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Marco Polo Bridge Incident
Marco Polo Bridge Incident was the conflict between Japanese and Chinese troops near the Marco Polo Bridge(Chinese: lugouqiao) outside Beiping, which developed into the warfare between two countries that was the prelude to the Pacific side of World War II. -
Germany incorporates Austria
On March 12, 1938, German troops march into Austria to annex the German-speaking nation for the Third Reich. Hitler accompanied German troops into Austria, where enthusiastic crowds met them. There, he appointed a new Nazi government, and on March 13 the Anschluss was proclaimed. -
The Munich Agreement
On the 30th September 1938, the Munich Pact was signed between the leaders of France, Britain, Italy and Germany. This failed policy aimed to prevent a war in Europe by making small territorial concessions (Sudetenland) to Hitler, in the hope of satisfying his ambitions. -
The surrender of Czechoslovakia
On this day, Hitler’s forces invade and occupy Czechoslovakia–a nation sacrificed by the Munich Pact, which was a timid attempt to prevent Germany’s imperial goals. Ironically,Hitler signed the Munich Pact six months ago. -
Germany invades Poland
In the early morning of Sep. 1, 1939, approximately 1.5 million Germany troops invaded Poland all along its 1,750-mile border with German-controlled territory. With the cover of warships and air force, Poland was soon under Germany's control. -
Great Britain and France declare war on Germnay
On 3 September 1939 the British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, announced that unless Germany agreed to withdraw their recent aggression against Poland, a war would break out. To no one’s surprise, Germany carried on the invasion, and so the Second World War began. -
Operation Weserübung
Norway was invaded by Nazi Germany on April 9th 1940. Hitler had issued the order for the invasion of Norway on March 1st under the code word “Weserübung”. The order also included the invasion and occupation of Denmark. It was the start of war in Western Europe. -
Battle of France
On May 10,1940. The Germans rendered the Maginot Line obsolete (built after WWI) within a morning by merely skirting round the north of it, through a thick forest. Because of its rugged terrain, the French considered the forest impassable. In six weeks from May 10, 1940, German forces defeated Allied forces easily by mobile operations and conquered France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Netherlands. -
Italy joins the war as an ally of Germany
On this day in 1940, after withholding formal allegiance to either side in the battle between Germany and the Allies, Benito Mussolini, dictator of Italy, declares war on France and Great Britain. -
Battle of Britain
The Germany tried to destroy Britain through sustained bombing by air force campaign since they had no navy left after the costly conquest of Norway. However, the Germany underrated Britain's vulnerability and the massive lost of German pilots led Hitler to suspended the Battle of Britain. -
The Tripartite Pact
On this day in 1940, the Axis powers are formed as Germany, Italy, and Japan become allies with the signing of the Tripartite Pact in Berlin. The Pact made sure that the three countries would fight together and face the same enemy. Italy and Germany aimed to establish a new order of Europe while Japanese was granted lordship over "Great East Asia". -
Japan and Russia sign a neutrality pact
Russians was currently having a turmoil and Russians were tired of war, while the Japanese tried not to have more enemies other than China. So on this day in 1941, Japan and Russia signed the Neutrality Pact which promised either side of the countries would not attack each other. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
On this day of 1941, Japanese launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in the Hawaii Islands which severely damaged the Pacific Fleet of America, who declared war right after the attack took place. This event also brought the United States into the World War II. -
The United States declares war on Japan
The United States had been neutral in World War II till the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. The surprise attack brought great antipathy to Americans toward Japanese. Thousands of young men rushed to serve in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard while Congress quickly passed a declaration of war on Japan. -
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway, fought in June 1942, must be considered as one of the most decisive battles of World War II. The Battle of Midway effectively destroyed Japan’s naval strength when the Americans destroyed four of its aircraft carriers. Japan’s navy never recovered from its lost at Midway and it was on the defensive after this battle. -
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was a truly successful defense of the city of Stalingrad in the U.S.S.R during WWII. It stopped the German from advancing into the country and marked the turning of the tide of war in favor of the Allies. In this war, about twenty million German soldiers surrendered. -
The Casablanca Conference
At the Casablanca Conference, American President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill announced that only an unconditional surrender will be accepted from the Axis powers. While Soviet leader Stalin received an invitation, he was unable to attend because the red army was engaged in a major offensive against German army. -
Italy declares war on Germnay
After Mussolini got deposed from his power and the collapse of fascist party in Italy, the new Italian government declared war on its former Axis partner Germany and joined the side of the Allies. -
Siege of Leningrad
In the summer of 1941, the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union and one of their troops surrounded the city of Leningrad at the start of September. However, they never successfully took the city again. In January 27, 1944, the red army finally arrived and defeated the Germans. The siege resulted in the deaths of more than one million citizens. -
D-Day
On the day of June 6, 1944, Allied army started the Battle of Normandy, also know as the D-Day. Allied force invaded France on the 60 miles stretch of Normandy beaches. Over 10,000 Allied Casualties landed on first day and over 1,000,000 troops had landed within a month. This is the largest land and sea attack in history which led to the liberation of France, Belgium, and Luxembourg by September. -
Liberation of Paris
After the successful landing in Normandy on D-Day, the ally troops soon marched into France. All the German soldiers were retreated into German continent and French people celebrated the liberation of Paris while their army walking through the Arc de Triomphe。 -
Hitler commits suicide
Allied army soon marched into Germany. Warned by officers that the Russians were only a day or so from overtaking the chancellery and urged to escape, the dictator instead chose suicide in his underground bunker. The World War II in Europe ended as Hitler pull the trigger and shot himself. -
The United States drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima
On August 6, 1945, an American B-29 bomber dropped the world's first deployed atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The explosion wiped out ninety percent of the city and killed thousands of people at once. Three days later, a second B-29 bomber dropped another atomic bomb in Japan which forced the Japanese emperor announced his country's unconditional surrender. -
Japan formally surrenders, end of WWII
By the summer of 1945, the defeat of Japan was a foregone conclusion. But the Japanese were still trying to resist. After two atomic bombs were dropped on Japanese homeland and the invasion by USSR really forced Japan to surrender to the Allies, which brought an end to World War II.
