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italy invades ethiopia
ethiopia asks league of nationfor help -
German Anschluss with Austria
Hitler went ahead with his plans to unify all German-speaking people. He annexed Austria then demanded the liberation of German people in the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia. Neville Chamberlain flew to Germany to attempt a settlement before war broke out. -
Treaty of Munich
Hitler, Chamberlain, Daladier of France and Mussolini of Italy met in Munich and agreed that Hitler should have the Sudetanland of Czechoslovakia. The Czechs were not represented at the meeting and realising that no country would come to their aid were forced to surrender the Sudetenland to Germany. Hitler assured those at the meeting that this was the extent of his ambitions for expansion. Chamberlain returned to England with a piece of paper signed by Hitler, proclaiming ‘peace in our time.’ -
war is declared
september 1939 germany invades poland -
france and britain declare war
france and britain declared war 2days after germany invaded poland -
Hitler invades Czechoslovakia
Despite the assurances given by Hitler in the Treaty of Munich (Sept 1938), he marched into Czechoslovakia and occupied the country. -
Russia and Germany sign pact
Hitler and Stalin signed a non-aggression pact which included secret clauses for the division of Poland. -
Hitler invades Poland
Adolf Hitler invaded Poland. -
Britain and France declare war on
Britain and France declared war on Germany. Neville Chamberlain broadcast the announcement that the country was at war. -
Hitler invades Denmark and Norway
Hitler invaded and occupied Denmark and Norway to safeguard supply routes of Swedish ore and also to establish a Norwegian base from which to break the British naval blockade on Germany. -
Blitzkrieg
Hitler launched his blitzkrieg (lightning war) against Holland and Belgium. Rotterdam was bombed almost to extinction. Both countries were occupied. -
Italy enter war on side of Axis powers
Italy entered the war on the side of the Axispowers. Italy’s motive for entering the war was the hope of rich pickings from the spoils of war. -
Italy and Germany attack Yugoslavia
German and Italian troops attacked Yugoslavia, Greece and the island of Crete. German field Marshall Erwin Rommel led the axis powers back to North Africa. -
Pearl Harbor
The Japanese, who were already waging war against the Chinese, attacked the US pacific fleet at Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, as a preliminary to taking British, French and Dutch colonies in South East Asia. -
Battle of Stalingrad
The Russians won their first victory against Germany at the Battle of Stalingrad. -
Allies push into north Africa
British and American forces under the command of General Dwight Eisenhower landed in the NW of Africa and assumed control of French Morocco and Algeria. They gradually closed in on the Germans. -
Italy surrenders
Mussolini had been thrown out of office and the new government of Italy surrendered to the British and the USA. They then agreed to join the allies. The Germans took control of the Italian army, freed Mussolini from imprisonment and set him up as head of a puppet government in Northern Italy. This blocked any further allied advance through Italy. -
D-Day
The allies launched an attack on Germany’s forces in Normandy, Western France. Thousands of transports carried an invasion army under the supreme command of general Eisenhower to the Normandy beaches. The Germans who had been fed false information about a landing near Calais, rushed troops to the area but were unable to prevent the allies from forming a solid bridgehead. For the allies it was essential to first capture a port. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki
The US dropped an atomic bomb on the port of Nagasaki as the Japanese had not surrendered following Hiroshima. -
japan surrenders
after the US army attacked two major cities in Japan with atomic bombs Japan officially surrendered which ended WW2