Japan
Dictatorship also came to Japan
-not through a political party but the military
History
-rich military tradition
-feudal clans fought each other for dominance in Japan
-The Emperor presided over the Japanese government (never talked to people of Japan until Emperor said they were surrendering)
-came form divine origin (from God)
-descendent of the Sun Goddess
-played minor role in the government
-he was above politics
-shogun had the political power
-ruled in the name of the Emperor
Japanese society
1. Landowning clans dominated (protected by the samurai)
2. Wealthy merchant class
3. Peasants (most of the people of Japan)
Japan was very isolated until 1853 when US Commodore Matthew Perry sailed into Japan and forced them to open their ports
In the late 1800’s many Japanese were tired of being controlled by foreign countries.
-adopted western ways in hopes to keep Western Powers out of their country
1. heavy industry (became industrialized)
2. modern army (modeled army after Germany)
3. strong navy (modeled navy after Britain)
Showed off new power in several wars
1. Sino-Japanese War
-1894-1895
-Japan won
2. Russo-Japanese War
-1904-1905
-Japan shocked the world by beating Russia
-gained partial control of Manchuria
3. World War I
-allied with the US
-gained German Islands in the Pacific after the war
1920’s
-gave all men the right to vote
-signed the 4, 5 and 9 Power Pacts
-joined the League of Nations
-signed the Kellog-Briand Pact
1930’s
-Great Depression changed everything
-people blamed the government for tough times
-military leaders stepped in and took control
-said Japan had to expand into Asia to help economy
-assassinated political leaders that opposed them
-took away people’s rights
Japanese Military Honor
1. fight to the death
2. commit suicide rather than surrender
3. gekokujo (lower military soldiers that invade without permission of commanders)
-open defiance of superior officers by junior officers
-seen as a positive thing
-shows the spirit of the soldier
Japanese Invasion of Manchuria
1. United Nations condemned Japanese Invasion of Manchuria, but didn't really couldn't enforce its authority
2. A major power could get away with using force
3. Great Britain and France wanted to avoid war at all costs
4. The League of Nations also lost its most powerful member in the Far East, which was Japan
Good Neighbor Policy
- Roosevelt realized we need to become better neighbors with Latin American countries
- It would benefit us in trade
- To keep Hitler and Mussolini out of Latin America and have allies in Latin America (Western Hemisphere)
Ethiopia invaded by Mussolini in 1936
- Italy lost its Ethiopia colony in Africa at the 1896 Battle of Adua
- One of the worst colonial disasters of modern history
- Feb 23, 1935, Italy sends large forces into Ethiopia
- Oct 7, 1935, League delared Italy the aggressor
Italy/Ethiopia Invasion
- Leagues sanctions begin- arms embargo, financial embargo, non-importation of Italian Goods
- League couldn't agree on critical oil sanctions mainly because FDR refused- US controlled 50% of world trade
- FDR signed the 1936 Neutrality Act (1. mandatory arms embargo with warring nations. 2. mandatory ban on loans to warring nations)
- Italy occupied Addis Ababa- annexed all Ethiopia
Spanish Civil War- 1936-1939
- Generalisimo Francisco Franco: Spanish leader
- Hitler and Mussolini sent troops and money to Franco to help Franco win, which he did
- Spain was a neutral country, which angered Hitler.
- Hitler thought of Franco as an allie.
Rome-Berlin Axis - 1936
- Hitler and Mussolini became allies (Germany and Italy)
- Axis- Mussolini came up with it because world rotated around their two cities
- China was to Japan as Soviet Union was to Germany
- Rape of Nanking, China- 1937
- Chinese Women and Children were raped by the Japanese, then were killed afterward.
Quarantine Speech- 1937
- Roosevelt's speech was to have Britain and other Allied Powers need to come together and "quarantine" the aggressive countries of the world (Germany, Japan, Italy)
Appeasement Policy-
- a deplomatic policy aimed at avoiding war by making concessions to an aggressor
- Great Britain and France used this policy throughout the 1930's
- Helped give Japan, Italy, and Germany confidence that they would face no consequences for their actions
- Considered to be a huge mistake by historians
Panay Incident- 1937
- Americans went in with gun boats to protect American interests, products and people in China
- Japanese didn't know it was an American ship. They thought it was a Chinese ship.
Anschluss with Austria- 1938
- Hitler was uniting Germany with Austria
- Austria wanted to become part of Germany after WWI
- Austria let Hitler take their country to avoid war
Sudentenland/Munich Conference- 1938
- Czech Republic and Slovakia make up Czechlslovakia. Sudentenland was a part of Czechloslovakia and Hitler wanted it "to reunite German speaking people"
- Munich Conference Leaders:
- Neville Chamberlain (Great Britain)
- Adolf Hitler (Germany)
- Benito Mussolini (Italy)
- Edouard Daladier (France)
- Germany was given the Sudentenland of Czechloslovakia
- Czechloslovakis had the option to accept Pact or deal with Germany itself
- Czechloslovakia lost it's defensible borders and fortifications
- Czechloslovakia also lost 70% of its iron/steel 70% of its electrical power 3.5 million citizens to Germany as a result of the settlement
Munich Conference
- Winston Churchill was seen as a war monitor and was not very popular
- Chamberlain was very popular, but trusted that Germany wouldn't take over the rest of Germany
Hitler Takes the Rest of Czechoslovakia- March 1939
- For a few months, Hitler said that he wouldn't take over the rest of Czechoslovakia and laid low, but then he took it over and seperated it into pieces
- Great Britain and France started mobilizing for war (building up military)
- Winston Churchill had warned about this happening (Hitler taking the rest of Czechoslovakia)
- Chamberlain took Nazi Germany and Hitler much more seriously after this event.
Nazi-Soviet Non-aggression Pact- 1939
- Hitler made a pact with the Soviet Union to eliminate a two-sided war.
- Russia gave raw materials to Germany in exchange for money and weapons
- Both agreed to stay neutral if the other entered the war
- Secretly agreed to invade and split Poland. Germany would get the western half and USSR the eastern half.
- Russia would get Finland, Estonia, and Latvia and Germany would get Lithuania.
- People reacted really shocked, Poland was in a very tough spot.
- Hitler thought it would force Great Britain and France to back out of their promise to help Poland if attacked.
Blitzkrieg-Lightning War
- The goal of the Blitzkreig was to achieve victory as quickly as possible.
- Used: Plane attacks, Infantry, Mechanized Units.
- Cut off the enemy and encircle them on both sides and trap them, forcing the enemy to either be killed or surrender.
- Bombers were given sirens to terrorize and scare people
Sitzkrieg- The Phony War
- "Sitting War" Countries were waiting for war, waiting for winter to get over. Didn't really do much.
- Hitler goes on a rampage with taking countries over in April.
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