Timeline of Major 20th Century Events
- 1909: Tragic Week
- 1930: Pact of San Sebastian
- 1931: Japan invades Manchuria
- 1933: Abandonment of the German Society of Nations; Older Homes
- 1936: Formation of the Rome-Berlin Axis
- 1937: Northern Campaign of the Spanish Civil War
- 1940: Invasion of Norway
- 1943: Battle of Guadalcanal
- 1944: Landing in Normandy
- 1945: Conquest of Berlin; Yalta Conference; San Francisco Conference; Atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki; Fall of the Berlin Wall
Key Figures and Political Entities
- Vichy France: The region and colonies ruled by General Petain under the influence of Hitler.
- General Tojo: A military leader who established a dictatorship.
- United Nations (UN): An international organization focused on peacekeeping, governed by a Security Council where the U.S., USSR, Britain, France, and China hold veto power.
- Monte Cassino: A strategic location where German forces halted the Allied advance toward Rome.
- General MacArthur: Architect of the "leap-frogging" military tactic, which involved establishing forward bases while isolating enemy positions.
- Regeneracionismo: An intellectual movement following the 1898 disaster that denounced Spanish decadence and proposed reforms.
- Warsaw Pact: A 1955 military cooperation agreement among Eastern Bloc countries, led by the Soviet Union to counter NATO.
- International Brigades: Global volunteers who fought in Spain to defend the Republic.
- National Defense Junta: A body created by rebels to unify command and exercise political authority.
Strategic Developments
- Yalta Conference: Stalin promised free democratic elections; Germany was to be disarmed and divided into four zones managed by the victorious powers.
- German Fronts: In Russia, Germany aimed to occupy Moscow, Leningrad, and Kiev before winter. In North Africa, they sought to control the region.
- Strategic Bombing: Allied efforts to open a western front to reach Berlin before the Soviet forces.
- Fall of the Monarchy: The authoritarian regime faced increasing criticism from intellectuals, students, workers, and nationalists, weakening the King's position.
