Transcript Axis Powers
nit VIII. World War II A. The Road to War A. The Road to War 1. Japan Invades China to as the a. Japanese military gov’t wanted to build a large Pacific empire b. In 1931, Japan seized Chinese Manchuria (Manchurian Incident) *League of Nations went against Japan, so Japan withdrew from the League c. In 1937, the Japanese army invaded the Chinese mainland (start of WWII in Asia) *They established a puppet-gov’t under their control -the invasion of the city of Nanjing was so brutal it is often referred “Rape of Nanjing” -Japan continued to gain territory in Eastern Asia throughout the 1930’s and early 1940’s A. The Road to War (cont’d) 2. Italy Attacks Ethiopia a. In 1935, the Italian army invaded Ethiopia *The Ethiopian king asked League for help -agreed to stop the sale of weapons and other war materials to Italy -The agreement was not honored by all nations 3. German Aggression in Europe a. Hitler glorified was as a means of restoring German national pride *He rebuilt the military *1936, sent troops into the Rhineland *1938, made Austria part of the German empire *Same year, forced Czechoslovakia to give Germany a border area called the Sudetenland German Territorial Gains, 1936-38 A. The Road to War (cont’d) 4. Appeasement to 1931, Japan invades Manchuria a. Western democracies adopted a policy of appeasement during the 1930’s *Appeasement: diplomatic policy aimed at avoiding war by making concessions another power *Nations would give in to aggressive demands to maintain peace *The western democracies responded weakly to German aggression -during the Munich Conference, 1938, western democracies agreed that Germany would seize control of the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia -Britain’s P.M, Neville Chamberlain, thought he was able to curtail Hitler's advancement and establish “peace in our time” 1935, Italy attacks Ethiopia 1936, Germany occupies the Rhineland 1937, Japan invades China 1938,Germany invades Austria and seizes the Sudetenland 1939, Germany invades Poland and takes Czechoslovakia A. The Road to War (cont’d) 5. Alliances a. Britain and France formed the Allied Powers (later joined by the Soviets, China, and the U.S.) b. Italy, Germany, and Japan formed the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis (aka Axis Powers) -originally included a secret alliance between Germany and the U.S.S.R., but Hitler would break the agreement 6. Start of the War a. Axis powers agreed to fight communism and democracy and to not stop each other imperialist conquests -Soon became clear appeasement failed as a policy -Several events led to declaration of war: 3/1939, Hitler took over the rest of Czechoslovakia 8/1939, Hitler forms the NaziSoviet Pact 9/1939, Germany invaded Poland 9/1939, Britain and France declare war on Germany World War II had begun in Europe B. WWII Begins (cont’d) 7. Axis Powers Advance a. Beginning of the war, the Axis powers had the advantage and prevailed *Nazi forces conquered Poland in a swift, massive attack known as blitzkrieg -April, 1940, Hitler overran Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Belgium -By June, the Germans had entered Paris •Charles De Gaulle formed a gov’t in exile (England) and ordered French forces to keep fighting -The Axis war machine extended across the world; would reach its height in 1942