Leading Up to War By ahmj Jan 1, 1922 Japan signs treaty with China to respect China's borders Jan 1, 1928 Japan signs Kellogg-Briand Pact renouncing war Jan 1, 1929 The Great Depression hits Japan Sep 1, 1931 The Japanese army siezes Manchuria Jan 1, 1933 Japan withdraws from League of Nations Jan 1, 1935 U.S. begins passing the Neutrality Acts Mar 1, 1935 Hitler anounces Germany will not obey the Treaty of Versailles Oct 1, 1935 Mussolini invades Ethiopia Mar 1, 1936 German troops move into Rhineland Jul 1, 1936 Spain has a civil war Oct 1, 1936 Italy and Germany form an alliance Jul 1, 1937 Japan invades China; full-scale war between Japan and China Mar 1, 1938 Hitler takes Austria and annexes it Sep 1, 1938 Hitler demands Sudentenland for Germany Sep 1, 1938 Munich Conference Jan 1, 1939 Reublican resistance collapses and Germany + Soviet Union invades Poland Mar 1, 1939 Germany invades Czechoslovakia Apr 1, 1939 Italy invades Albania Aug 1, 1939 Germany and Soviet Union sign nonagression pact Sep 1, 1939 Hitler surprises Poland with attack Sep 3, 1939 France and Britain declare war on Germany Sep 17, 1939 Soviet Union invades eastern Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland Mar 1, 1940 Finland surrenders to Stalin Apr 1, 1940 Hitler invades Denmark and Norway May 1, 1940 Germany invades Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg Jun 14, 1940 Germany takes Paris Jun 22, 1940 French surrender to Germany Sep 1, 1940 Germany Luftwaffe begins bombing of British cities (Battle of Britain) Sep 1, 1940 Mussolini takes North Africa Mar 1, 1941 Hitler sends Rommel to help Italian troops in Egypt Apr 1, 1941 Germany invades Yugoslavia and Greece Jun 1, 1941 Germans invade Soviet Union Sep 4, 1941 German U-boat fires on U.S. Destroyer Sep 8, 1941 German forces put Leningrad under siege Oct 2, 1941 Germans try to take Moscow
