World War II By clcalderwood Jul 28, 1921 Adolf Hitler is leader of Nazi Party Adolf Hitler becomes the leader of the Nazi Party after beating our Anton Drexler. Dec 22, 1922 Mussolini apointed Prime Minister Jan 1, 1929 Josef Stalin is dictator of Soviet Union (USSR) Jan 1, 1931 Japan's army seizes Manchuria, China Feb 1, 1933 Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany Jan 1, 1935 Neutrality Act passed by US Congress May 16, 1935 Italian Army invades Ethiopia in Africa Mar 16, 1936 Militarist take control of Japanese Government Jun 16, 1936 Hitler sends troops into Rhineland of Germany in violation of the Versailles Treaty Feb 16, 1937 Japan’s army pillages Nanjing, China; massacre a quarter of a million people. Apr 16, 1938 Munich Pact signed giving the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia to Germany Sep 16, 1938 Nazis begin rounding up Jews for labor camps Jan 1, 1939 Nazi-Soviet Pact signed by Hitler and Stalin Sep 1, 1939 Nazis invade Poland; Britain and France declare war on Germany Feb 16, 1940 Nazis invade Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium – take control May 16, 1940 Germany invades France and forces it to surrender Jun 16, 1940 Battle of Britain – Royal Air Force defeats German Air Force to prevent invasion of their island Oct 16, 1940 First time Peacetime Draft in US Jan 1, 1941 Hitler breaks Pact with Stalin’s Russia and invades -USSR now joins England in fighting the Germans Jun 19, 1941 Churchill and FDR issue the Atlantic Charter Jul 19, 1941 Japanese invade French Indochina (Viet. Laos, Cambodia) 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 Jan 19, 1942 Philippines fall to Japanese – Bataan Death March Feb 19, 1942 Japanese Americans interned in isolated camps Mar 19, 1942 Battle of Midway, turning point of war in the Pacific Mar 19, 1942 Russians stop Nazi advance at Stalingrad save Moscow Jan 1, 1943 British and US forces defeat German and Italian armies in North Africa Mar 5, 1943 Zoot Suit Riots – Los Angeles, CA Jul 5, 1943 Italy surrenders, Mussolini dismissed as Prime Min. Jun 6, 1944 D-Day invasion of France at Normandy by Allies Aug 5, 1944 Paris retaken by Allies Forces Dec 5, 1944 Battle of the Bulge – last offensive of German Forces Jan 5, 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 6, 1945 First Atomic Bombs dropped Aug 14, 1945 V-J Day, Japan surrenders to Allied Forces
