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
-came form divine origin
-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 in to 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
- 2. modern army
- 3. strong navy
Showed off new power in several wars
- 1. Sino-Japanese War
-1894-95
-Japan won
- 2. Russo-Japanese War
-1904-05
-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 in to 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
-open defiance of superior officers by junior officers
-seen as a positive thing
-shows the spirit of the soldier
Japanese Invasion of Manchuria
- The league of nations could not enforce its authority
- A major power could get away with using force
- Great Britain and France wanted to avoid war at all costs
- Other powers would see this as a sign that they too could get away with the use of force
- The League of Nations also lost its most powerful member in the east
Ethiopia Invaded by Mussolini 1936
- Italy lost its Euthiopia colony in africa at the 1896 Battle of Adua
- One of the worst colonial diasters of modern history
- Feb. 23, 1935, Italy sends large forces into Ethiopia
- Oct 7, 1935, League declared Italy the aggressor
Italy/Ethiopia Invasion
- Nov 18, 1935- Leagues sanctions begin
- arms embargo, financial embargo, non-importation of Italian goods
- Feb, 1939- League could not agree on critical oil sanctions mainly because FDR refused- US controlled 50% world oil trade
- Feb 29, 1936- FDR signed the 1936 Neutality Act
- Mandatory arms embargo with warring nations
- mandatory ban on loans to warring nations
- May 5- Italy occupied Addis Ababa- annexed all Ethiopia May 9
Generalisimo Franciso Franco and the Spanish Civil War- 1936-39
Rome- Berlin Axis-1936 it an alliance between Russia and Germany
Appeasement Policy
- a diplomatic policy aimed at avoiding war by making concessions to an aggressor
- Great Britain and France used this policy throughout the 1930s
- Helped give Japan, Italy, and Germany confidence that they would face no consequences for their actions
- Considered to be a huge mistake by historians
Panany Incident 1937:
Sudetenland/ Munich Conference- 1938
Neville Chamberlain- Great Britain
Hitler- Germany
Benito Mussolini- Italy
Edouard Daladier- France
Munich Pact ( Appeasement):
Reunited Germany speaking people
- Germany was given the Sudentenland of Czechoslovakia
- Czechoslovakia had the option to accept Pact of deal with Germany itself
- Czechoslovakia lost it's defensible borders and fortifications
- Czechoslovakia also lost 70% of its iron/steel, 70% of its electrical power and 3.5 million citizens to Germany as a result of the settlement
Munich Conference Chamberlain: "Peace for our time"
Hitler Takes the Rest of Czechoslavakia on March, 1939:: He took over the previously areas to get the Germans but he also wanted more.
- British Prime Minster Neville Chamberlain started taking Nazi Germany and Hitler much more seriously after this
- Winston Churchill had warned about this happening ( after Hitler taking the rest of Czechoslovakia)
- Great Britain and France started mobilizing for war
Nazi- Soviet Union Non- Aggression Pact- 1939- German ambassador von Ribbentrop and Soviet dictator Stalin laugh as Molotov signs the Nazi- Soviet Non- Aggression Pact on August 23, 1939
Non Aggression Pact
- Russia gave raw materials to Germany in exchange for money and weapons
- Both agreeed to stay neutral if the other entered the war
- Sectretly 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 Lituania
How did the world react to the Pact?
- 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
Blitzkreig - Lighting War
- Airforce attacks enemy front- line rear positions, main roads, airfields and communication center
- Tank units breakthrough mains of defensive and advance deeper into enemy territory
- Infantry attacks enemy flanks in order to link up with other groups to complete the attack
- Mechanized groups go deeper into the enemy territory
- Main force links with other units
- Goal was to achieve victory as quick as possible
Sitzkreig- The Phony War
Tripartite Pact is signed Axis Powers
Allied Powers: Britain, Soviet Union, United States, China, France, Canada, Austrilia
Axis Powers: Germany, Japan Italy
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