World War II

World War II was the deadliest war in history. Seventeen million military personnel deaths and over thirty million civilian deaths in the Soviet Union and China alone. The war was led into by the end of WWI (World War 1). Germany, Italy, and Japan all suffered economic problems and by the late 1920's, their economy started restoring. As this happened, the opposite happened to the United States. The U.S. then entered the Great Depression.

Japan's invasion of Manchuria is claimed to be the start of World War II. Japan demonstrated aggression and conquered eastern China by 1938. At this time, Italy conquered Ethiopia in '36, and Germany, in '38, united with Austria. In 1936, Germany and Italy allied and Japan joined in 1940, forming the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis. During this time, Spain was in civil war. General Francisco Franco was the leader of the Nationalists against Spain's government. Hitler and Mussolini supported the revolution and the Spanish Civil War divided the world into those who supported Nazism and Fascism, and those who were against it.

Hitler and British Prime Minister Neville chamberlain met several times trying to restore peace. It came down to if Hitler took Czechoslovakia, he wouldn't try to acquire more territory. Hitler then invaded Poland almost a year later, September 1, 1939, braking his promise. Blitzkrieg (Lightning War) relied on speed and surprise, and was carried out flawlessly. Britain and France pledged their support for the Allied cause, but stood by while Hitler attacked Poland.

After that, German forces conquered Denmark and Norway, capturing vital ports. After these invasions, Chamberlain resigned. Winston Churchill, on May 10, 1940, replaced him. On that same day, Germany created another blitzkrieg taking control over Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands. The French tried to hold the Germans attacks off with the Maginot Line (a strip of defense along the French-German border). The Line didn't prevent the Germans from attacking; the Germans simply proceeded around the "Line" and into France. This brought up another blitzkrieg, on June 5. As before, it was effective and the French signed an armistice on June 22.

The German air force, the Luftwaffe, began to mount assaults on the British Royal Air Force stations. In September 1940, Germany believed it had destroyed the RAF, so it turned its guns towards London. Great Britain, during this time, remained great and survived some of Germany's most destructive efforts. In May 1941, Germany stopped the air raids. Meanwhile, the British forces in North Africa were fighting to repel the invading Italians. The British kept Italy out of Egypt and moved them into Libya .

In March and April of 1941, the Germans took over Yugoslavia and Greece. The British soldiers retreated to Crete Island and Germany then orchestrated the first ever airborne invasion, dropping thousands of paratroopers