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Japan invades Manchuria
Japan invades Manchuria, causing the League of Nations to condemn them. Japan merely leaves the League, showing the weakness of the League. -
Hitler rises
Hitler is named the chancellor of Germany and creates the Third Reich -
Germany leaves the League of Nations
After seeing Japan leave the League, Hitler, having been Chancellor for about nine months, decides to do the same. -
Hitler openly declares rearmament
After about two years of secretly rearming the country, Hitler publicizes that he will be breaking the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Britain's reaction of allowing Germany to rearm slightly began the appeasement of Hitler, attempting to keep him from doing anything that might lead to war by giving him what he wanted
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Congress passes the first Neutrality Act.
Congress passes the first Neutrality Act, forbidding the sale of "arms, ammunition, and implements of war" from the United States to any foreign nation at war. This act was continually renewed May 1937, when Congress added more, forbidding citizens to travel on ships owned by nations at war. They also added that no U.S. merchant could sell arms to such a nation no matter where the arms were manufactured, and adding that civil wars counted. -
Germany invades the Rhineland.
With his new troops, Hitler orders the occupation of the Rhineland, a demilitarized area along the Rhine River in the west of Germany. -
Italy takes over Ethiopia
Italy finishes its invasion of Ethiopia, started October of 1935, when Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia, was ousted. He attempted to appeal to the League of Nations which did nothing. He stated to the League, "It is us today, it will be you tomorrow." -
The Munich Agreement signed
Britain prime minister Neville Chamberlain and French premier Edouard Daladier sign the Munich Agreement, allowing Germany to take Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland. This followed Germany's annexation of Austria with Hitler proclaiming that the Sudetenland would be his final territorial demand. Chamberlain returned to Britain declaring that there was peace in their time. -
Kristallnacht
Nazi storm troopers attack Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues marking an increase in Jewish persecution. Around 100 Jews were killed and 30,000 arrested along with hundreds of synagogues being burned. Later, the Jews themselves were blamed for the damage. -
Nationalist Party takes over Madrid
After a three year long war between Republicans and Nationalists in Spain, Nationalists are victorious when they capture Madrid. The Nationalists were supported by Italy and Germany while the Republicans were supported by the future Allies. The ending of the war served to show further how far Fascist tyranny would spread. -
The Voyage of the St. Louis
A ship called the St. Louis leaves Hamburg, Germany for Havana, Cuba with 937 passengers, most of whom were Jews fleeing the Third Reich. Both Cuba and the U.S. refused them entry however, leading to the passengers being sent back to Europe. Various countries took in the passengers, most of whom later died as Germany continued to invade. -
Germany invades Poland.
Having signed a non-aggression pact with Russia as well as secretly planning to split Poland between them, Germany invades Poland. This attack was Germany's first use of blitzkrieg (lightning war) tactics. By the end of the month, Poland had been totally subdued and Britain with France had declared war on Germany. -
Germany launches an attack on Denmark and Norway.
After the Russian victory over Finland, Germany swiftly attacks Denmark and Norway, "to protect freedom and independence," but really planned to use them as a base to attack Great Britain. Hitler's gaze then turned on the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg who were overrun by the end of May. This fighting ended the sitzkrieg (sitting war) where French and German troops stared at each other doing nothing. -
Germany invades Western Europe
Rather than deal with France's Maginot Line, German forces attack through Luxembourg and Belgium, ending up in the north eastern part of France. French forces believed the Ardennes forest would prevent invasion. When German forces burst through the defensive line, they trapped Allied forces who had to be rescued by evacuating to Britain. German forces take Paris on June 14 and take over northern France, while southern France pledges cooperation and neutrality. -
Royal Air Force win a great victory against the Luftwaffe
Britain's Royal Air Force (RAF) shoot down 185 German planes while losing only 26 of their own. Six weeks later, Hitler ceases attempting to invade England instead focusing on bombing runs to destroy morale. -
Tripartite Pact signed
Germany, Italy, and Japan sign a mutual defense agreement creating the Axis Powers. This pact was meant to keep the United States out of the war by providing a two ocean war. -
Operation Barbarossa
Germany attacks Russia in the largest military operation of Germany in World War 2, breaking their non-aggression treaty. The Soviets were caught unaware as they ignored the information coming in about military build up. Millions of troops were forced to surrender as Germany dug deeper into Russia. Following German troops was the SS to carry out the Final Solution in Russia. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Japanese forces attack the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor in a barrage that destroyed 20 American ships, more than 300 airplanes, and more than 2,000 American troops. The next day, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt asks Congress for a declaration of war. Three days later, Germany and Italy declare war thus officially flinging the U.S. into World War 2. -
The Wannsee Conference
15 high-ranking German officials discuss what they call the "Final Solution," their plan to get rid of the Jewish people. After the conference they began the mass movement of Jews from their homes to 6 extermination camps-Chelmno , Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka, Auschwitz-Birkenau, and Majdanek. The "Final Solution" took around 6 million Jewish lives by its end. -
Battle of Stalingrad ends
After a battle that Germans described as a Rat War, Stalin's forces encircled and forced the surrender of, the German troops sent to take Stalingrad. Both sides had inflated the symbolic value of the city as the only one to bear the Soviet leader's name. This battle is marked as the turning point of World War 2. -
D-Day
More than 160,000 Allied troops landed on a 50-mile stretch of coastline which the Germans had fortified, making it the largest amphibious attack in all of history. By late August, northern France was liberated, marking the turning point for the War in Europe. -
Battle of the Bulge
German troops launch a strong counter-attack at the Ardennes where they had previously invaded France from. The Allied forces had only protected this area with inexperienced and damaged battalions. The German advance was eventually halted by the 101st Airborne Division at Bastogne, marking the end of strong German counter-attacks. -
Victory in Europe
Britain and the United States celebrate the defeat of Nazi Germany as most troops lay down their arms. Pockets of resistance against Russia persisted, so the May 9th is when Russia celebrated the victory. Japan was the only power left to fight. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima
American bomber Enola Gay dropped a five-ton bomb on Hiroshima, killing 80,000 people plus thousands more from the radiation and burns. Three days later, another was dropped on Nagasaki, killing 40,000 more. These strikes prompted the Japanese to surrender. -
Victory over Japan
Japan surrenders unconditionally to the United States after witnessing the devastation of two atomic bombs. The official end of the war comes on September 2, 1945 when the Japanese high officials agree to surrender aboard the U.S.S. Missouri
