Roads to World War II The World between 1919 and 1939

Japanese Aggression Needed additional raw materials and markets for selling goods Needed living space for a rapidly growing population Wanted less dependence on foreign goods/materials

Manchuria

Japanese Aggression In 1931 Japan created the Mukden Incident in Manchuria (Railroad explosion) Using the incident Japan invaded Manchuria Japan set up a puppet state known as Manchukuo China protested with the League Of Nations League Of Nations sided with China Investigations showed Japan Responsible Result – Japan withdrew from League Of Nations and was diplomatically isolated

Japanese Aggression From 1931 to 1937 Japan and China engaged in “incidents” Japan sought to control China and attacked eastern and southern Chinese cities In 1937 the capital of China, Nanking, was conquered by Japan Began 8 year total warfare for control of China

Italian Aggression 1934 Italy looked to invade Ethiopia Reasons: power and prestige Ethiopia appeals to League Of Nations League Of Nations applied economic sanctions - failed 1936 Ethiopia was annexed by Italy

Ethiopia

Italian Aggression In 1939 Italy invaded Albania and absorbed it into the greater Italian Empire Reasons: control of Adriatic Sea and expansionist policies After observing the appeasement policies of Britain and France towards Germany’s invasion of Czechoslovakia, Italy decided to invade

Albania

The Spanish Civil War Republicans Democratic liberals Urban workers Most landless peasants Much of the educated middle class All the left-wing political groups Socialist and Anarchist Trade Unions Nationalists Fascists and conservatives The majority of Catholic clergy and practicing Catholics Most of the large landowners Businessmen Lead by Francisco Franco

The Spanish Civil War Republican Foreign Aid Nationalists Foreign Aid The USSR Mexico Nationalists Foreign Aid Portugal Germany Italy

The Spanish Civil War For these dictators, it was an opportunity to “test” their weapons, including tanks and planes, and see how they worked

The Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil War The main aim of the Nationalists was to occupy Madrid But the defense of the city was fierce Having failed to take the capital, Franco bombarded it from the air

The Spanish Civil War Hitler sent his famous “Condor Legion.” This was a group of skilled pilots with new planes that were trained at dive bombing targets

The Spanish Civil War After the failed attempt to conquer Madrid, Franco decided to finish the Republican North In April the German Condor Legion bombed the town of Guernica in the Basque Country, causing hundreds of casualties

The Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ended in March 1939 when the National troops invaded Madrid and took control of the Government Hitler and Mussolini began to work closer together as dictators

The Spanish Civil War Was a dress rehearsal for WWII Italy and Germany vs. USSR Weapons used and battle tactics Differences from WWII Fascist (Francisco Franco with help of Germany & Italy) win in Spanish Civil War where as the Fascist (Germany/Italy) lose in WWII Spain did not join with Hitler’s Germany during WWII even though Hitler had helped the national troops in their Spanish Civil War Franco insisted that Spain remain independent and neutral