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Japan invades Manchuria
The Japanese invaded Manchuria in hopes to take over and take control of East Asia. They also wanted the resources in Manchuria. -
Italy invades Ethiopia
Mussolini, who was the leader of Italy, had his eye set on annexing Ethiopia into Italy’s newly created colony of East Africa. Although the Italian military was successful in occupying Ethiopia, the Abyssinians did not capitulate or surrender to the Italian forces. -
Rhineland
In March 1936, Hitler took what for him was a huge gamble - he ordered that his troops should openly re-enter the Rhineland thus breaking the terms of Versailles once again. He did order his generals that the military should retreat out of the Rhineland if the French showed the slightest hint of making a military stand against him. This did not occur. Over 32,000 soldiers and armed policemen crossed into the Rhineland -
The Axis Alliance
Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy sign a treaty of cooperation on October 25. On November 1, the Rome-Berlin Axis is announced. -
The Anschluss
Hitler took action to gain controlof neighboring Austria. He had long-dreamed of uniting all ethnic Germans, including the Austrians. In 1938 he tried to force the Austrian government to agree to Anschluss-union with Germany. When the Austrian government refused, Hitler sent troops into the country. -
Munich agreement and Sudetenland
Germany, Italy, Great Britain, and France sign the Munich agreement which forces the Czechoslovak Republic to cede the Sudetenland, including the key Czechoslovak military defense positions, to Nazi Germany. -
Nonagression pact
Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union sign a nonaggression agreement and a secret codicil dividing eastern Europe into spheres of influence. -
Beginning of WWII in Europe
Germany invades Poland which initiates World War two in Europe. Germans attacks Poland using the blitzkrieg technique. -
War on Germany
Britain and France declare war on Germany on September 3, 1939. -
Germany takes over Denmark and Norway
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Germany begins its invasion of the Soviet Union
In the summer of 1941, Hitler broke his nonaggression pact with Stalin and sent his forces into the Soviet Union. -
Pearl Harbor
December 7, 1941 Japan bombs at Pearl Harbor. -
Hitler and the Nazis formalize plans for exterminating Europe's Jews.
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D-Day
The date of the D-Day invasion was June 6, 1944; postponed from the original plan of June 5 because of bad weather. This was part of Operation Overlord and took place in Normandy, France. -
The Battle of the Bulge
The Germans launched a surprise offensive of their own on December 16, 1944. The attack was known as Battle of the Bulge. This referred to the bulge in the Allied battle lines created by the German advance. -
Yalta Conference
This was the wartime meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union, represented by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and General Secretary Joseph Stalin, respectively, for the purpose of discussing Europe's post-war reorganization. The conference convened in the Livadia Palace near Yalta, in the Crimea. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The US sent more Marines to Iwo than to any other battle, 110,000 Marines in 880 Ships. The convoy of 880 US Ships sailed from Hawaii to Iwo in 40 days. Battle of Iwo Jima, or Operation Detachment, was a major battle in which the United States fought for and captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Empire of Japan. This was an Allied victory. -
Battle of Okinawa
The battle of Okinawa was the largest invasion force in the Pacific as well as the bloodiest battle in the Pacific. This resulted in American victory. -
Hitler commits suicide
It is believed that Hitler commited suicide on April 30, 1945 He believed it was his only way out without being killed. -
Germany surrenders to the Western Allies
On this day in 1945, the German High Command, in the person of General Alfred Jodl, signs the unconditional surrender of all German forces, East and West, at Reims, in northwestern France. -
V-E Day
The official surrender of German forces to the Allies was on May 8, 1945 -
Hiroshima
On August 6, 1945 American troops dropped the world's first deployed atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The explosion wiped out 90 percent of the city and immediately killed 80,000 people; tens of thousands more would later die of radiation exposure. -
Nagasaki
Three days after the bombing of Hiroshima, a second B-29 dropped on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 40,000 people. Japan's Emperor Hirohito announced his country's unconditional surrender in World War II in a radio address on August 15, citing the devastating power of "a new and most cruel bomb." -
Victory in Japan
The official surrender of Japanese forces on board the USS Missouri
