Third+Reich

Nick H. Mrs. Phelps 8th period Class

THE THIRD REICH

The Third Reich during the time of WWII, was the main area that we know a Germany today. This topic covers the expansion to the Third Reich, which includes events such as invasions, expansion, the rise of the nation in power, and the fall when the allies started to attack. Land taken by the Third Reich or people who allied with it became a group now as the Axis. The main event that started the true spread of the empire and started WWII was the invasion of Poland.



Above is a Picture of the Third Reich (To see the full sized picture, click on the map) In the Blue are the Axis, the Third Reich, and areas that the German Nazi armies occupied during WWII. The Red are our Allies. In 1944 - 1945, the allies not only defeated most of the Third Reich's empire, the slowly started to win back all of Europe. Some of the Axis countries working with the Third Reich are Italy, Japan(not on the map) and France. Countries like Britain, the USSR(Soviet Union) and Iceland were allies to the US. As the Third Reich slowly started to spread, it started to become a problem. With the Nazi party in control of the Third Reich's Government, all land conquered by them became part of the same government with the same political party instead. Some countries such as Greece fought for their government. They were taken over, but came to a compromise and kept their own form of Government but the Third Reich's was in charge. As Hitler, the chancelor of the Third Reich at the time, started to go even further west and south, the Nazi army continued to succeed. Conquering just about all land they set foot on. The Third Reich, in only about 10 years, became the largest known empire of the world back then.

For a more detailed list of what exactly started WWII and the Expansion, you can read this article on the [|Invasion of Poland]

The German empire and Axis were conquering all of Europe by the 1940's. WWII was their great turning point in history. Always they were on the losing side, even in WWI, which is hard to believe after seeing their success. They did try to expand into the western hemisphere by starting to attack America after Pearl Harbor. Sadly for them, they failed, miserably. After their attack in the U.S. the U.S. started to attack the Third Reich. Forming the Ally countries such as England (changing them to the UK). Together they fought against the Third Reich and Axis for years. Even during the fighting, the concentration camps inside the Third Reich, continued to exterminate. Molding the image of Germany into a cold-hearted group of killers. Their reputation struck fear into the Axis, ruling with an iron fist smothered in the blood of Jews. During the February of 1943, the first defeat for the Third Reich happened in the Battle of Stalingrad. The Soviet Union fought hard and defeated the German regime. The battle pushed the German new land boarders back westward. Fighting, conquering, defeat, these steps were repeated over and over again. In May 7, the German empire surrendered unconditionally, all the work that was done, the empire was turned to nothing but something for the history books.

