World War II Timeline By tk10 Nov 11, 1918 End of WW I Sep 12, 1919 Hitler joins the Nazi party Oct 1, 1922 Mussolini takes over in Italy Dec 30, 1922 Establishment of the USSR Jan 21, 1924 Death of Vladimir Lenin; control of USSR to Joseph Stalin; deaths of 8-13 million Russians Aug 27, 1928 US and 61 othe countries sign Kellogg-Briand Pact Jan 1, 1929 Facist Party established under Mussolini in Italy Sep 19, 1931 Japanese invasion of Manchuria Jan 1, 1933 Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany, establishing the Third Reich Mar 4, 1933 Roosevelt takes office Jun 22, 1935 Hitler begins military buildup Aug 31, 1935 US begins passing Neutrality Acts Mar 7, 1936 German troops invade Rhineland May 3, 1936 Italian troops conquer Ethiopia Jul 17, 1936 Civil War begins in Spain under Francisco Franco Jul 7, 1937 Japan invades China Nov 5, 1937 Hitler announces secret plans for lebensraum Mar 17, 1938 Hitler takes Austria Sep 30, 1938 Munich Agreement; Sudetenland to Germany Jan 1, 1939 Non-Agression pact; Germany and Russia; divide Poland Jan 1, 1939 Franco is successful in Spain Jan 1, 1939 Totalitarian government established in USSR Mar 15, 1939 Czechosslovakia falls to Hitler Sep 1, 1939 German invasion of Poland; blitzkrieg Sep 17, 1939 Russian army into Finland (Finns surrender in three months) Apr 9, 1940 German invasion of Denmark and Norway May 10, 1940 Defeat of the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg by Germany May 15, 1940 Plands for an invasion of Great Britian; beginning of the Battle of Britian May 26, 1940 British and French defeat at Dunkirk Jun 10, 1940 Italy enters the war on the side of Germany and invades France Jun 22, 1940 France surrenders to Germany
