From Versailles to Pearl Harbor Actions of Germany, Italy, & Japan
Italian imperialism Date Action Response by Allies Signal 1924 1927 1935-36 Treaty w/Yugoslavia to take Fiume Protectorate over Albania Invaded Ethiopia League of Nations forbids arms sales & lending money to Italy (no oil embargo) U.S. Neutrality Acts (1935, 36, 37): no arms sales, no traveling, no loans to countries at war
Spanish civil War Date Action Response by Allies Signal Early 1930s-1939 Francisco Franco (fascist) fought against socialists for control of Spain Mussolini & Hitler help him (alliance called Rome-Berlin Axis) 3,000 Americans joined “Lincoln’s Battalion” & fought in Spain against Franco Fr/Br/U.S.: officially stayed neutral
Militarism in japan Date Action Response by Allies Signal 1930s 1931 1936 1937 Background: Unstable economy b/c of no natural resources, but military strong b/c “police state” Attacked Manchuria for coal & iron Signed military agreement: Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis Bombed civilians in Shanghai, China Unhappy, but took no action Cancelled commercial treaty & stopped gas/scrap metal sales. Quarantine Speech by FDR: contain fascism through economic embargoes—Am still isolationist
Hitler violates treaty of versailles Date Action Response by Allies Signal 1936 1938 Fall 1938 Rearms & reoccupies Rhineland Anchluss (annexation) of Austria Demand Sudetenland (3m Germans there) in Czechoslovakia Fr/Br condemn his move, but take no action (Fr wants military response, but Br doesn’t want to risk war) U.S. Neutral Munich agreement: appease Hitler w/Sudetenland Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact
War Begins Date Action Response by Allies Signal 9/1 1939 1940 Hitler Invades Poland Hitler controls most of Europe Br/Fr declare war U.S.: Cash & Carry U.S./Br: Atlantic Charter (war aims) U.S.: Lend-Lease Act
Pearl harbor Date Action Response by Allies Signal 10/41 12/7/41 General Hideki Tojo (Prime Minister of Japan) wants to resume Japan/U.S. economic relations Bombs Pearl Harbor, HI; sank or damaged 8 battleships, damaged 10 other ships, destroyed 188 planes, & killed 2,300 Americans U.S. refuses unless Japan withdraws from China. U.S. declares war. Germany & Italy declare war on U.S. U.S. declares war on Germany/Italy.