World War 2 By wagnertop Period: Jan 1, 1921 to Dec 31, 1946 World War 2 TImeline Jan 30, 1921 Adolf Hitler becomes leader of the Nazi party Apr 3, 1922 Benito Mussolini Appointed time minister of Italy Jan 1, 1929 Josef Stalin sole dictator of the Soviet Union (USSR) Jan 1, 1931 Japan's army seizes Manchuria, China Mar 21, 1933 Hitler is named Chancellor of Germany Jan 1, 1935 Neutrality Acts passed by US Congress Jan 1, 1935 Italian Army invades Ethiopia in Africa Jan 1, 1936 Militarist take control of Japanese Government Jan 1, 1936 Hitler sends troops into Rhineland of Germany in violation of the Versailles Treaty Jan 1, 1937 Japan’s army pillages Nanjing, China; massacre a quarter of a million people. Jan 1, 1938 Munich Pact signed giving the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia to Germany Jan 1, 1938 Nazis begin rounding up Jews for labor camps Jan 1, 1939 Nazi-Soviet Pact signed by Hitler and Stalin Sep 1, 1939 Nazis invade Poland; Britain and France declare war on Germany Apr 8, 1940 Nazis invade Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium – take control Apr 8, 1940 Germany invades France and forces it to surrender Apr 8, 1940 Battle of Britain – Royal Air Force defeats German Air Force to prevent invasion of their island Apr 8, 1940 First time Peacetime Draft in US Jan 1, 1941 Hitler breaks Pact with Stalin’s Russia and invades -USSR which now joins England in fighting the Germans Jan 1, 1941 Churchill and FDR issue the Atlantic Charter Jan 1, 1941 Japanese invade French Indochina (Viet. Laos, Cambodia) Dec 7, 1941 Pearl Harbor in Hawaii attacked by Japanese Naval and Air forces, US declares war on Japan, Germany and Italy declare war on the US Jan 1, 1942 Philippines fall to Japanese – Bataan Death March Jan 1, 1942 Japanese Americans interned in isolated camps Jan 1, 1942 Russians stop Nazi advance at Stalingrad save Moscow Jun 4, 1942 Battle of Midway, turning point of war in the Pacific Sarted Jun 4 ends JUn 7 Apr 17, 1943 British and US forces defeat German and Italian armies in North Africa Apr 17, 1943 Zoot Suit Riots – Los Angeles, CA Jul 17, 1943 Italy surrenders, Mussolini dismissed as Prime Min. Jun 6, 1944 D-Day invasion of France at Normandy by Allies Aug 17, 1944 Paris retaken by Allies Forces Dec 17, 1944 Battle of the Bulge – last offensive of German Forces Jan 17, 1945 US forces return to recapture the Philippines Apr 16, 1945 FDR dies, Harry S. Truman becomes President May 8, 1945 V-E Day, war ends in Europe Aug 14, 1945 V-J Day, Japan surrenders to Allied Forces Aug 17, 1945 First Atomic Bombs dropped Apr 17, 1946 War Crimes Trials held in Nuremburg, Germany; Manila, Philippines and Tokyo, Japan.
