World War 2 time line By Kaleymik74 Jan 30, 1921 1921, Jan. 30 Adolf Hitler becomes the leader of the Nazi Party Apr 18, 1922 1922 Benito Mussolini appointed Prime Minister of Italy Jan 22, 1929 1929 Josef Stalin sole dictator of the Soviet Union (USSR) Mar 17, 1931 1931 Japan’s Army seizes Manchuria, China Mar 21, 1933 1933, March 21 - Hitler is named Chancellor of Germany Mar 18, 1935 1935 Italian Army invades Ethiopia in Africa Apr 18, 1935 1935 Neutrality Acts passed by US Congress Oct 25, 1935 1935 Neutrality Acts passed by US Congress Jan 25, 1936 1936 Militarist take control of Japanese Government Jul 17, 1936 1936 Militarist take control of Japanese Government Jun 7, 1937 1937 Japan’s army pillages Nanjing, China; massacre a quarter of a million people. Oct 27, 1938 1938 Munich Pact signed giving the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia to Germany Dec 6, 1938 1938 Nazis begin rounding up Jews for labor camps Jan 12, 1939 1939 Nazi-Soviet Pact signed by Hitler and Stalin Sep 1, 1939 1939 Sept 1st - Nazis invade Poland; Britain and France declare war on Germany Apr 18, 1940 1940 Germany invades France and forces it to surrender Apr 18, 1940 1940 Battle of Britain – Royal Air Force defeats German Air Force to prevent invasion of their island Apr 18, 1940 1940 First time Peacetime Draft in US Jun 19, 1940 1940 Nazis invade Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium – take control