World War II By 18019875 Jan 30, 1921 Adolf Hitler becomes leader of the Nazi Party Oct 31, 1922 Benito Mussolini appointed Prime Minister of Italy Dec 14, 1929 Josef Stalin sole dictator of the Soviet Union (USSR) Dec 14, 1931 Japan’s Army seizes Manchuria, China Mar 21, 1933 Hitler is named Chancellor of Germany Dec 14, 1935 Neutrality Acts passed by US Congress Dec 14, 1935 Italian Army invades Ethiopia in Africa Dec 14, 1936 Militarist take control of Japanese Government Dec 14, 1936 Hitler sends troops into Rhineland of Germany in violation of the Versailles Treaty Dec 14, 1937 Japan’s army pillages Nanjing, China; massacre a quarter of a million people. Dec 14, 1938 Munich Pact signed giving the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia to Germany Dec 14, 1938 Nazis begin rounding up Jews for labor camps Sep 1, 1939 Sept 1st - Nazis invade Poland; Britain and France declare war on Germany Dec 14, 1939 Nazi-Soviet Pact signed by Hitler and Stalin Jan 10, 1940 First time Peacetime Draft in US Dec 14, 1940 Germany invades France and forces it to surrender Dec 14, 1940 Battle of Britain – Royal Air Force defeats German Air Force to prevent invasion of their island Dec 14, 1940 Nazis invade Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium – take control Jan 10, 1941 Churchill and FDR issue the Atlantic Charter Jan 10, 1941 Japanese invade French Indochina (Viet. Laos, Cambodia) Jan 10, 1941 Hitler breaks Pact with Stalin’s Russia and invades -USSR which now joins England in fighting the Germans 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 - Dec. 9 Jan 10, 1942 Philippines fall to Japanese – Bataan Death March Jan 10, 1942 Japanese Americans interned in isolated camps Jan 10, 1942 Russians stop Nazi advance at Stalingrad save Moscow Jun 4, 1942 Battle of Midway, turning point of war in the Pacific Jan 10, 1943 British and US forces defeat German and Italian armies in North Africa Jan 10, 1943 Zoot Suit Riots – Los Angeles, CA Jul 1, 1943 Italy surrenders, Mussolini dismissed as Prime Min. Jun 6, 1944 D-Day invasion of France at Normandy by Allies Aug 10, 1944 Paris retaken by Allies Forces Dec 10, 1944 Battle of the Bulge – last offensive of German Forces Jan 10, 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 11, 1945 First Atomic Bombs dropped Aug 14, 1945 V-J Day, Japan surrenders to Allied Forces Jan 10, 1946 War Crimes Trials held in Nuremburg, Germany; Manila, Philippines and Tokyo, Japan.
