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Facist leader Benito Mussolini is appointed The Premier of Italy.
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Adolf Hitler is appointed Chancellor of Germany.
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The Nazi party declares all other political parties in Gremany to be illegal.
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Hitler and Mussolini announce they have made a Rome-Berlin alliance. The Axis powers.
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Germany invades Austria and annexes it the next day.
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Britain, France, Australia and New Zealand declare war on Germany after German forces penetrate deeper into Poland. This marks the beginning of World War II.
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The USSR invades Poland. Poland then surrenders to Germany.
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Winston Churchill becomes the new Prime Minister of Britain, replacing Chamberlain. Germany invades Holland, it surrenders four days later. Germany invades Belgium
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Germany invades the Channel Islands. This will be the only part of Britain to be occupied by the Germans.
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The Battle of Britain begins. Germany bombs Britain, and the British defend themselves from the air in what Winston Churchill would call their "finest hour."
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The U.S. Congress passes the Lend-Lease Act giving Roosevelt the authority to sell, transfer, or lease war goods to the government of any Allied country.
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Japan secretly attacks the U.S. at Pearl Harbor. U.S. declaers war on Japan the next day.
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The Allies, except the USSR, declare war on Japan.
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Germany holds the Wannsee Conference in Berlin to find a "Final Solution" for the Jews.
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The U.S. Navy repels the Japanese at the Battle of the Coral Sea. This helps save Australia and blocks the Japanese juggernaut in the Pacific.
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Over 90,000 German troops at Stalingrad surrender to the Soviets. It is a significant turning point in the war against Germany.
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Over 90,000 German troops at Stalingrad surrender to the Soviets. It is a significant turning point in the war against Germany.
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The Allies land at Anzio, Italy.
(Fun Fact, My great Grandfather fought at Anzio.) -
D-Day. Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of German-occupied Western Europe, begins on the beaches of Normandy, France.
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Germany begins its last-ditch offensive in the Ardennes, beginning the Battle of the Bulge
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V-E Day is declared, Victory in Europe.
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A U.S. B-29 named Enola Gay drops the "Little Boy" atomic bomb over Hiroshima, Japan. 140,000 people in the area will die by the end of the year.
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A U.S. B-29 named Bock's Car drops the "Fat Man" atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan. Approximately 70,000 people in the area will die by the end of the year.
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V-J Day is declared -- Victory over Japan.