-
Period: to
World War II
-
Adolf Hitler become Chancellor
Adolf Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany. -
Japan defeats China
The Japanese defeat Chinese forces in a clash near Peking, taking control of North China. -
Germany Supports Japan
German Chancellor Adolf Hitler announces support for Japan. -
Italy allies with Germany
In a speech in Rome, Benito Mussolini, fascist leader of Italy, promises to fight the democracies alongside Adolf Hitler's should war break out. -
Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass)
During the German Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass), 7,500 Jewish businesses are looted, 191 synagogues are set afire, nearly 100 Jews are killed, and tens of thousands are sent to concentration camps. -
Nonaggression pact
Germany and the Soviet Union agree to a nonaggression pact leaving the Soviets free to strengthen their western frontier, and Hitler free to attack Poland. -
Germany invades Poland
German troops invade Poland on the ground while Hitler's air force bombs Polish cities from the sky. -
Britain declares war on Germany
Britain and France declare war on Germany honoring their commitment to Poland. President Franklin D. Roosevelt invokes the Neutrality Act but notes, "Even a neutral cannot be asked to close his mind or his conscience." -
CDAAA founded
The Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies is founded. -
Pacific Fleet moved
President Franklin D. Roosevelt moves the United States Pacific Fleet base from San Diego, California to Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. -
Peacetime Draft
Congress appropriates $16 billion for defense needs, and enacts the first peacetime draft in American history. -
US cracks Japanese code
United States Naval Intelligence cryptographers crack Japan's secret communications code and learn that Japan intends to conquer China. -
Germany siege on France
German fighter planes and ground troops pummel France. -
France Surrenders
France, crushed, surrenders to Germany and signs an armistice. Great Britain now stands alone against the Axis powers. -
Italy attacks France
Benito Mussolini's Italian forces attack France from the south. -
Japan allies with Germany and Italy
Responding to the embargoes imposed by the United States, Japan joins the German-Italian coalition. -
Germany invades Soviet Union
Germany invades the Soviet Union violating the Nonaggression Pact. U.S. Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson estimates that it will take Hitler less than three months to conquer the Soviet Union. -
Pearl Harbor
Japanese fighter planes attack the American base at Pearl Harbor, destroying U.S. aircraft and naval vessels, and killing 2,355 U.S. servicemen and 68 civilians. -
US declares war on Axis powers
Germany and Italy, Japan's Axis partners, declare war on the United States. The United States declares war on Germany, Italy, and Japan. -
Italy surrenders
The Italian government officially surrenders to the Allied powers. Still, German forces occupy much of Italy. -
D-Day
D-Day: The first of nearly 3 million Allied soldiers arrive in Normandy, on the northern shores of France. -
FDR dies
President Franklin D. Roosevelt dies of a cerebral hemorrhage in Warm Springs, Georgia. -
Mussolini dies
Italian insurgents capture Mussolini, murder him, and mutilate his body. -
Hitler dies
Adolf Hitler commits suicide in Berlin. -
Hiroshima bombing
The United States drops an atomic bomb—the first to be used in warfare—on Hiroshima, killing 75,000 people instantly, and injuring more than 100,000. -
Nagasaki Bombing
A second atomic bomb is dropped in Nagasaki. -
World War II ends
A formal surrender ceremony is conducted in Tokyo Bay on the U.S. battleship Missouri. World War II officially ends.