World War II By emily4444 Jul 29, 1921 Adolf Hitler becomes the Nazi party leader. Oct 31, 1922 Benito Mussolini appointed Prime Minister of Italy Dec 7, 1929 Josef Stalin sole dictator of the soviet union Sep 18, 1931 Japan's Army seizes Manchuria, China Mar 21, 1933 Hitler is named Chancellor of Germany Aug 31, 1935 Neutrality acts passed by US congress Oct 3, 1935 Italian Army invades Ethiopia in Africa Feb 26, 1936 Militarist takes control of Japanese government Mar 7, 1936 Hitler sends troops into Rhineland of Germany in violation of the Versailles treaty Dec 13, 1937 Japan's Army pillages Nanjing, China; massacre a quarter of a million people. Sep 29, 1938 Munich Pact signed giving the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia to Germany. Nov 5, 1938 Nazis begin rounding up Jews for labor camps Aug 23, 1939 Nazi-Soviet Pact signed by Hitler and Stalin Sep 1, 1939 Nazis invade Poland; Britain and France declare war on Germany Apr 9, 1940 Nazis invade Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium – take control Jun 22, 1940 Germany invades France and forces it to surrender Jul 12, 1940 Battle of Britain – Royal Air Force defeats German Air Force to prevent invasion of their island Sep 14, 1940 First time Peacetime Draft in US Jun 22, 1941 Hitler breaks Pact with Stalin’s Russia and invades -USSR which now joins England in fighting the Germans Aug 9, 1941 Churchill and FDR issue the Atlantic Charter Sep 11, 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 May 20, 1942 Japanese Americans interned in isolated camps Jun 4, 1942 Battle of Midway, turning point of war in the Pacific Jun 19, 1942 Philippines fall to Japanese – Bataan Death March Nov 18, 1942 Russians stop Nazi advance at Stalingrad save Moscow Mar 10, 1943 British and US forces defeat German and Italian armies in North Africa May 23, 1943 Zoot Suit Riots – Los Angeles, CA Jul 3, 1943 Italy surrenders, Mussolini dismissed as Prime Min. Jun 6, 1944 D-Day invasion of France at Normandy by Allies Aug 16, 1944 Paris retaken by Allies Forces Dec 15, 1944 Battle of the Bulge – last offensive of German Forces Jan 8, 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 Nov 20, 1946 War Crimes Trials held in Nuremburg, Germany; Manila, Philippines and Tokyo, Japan.
