Song: Westerwaldlied In 1938, Germany invaded Austria, adding the first country to their new empire. This would be the beginning of their regime. This map shows Germany during 1944 with its allies. Italy is split in half because of the Allied invasion of Italy, after Africa was secured at the 2nd battle of El Alamein. This map has inaccuracies, to point out one, France wasn't fully occupied. Vichy France, a puppet state under Germany's rule, was made up of a small portion of France. Germany invaded Poland in 1939, starting off a terrible chain of events. After the capture of Warsaw, Poland was taken.
Operation Sea Lion-- 1940, invasion of Denmark and Norway. In 1940, Germany pushed through France, then setting their eyes on the balkans. Allied with Yugoslavia, Romania, Hungary, Italy, Bulgaria, Japan, and at the time the USSR, they were a fearful force, dominating most of Europe. On July 10, 1940, Germany tried to take Britain, which would mean the end of the Allies, and with little opposition, they could dominate the rest of the world. However, the RAF held firmly, and German Messerschmits were quickly destroyed, and could only fight for minutes, before having to refuel. In 1941, Italy tried to take Britain in Africa, and even though having the advantage of more troops and surprise, they were held off by British troops. Germany went to Africa to help Italy, and under Rommel's command, pushed the Allies back. However, in 1943, the Commonwealth would succeed at the Second Battle of El Alamein, proving pivotal for the Allies success. In 1941, Germany launched an invasion of the USSR, who had been fighting on the side. It was hours before Stalin ordered his men to fight back, and Germany would march to Leningrad, instead of Moscow, and in the winter would slowly fall apart. 1941, Yugoslavia pulls the italian move and joins the Allies. That is when Japan b0mbed Pearl Harbor, bringing the US to the war, and the allies would start pushing Germany back. 1943, the Allies tried to go through Italy into Germany, but German troops were highly entrenched, and the mountains would make it extremely difficult for the Allies to even make it to Rome. 1943, Italy pulls the Italian move and switches side. In 1944 we had the invasion of Normandy, pushing back German troops in France. At this point, Germany was crumbling, and defeat was near. The Battle of the Bulge was the last major offensive for German troops, and after a defeat, Allied forces marched to Berlin. When Berlin was taken, Germany was split into west and east, with the Soviets controlling the east, and Allies controlling the west. Life would be brittle under Soviet rule, and after Japan's surrender in 1945, world war 2 was officially over. Yet, the worst had not passed, as the Cold War entered, and eventually Vietnam. This was just the main events taking place in Europe, the pacific had much more than just USA and Japan. PRC, formerly Republic of China, and Britain fought against Japan to liberate themselves.
