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Japan invades China, initiating WWII in the Pacific
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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. 20 -
France and Great Britain guarantee the integrity of the borders of the Polish state
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Germany invades Poland, initiating World War II in Europe.
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Honoring their guarantee of Poland’s borders, Great Britain and France declare war on Germany.
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Italy enters the war. Italy invades southern France on June 21.
Italy later invades France -
Germany, Italy, and Japan sign the Tripartite Pact.
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Japan bombs Pearl Harbor.
The U.S. would go on to declare war on Japan the next day and enter WWII -
Nazi Germany and its Axis partners declare war on the United States.
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U.S. and British troops land at several points on the beaches of Algeria and Morocco in French North Africa.
The failure of the Vichy French troops to defend against the invasion enables the Allies to move swiftly to the western border of Tunisia, and triggers the German occupation of southern France on November 11. -
British and U.S. troops successfully land on the Normandy beaches of France, opening a “Second Front” against the Germans.
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The Germans launch a final offensive in the west, known as the Battle of the Bulge,
By Jan. 1st, the Germans were on the retreat -
Hitler commits suicide.
Less than 2 weeks later, Germany surrenders -
The United States drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
Three days later, the U.S. drops a second bomb on Nagasaki. -
Japan formally surrenders, ending World War II.
