World War II

Japan invades Manchuria

Sep 19, 1931

Manchuria is invaded after Japan sets off explosives at a railroad in Manchuria and uses it as an excuse to take over MAnchuria without orders from the Emperor or the civilian government

Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany

Jan 30, 1933

"Night of the Long Knives"

Jun 30, 1934

Stormtroopers or SA, bodyguards to Hitler, are killed en-masse by its rivals the Shutzstaffel, or SS, in order for Hitler to win over the military to obtain power in Germany

Hitler becomes Fuhrer of Germany

Aug 19, 1934

Nuremberg Laws in effect, Jews are stripped of rights in Germany

Sep 15, 1935

Italy invades Ethiopia

Oct 3, 1935

Germany remilitarizes the Rhineland

Mar 7, 1936

Italy take Ethiopia

May 9, 1936

Spanish Civil War

Period: Jul 17, 1936 to Apr 1, 1939

Spanish Civil War begins

Jul 18, 1936

Germany and Italy use Civil War to promote Fascism and test out their updated militaries in battle.

Japan invades China, Second Sino-Japanese War begins

Jul 7, 1937

Japan begins campaign to take over China and make it part of the Empire of Japan.

Austria annexed into Nazi Germany

Mar 12, 1938

Austria is officially annexed into Nazi Germany, formally called Anschluss.

Nazi Germany occupies Czechoslovakia

Mar 16, 1939

Germany signs alliance with Italy

May 27, 1939

Germany and Soviet Union sign non-aggression pact

Aug 23, 1939

Germany invades Poland; World War II officially begins

Sep 1, 1939

Invasion of Poland

Period: Sep 1, 1939 to Oct 6, 1939

Invasion of Poland ends; USSR and Nazi Germany divide nation

Oct 6, 1939

Nazis invade Denmark and Norway

Apr 9, 1940

Western Front

Period: Apr 9, 1940 to May 8, 1945

Nazis invade France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Netherlands; Winston Churchill becomes British Prime Minister

May 10, 1940

Evacuation of Allied troops at Dunkirk begins

May 26, 1940

Battle of Britain

Period: Jun 10, 1940 to Oct 31, 1940

North African Campaign

Period: Jun 10, 1940 to May 16, 1943

German forces march into Paris

Jun 14, 1940

Battle of Britain begins

Jul 10, 1940

Italy invades British-controlled Egypt; African Theater starts

Sep 13, 1940

Tripartite (Axis) PAct signed between Germany, Italy, and Japan

Sep 27, 1940

British begin counter-offensive against Italians in Egypt

Dec 9, 1940

British control Tobruk, invade Italian-controlled Libya

Jan 22, 1941

General Erwin Rommel and German "Afrika Korps" send to aid Italians

Feb 14, 1941

Rommel attacks Tobruk

Apr 14, 1941

Battleship DKM Bismarck sunk by British Royal Navy

May 27, 1941

3 days earlier the Bismarck sank the pride of the British fleet, the HMS Hood and severely damaged the battleship Prince of Wales

Soviet Union invaded by Germany, Operation Barbarossa begins

Jun 22, 1941

Eastern Front

Period: Jun 22, 1941 to May 9, 1945

Pearl Harbor bombed by Japan

Dec 7, 1941

United States enters World War II

Dec 8, 1941

Japan takes Phillipines, Burma, Singapore, Dutch East Indies, French Indochina

Jan 1, 1942

Douglas Macarthur leaves Phillipines and says "I shall return"

Mar 12, 1942

Battle of Midway; ends three days later; official turning point in Pacific War

Jun 4, 1942

First Battle of El Alamein

Period: Jul 1, 1942 to Jul 30, 1942

Battle of Stalingrad begins

Aug 23, 1942

Batlle of Stalingrad

Period: Aug 23, 1942 to Feb 2, 1943

Battle for Guadalcanal begins

Nov 7, 1942

Guadalcanal Campaign

Period: Nov 7, 1942 to Feb 9, 1943

Operation Torch begins, Germans eventually ousted out of North Africa by May

Nov 8, 1942

German army surrenders in Stalingrad; fisrt major defeat for Nazi Germany

Feb 2, 1943

Allies take Tunisia; North Africa campaign over

May 7, 1943

Allies land in Sicily; Italian Campaign begins

Jul 9, 1943

Mussolini arrested and Italian Fascist government falls

Jul 25, 1943

Italy surrenders in war; German troops in Italy still fight on.

Sep 8, 1943

Mussolini rescued by German commandos (Fallschirmjager); Fascist government reastablished in Northern Italy

Sep 12, 1943

Italy declares war of Germany

Oct 13, 1943

Soviets take back Kiev in Ukraine

Nov 6, 1943

US troops invade Makin and Tarawa islands

Nov 20, 1943

Soviets advance into Poland

Jan 6, 1944

Allies launch assault on Monte Cassino, German Fallschirmjager hold off Allied Army for 5 months

Jan 17, 1944

Battle of Monte Cassino

Period: Jan 17, 1944 to May 18, 1944

Merrill's Marauders start campaign in Burma

Feb 24, 1944

Allies enter Rome

Jun 5, 1944

D-Day landings on Normandy Beach; Western Front begins

Jun 6, 1944

Marines invade Saipan

Jun 15, 1944

Battle of the Hedgerows

Jul 3, 1944

Allies capture St. Lo

Jul 18, 1944

Marines invade Guam

Jul 19, 1944

Operation Valkyrie Bomb Plot fails; Hitler is not killed and German officers and government officials slain

Jul 20, 1944

Allies reach Siegfried Line in Germany

Sep 13, 1944

Allies liberate Athens; Rommel commits suicide by order of Adolf Hitler

Oct 14, 1944

US Army invades Leyte Gulf in Phillipines ("I have returned!")

Oct 20, 1944

Battle of Leyte Gulf becomes decisive US Naval victory

Period: Oct 23, 1944 to Oct 26, 1944

Battle of the Bulge begins

Dec 16, 1944

Battle of the Bulge

Period: Dec 16, 1944 to Jan 25, 1945

General George S. Patton relieves Bastogne, blunts German offensive at Bastogne

Dec 26, 1944

Soviets liberate Auschwitz

Jan 26, 1945

Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin meet in Yalta

Feb 4, 1945

Marines invade Iwo Jima

Feb 19, 1945

Battle of Iwo Jima

Period: Feb 19, 1945 to Mar 26, 1945

Allies cross bridge at Remagen

Mar 7, 1945

Marines invade Okinawa

Apr 1, 1945

Battle of Okinawa

Period: Apr 1, 1945 to Jun 22, 1945

FDR dies; Truman becomes President

Apr 12, 1945

Soviets reach Berlin

Apr 21, 1945

Mussolini hung by partisans; Venice captured by Allies

Apr 28, 1945

Adolf Hitler commits suicide

Apr 30, 1945

V-E (Victory in Europe) Day

May 8, 1945

Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima

Aug 6, 1945

Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki

Aug 9, 1945

Japan surrenders; V-J (Victory over Japan) Day

Sep 2, 1945