US History Timeline Project

  • Japanese Invasion of Manchuria (Manchuko)

    Japanese Invasion of Manchuria (Manchuko)

    The Japanese invasion of Manchuria lasted from September 18, 1931, to February 27, 1932.
  • Hitler appointed Chancellor of Germany

    Hitler appointed Chancellor of Germany

    Hitler was appointed the Chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933. Ex-Chancellor Franz von Papen convinced Heidenberg to appoint Hitler thinking that the non-Nazi politics would keep Hitler in check.
  • Nanking Massacre/ Rape of Nanking

    Nanking Massacre/ Rape of Nanking

    The rape of Nanking was a mass murder and mass rape committed by Imperial Japanese troops against the residents of Nanjing, the capital of China at this time.
  • Munich Conference

    Munich Conference

    The Munich Agreement was signed at the Munich conference. The Munich Agreement was a settlement reached by Germany, Great Britain, France, and Italy that permitted German annexation of the Sudetenland.
  • Kristallnacht

    Kristallnacht

    Kristallnacht, also called the Night of Broken Glass, was when Nazis in Germany torched synagogues, vandalized Jewish homes, schools and businesses and killed close to 100 Jews.
  • Non-Aggression Pact is signed

    Non-Aggression Pact is signed

    On August 23, 1939, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Non-Aggression Pact. By signing this, the two countries agreed to not take any military action against each other for the next 10 years.
  • Germany's invasion of Poland/Blitzkrieg

    Germany's invasion of Poland/Blitzkrieg

    German forces attacked Poland on land and from the air on September 1, 1939. Hitler's attack strategy was later called the blitzkrieg strategy.
  • Fall of Paris

    Fall of Paris

    After the German invasion on Poland, the Germans attacked France on May 10, 1940. The German army quickly defeated the French army and the German's occupied the city on June 14, 1940.
  • Dunkirk

    Dunkirk

    The Battle of Dunkirk was a battle fought between the Allies and Nazi Germany starting on May 26, 1940, and lasting until June 4, 1940.
  • Selective Training and Service Act is passed

    Selective Training and Service Act is passed

    The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 required that men between the ages of 21 and 35 register with local draft boards. It was passed on September 6, 1940, by Congress and it was signed by President Roosevelt on September 16, 1940.
  • The Blitz

    The Blitz

    The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom from September 7, 1940, to May 11, 1941.
  • Operation Barbarossa

    Operation Barbarossa

    Operation Barbarossa was the code name for the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and some of its Axis allies. This started on June 22, 1941, and ended on December 5, 1941.
  • Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor

    Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor

    On December 7, 1941, The Japanese led a surprise attack on the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii. This attack led to the United States declaring war on Japan and joining World War 2.
  • Bataan Death March

    Bataan Death March

    The Bataan Death March was when the Japanese army forcibly moved American and Filipino prisoners to camps where they then loaded them up onto trains.
  • Battle of Midway

    Battle of Midway

    The Battle of Midway was a war between the U.S. Navy and the Japanese Navy. This battle took place starting on June 4, 1942, and lasting until June 7, 1942.
  • Battle of Stalingrad

    Battle of Stalingrad

    In the Battle of Stalingrad, Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in Southern Russia. The battle started on August 23, 1942, and lasted until February 2, 1943.
  • Yalta Conference

    Yalta Conference

    The U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin met in Yalta in February of 1944. They decided that Germany would be split into four occupying zones and the Soviet Union would attack Japan following the defeat of Nazi Germany.
  • D-Day

    D-Day

    D-Day, formerly known as Operation Overlord, was the largest seaborne invasion in history. On June 6, 1944, around 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified coast of France's Normandy region. This lasted from June 6 to August 30 in 1944.
  • Battle of the Bulge

    Battle of the Bulge

    The Battle of the Bulge took place from December 16, 1944, to January 16, 1945. German forces launched a surprise attack on Allied forces. On January 16, 1945, after many casualties on both sides, the Allied powers forced the German troops to withdraw,
  • Battle of Iwo Jima

    Battle of Iwo Jima

    The Batte of Iwo Jima was an epic military campaign between U.S. Marines and the Imperial Army of Japan. This battle lasted from February 19, 1945, to March 26, 1945.
  • Battle of Okinawa

    Battle of Okinawa

    The battle of Okinawa was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Army and United States Marine Corps forces against the Imperial Japanese Army. This battle lasted from April 1, 1945, to June 22, 1945.
  • Adolf Hitler commits suicide

    Adolf Hitler commits suicide

    Adolf Hitler committed suicide by gunshot on April 30, 1945, in Berlin.
  • VE Day

    VE Day

    VE Day is celebrated on May 8, 1945, by Great Britain and the US for their victory in Europe. This marked the end of World War 2.
  • Dropping the Atomic Bombs

    Dropping the Atomic Bombs

    The United States detonated two nuclear weapons over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945.
  • VJ Day

    VJ Day

    VJ Day was on August 15, 1945. This was the day when Japan surrendered in World War 2.