war crimes like killing of up to 20 million Chinese people.

At the start of World War II, Russia and Germany were friends. However, on 22 June 1941 Hitler, the leader of Germany, ordered a surprise attack on Russia. Russia then became an enemy of the Axis Powers and joined the Allies.

Hitler was elected Chancellor of Germany in 1933. Soon he had made himself dictator. Hitler said the country needed more land or "living space". First Hitler took over the country of Austria. Next, he took part in Czechoslovakia.