THIRD REICH: THE EXPANSION AND DECLINE OF THE AXIS NATION June 28 - Signing of the Treaty of Versailles. Jan 30 - Adolf Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany. Aug 2 - German President Hindenburg dies. Aug 19 - Adolf Hitler becomes Führer of Germany. March 16 - Hitler violates the Treaty of Versailles by introducing military conscription. March 7 - German troops take the Rhineland. May 9 - Mussolini's forces take Ethiopia. March 12-13 - Germany announces a union with Austria Oct 15 - German troops occupy the Sudetenland; Czech government resigns. March 15-16 - Nazis take Czechoslovakia. Aug 25- Britain and Poland sign a Mutual Assistance Treaty. Sept 1 - Nazis invade Poland, so sudden, Poland could barely fight back Sept 3 - Britain, France, Australia and New Zealand declare war on Germany. Sept 5 - United States proclaims neutrality Sept 17 - Soviets invade Poland. Sept 29 - Nazis and Soviets divide up Poland Nov 30 - Soviets attack Finland. April 9 - Nazis invade Denmark and Norway. May 15 - Holland surrenders to the Nazis May 28 - Belgium surrenders to the Nazis. June 10 - Norway surrenders to the Nazis; Italy declares war on Britain and France. June 22 - France signs an armistice (forms an alliance) with Nazis July 23 - Soviets take Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Aug 17 – Germany declares a blockade of the British Isles Aug 23 - First German air raids on Central London. Aug 25 - First British air raid on Berlin. Sept 15 - Massive German air raids on London, Southampton, Bristol, Cardiff, Liverpool and Manchester. Sept 27 - Axis Pact signed by Germany, Italy and Japan making the allies with each other Oct 7 - German troops enter Romania. Oct 28 - Italy invades Greece. Nov 20 - Hungary joins the Axis Nov 23 - Romania joins the Axis April 6 - Nazis invade Greece and Yugoslavia April 17 - Yugoslavia surrenders to the Nazis. April 27 - Greece surrenders to the Nazis June 28 - Germans capture Minsk. Aug 20 - Nazi siege of Leningrad begins Sept 19 - Nazis take Kiev Oct 2 - Operation Typhoon begins (German advance on Moscow). Oct 16 - Germans take Odessa Oct 24 - Germans take Kharkov Nov 20 - Germans take Rostov from Soviets Nov 27 - Soviet troops retake Rostov Dec 5 - German attack on Moscow is abandoned Dec 11 - Germany declares war on the United States. June 21 - Rommel captures Tobruk July 3 - Germans take Sevastopol Aug 23 - Massive German air raid on Stalingrad Sept 13 - Battle of Stalingrad begins Nov 1 - Allies break Axis lines at El Alamein Jan 2/3 - Germans begin a withdrawal from the Caucasus Feb 16 - Soviets re-take Kharkov March 15 - Germans re-capture Kharkov April 6 - Axis forces in Tunisia begin to withdraw May 7 - Allies take Tunisia May 13 - German and Italian troops surrender in North Africa May 16 - British air raid on the Ruhr July 5 - Germans start last offensive on Kursk July 19 - Allies bomb Rome, Italian hope starts to fade Aug 12-17 - Germans flee Sicily Aug 17 - American daylight air raids on Regensburg and Schweinfurt in Germany; Allies reach Messina, Sicily Aug 23 - Soviet troops recapture Kharkov Sept 8 - Italian surrender is announced, breaking their part in the Axis Pact Sept 9 - Allied landings at Salerno and Taranto Sept 11 - Germans occupy Rome Oct 1 - Allies enter Naples, Italy Oct 13 - Italy declares war on Germany Nov 6 - Russians recapture Kiev in the Ukraine Jan 6 - Soviet troops advance into Poland Jan 22 - Allies land at Anzio Feb 15-18 - Allies bomb the monastery at Monte Cassino March 4 - First major daylight bombing raid on Berlin by the Allies March 15 - Second Allied attempt to capture Monte Cassino begins March 18 - British drop 3000 tons of bombs during an air raid on Hamburg, Germany April 8 - Soviet troops begin an offensive to liberate Crimea May 9 - Soviet troops recapture Sevastopol May 11 - Allies attack the Gustav Line south of Rome May 12 - Germans surrender in the Crimea May 25 - Germans retreat from Anzio June 5 - Allies enter Rome June 27 - U.S. troops liberate Cherbourg. July 9 - British and Canadian troops capture Caen. July 24 - Soviet troops liberate first concentration camp at Majdanek July 28 - Soviet troops take Brest-Litovsk. U.S. troops take Coutances. Aug 1 - Polish Home Army uprising against Nazis in Warsaw begins; U.S. troops reach Avranches Aug 7 - Germans begin a major counter-attack toward Avranches Aug 15 - The Allied invasion of Southern France Aug 19 - Resistance uprising in Paris Aug 19/20 - Soviet offensive in the Balkans begins with an attack on Romania. Aug 20 - Allies encircle Germans in the Falaise Pocket. Aug 25 - Liberation of Paris. Aug 29 - Slovak uprising begins Aug 31 - Soviet troops take Bucharest Sept 1-4 - Verdun, Dieppe, Artois, Rouen, Abbeville, Antwerp and Brussels liberated by Allies. Sept 4 - Finland and the Soviet Union agree to a cease-fire. Sept 26 - Soviet troops occupy Estonia. Oct 2 - Warsaw Uprising ends as the Polish Home Army surrenders to the Germans. Oct 10-29 - Soviet troops capture Riga. Oct 14 - Allies liberate Athens Oct 21 - Massive German surrender at Aachen. Nov 24 - French capture Strasbourg. Dec 27 - Soviet troops besiege Budapest. Jan 1-17 - Germans withdraw from the Ardennes. Jan 17 - Soviet troops capture Warsaw. Jan 26 - Soviet troops liberate Auschwitz. March 30 - Soviet troops capture Danzig. April 1 - Allied offensive in North Italy. April 12 - Allies liberate Buchenwald April 16 - Soviet troops begin their final attack on Berlin; April 18 - German forces in the Ruhr surrender. April 21 - Soviets reach Berlin. April 28 - Allies take Venice. April 29 - U.S. 7th Army liberates Dachau. April 30 - Adolf Hitler commits suicide. May 2 - German troops in Italy surrender. May 7 - Unconditional surrender of all German forces to Allies. May 8 - Victory in Europe, the Third Reich no more!
 * 1919**
 * 1933**
 * 1934**
 * 1935**
 * 1936**
 * 1938**
 * 1939**
 * 1940**
 * 1941**
 * 1942** – __Third Reich starts to fall apart__
 * 1943**
 * 1944**
 * 1945**

To learn more about the Third Reich, you can check out books such as the World Almanac or History of the World Vol I and II, and there are some nice websites like[| Wikipedia] on the internet!