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Japan Invades Manchuria
As part of a newly accquired militarism, Japan invades the northern Chinese provinces, called Manchuria. Japan institutes a puppet state and renames the province Manchukuo. Japan continues to conquer smaller areas around it for the same reason as most imperalist nations- resources, power, and to spread the blood of the Yamato. -
Hitler Becomes Chancellor of Germany
After some initial failings in his political career, Hitler is elected chancellor of Germany. The previous year, 1932, Hitler had run for the same position, but lost dramatically to older, near senile Paul von Hindenburg by a humiliating 16.2%. But, in 1933, due to the German economy continuing to flounder, Hitler won his presidential seat. Nobody knew what was going to happen in the 12 years. Nobody could have known. -
Dachau Concentration Camp Opened
Under orders by the new chancellor, Dachau concentration camp is opened in Dachau, Germany. The camp was not used at the time for Jews, however-it was originally created for enemies of the state, similar to Stalin's Gulags. -
German Conscription Begins
As part of the Treaty of Versailles, it was agreed that Germany would no longer hold a standing army. But, as of this day, Germany began conscripting troops. This was the first of many violations of the Treaty that Hitler would commit. -
Italy Invades Ethiopia
Under the lead of Prime Minister Benito Mussolini, Italy invades and occupies Ethiopia. The motive for the invasion, among other things, was to create an easy path to the Indian and Pacific Ocean, one that could be easily accessed- or blockaded. Italy was heavily criticised for this action, but no action was taken against them. -
Neutrality Act Signed
In America, Roosevelt signs the neutrality act. The act banned travel on belligerent ships, forbid the arming of American merchant ships, and enacted an arms embargo on all warring nations. -
Luguo Bridge Incident
At approximately 4:00 PM, outside Peking, Japanese Troops defeated the Chinese, taking control of Peking and finalizing Japanese control of Northern China. This would launch what is known as the Second Sino-Japanese War. -
Panay Incident
In the harbor of Nanjing, a city in China, a boat called the USS Panay was taking a group of American Civilians out of the city, which had just been taken by the Japanese. The Japanese, who had been informed that the remnants of the Chinese Army were fleeing in steamships and junks similar to the Panay. The Japanese bombed the ship, killing three. Though the Japanese formally apologized and paid reparations to the American government, the event riled the American public against the Japanese. -
Germany Annexes Austria
As part of the beginning of Hitlers policy of Lebensraum, Germany annexes the Anschluss, or Austria. -
Munich Conference
England, France, Germany, and Italy meet in Munich. England and France agree to allow Germany to annex the Sudetenland, a German-speaking area of Czechloslovakia. The Prime Minister of England and says that "A great peace" has been enacted. -
The Nonagression Pact is Signed
Germany, wishing to invade Poland, but not wanting to incur the wrath of Russia, sign a pact of non agression, stating that Germany will not invade Russia in the coming war. -
Invasion of Poland
In a move of agression and belligerence, Germany breaks the deal it made with France and England and invades Poland. Germany uses its new blitzkrieg tactics for the first time. Poland surrender is 26 days. 2 days after the invasion, France and England declare war on France, effectively starting World War II. -
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Germany Attacks Western Europe
On May 10th, Germany began its all out assault on Western Europe. Using the Blitzkrieg tactic pioneered during the invasion of Poland, the Germans were able to annihalate any resistance. Most countries fell in days. On June 22nd, Germany and France signed an armistice, creating a collaborationist Vichy state in the south and allowing Germany to occupy the north. -
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The Battle of Britain
With the North of France captured, the German Luftwaffe was free to bomb england to impunity. However, the Luftwaffe met a stronger force than expected in the Royal Air Force. The RAF was able to counter the German bombings for almost four months, until the Luftwaffe withdrew. Bombings continued in London, but only as much as was expected. The RAF had prevented the pathway to invasion from being created. -
The Tripartite Pact Signed
At the Reichstag in Berlin, Germany, the Tripartite Pact is signed. Representatives with Japan and Italy, along with Hitler himself, sign a pact of formal alliance. The pact details how the newly created Axis will recognize that each of three power gets a piece of the Western Hemisphere, Western Europe for Germany, Africa and Southern Europe for Italy, and Asia for Japan. The Pact leaves out Soviet Russia, however, foreshadowing Germanys betrayal of the Soviets. -
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Germany Invades Russia
Breaking the pact of Non Agression (and the second time in the war that Germany has broken an agreement), Germany invades Russia. The German drive is nigh unstoppable, capturing Smolensk, Leningrad (St. Petersburg), and Kyiv (Kiev) by September. By October, the Germans rush Moscow, but are driven out of Moscow into a chaotic retreat by a Soviet Counterattack on December 6th. -
Japan Bombs Pearl Harbor
Early in the morning on December 7th, at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, a surprise Japanese attack is launched. To cripple the American Navy, the Japanese bomb the American fleet. 2,500 Americans die in the attack. The Japanese attempted to stall the Navy as a way to take rest of the Pacific Islands and Australia without threat from the American Navy. America declares war on Japan the very next day. -
The Battle of Midway
On June 4th, the Japanese, led by admiral Isoroku Yamato, attack the tiny Midway Island. Midway was the farthest American Outpost in the Pacific, and a necessary airstrip for launching bombing missions and refueling submarines. American Bombers spotted the Japanese fleet before the attack, and, for the first time in the war, the Japanese are defeated. The Ameicans lose 300 men. The Japanese lose 3,000. This is called by many the turning point in the War in the Pacific. -
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The Battle of Stalingrad
As the Germans stormed across Russia, the Germans pushed towards Stalingrad, the last city before the Caucasus Oil Fields. The Germans, initially strong in their assault, are halted at Stalingrad. A stalemate continues for over 7 months, in what is considered the longest and bloodiest battle in the history of War. Eventually, beaten down by starvation and cold, the German army surrenders. 850,000 German soldiers, and approximately 1,169,619 Soviet soldiers and citizens are killed or wounded. -
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The Battle of Guadalcanal
After their victory at Midway, the allies begin to mount their first offensive in the Pacific. Codenamed Operation Watchtower, the Guadalcanal campaigns' obejctive was to defend the Solomon Islands from the Japanese and block the Japanese from invading Australia and New Zealand. The Japanese were competely surprised by the offensive. The Japanese could not take the islands, and the battle stretched 6 months before the Japanese retreated. Of the 36,000 Japanese forces deployed, 31,000 are killed. -
Battle of El Alamein
In what seems to be a season of turning points, the Allies win another crucial victory at El Alamein, Egypt. The Italian and German Afrika Corps, which had been steamrolling across North Africa to reach Middle Eastern oil fields, are halted and turned back at El Alamein. In what was part of a series of battles between British Commander Bernard Montgomery and German Commander Erwin Rommel, the German/Italian forces are forced back into Libya. -
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Invasion of Italy
After successfully ending the North Africa campaign, the allies invade Italy via Sicily, into the "soft underbelly of Europe." The Allies work through mountainous terrain, poor roads, and Italian resistance for over a year before finally reaching and liberating Rome. Because of the allied advancement, the Facist high Council removes Mussolini from Rome and sets up a puppet state in Northern Italy led by Mussolini. -
D-Day
To create a second front in Europe, the Allies undertake the largest military operation of the War. Operation Overlord places five landing sites on the beaches of Normandy, Omaha, Utah, Gold, Sword, and Juno. After bombing strikes against German fortifications, the landings begin. Due to bombs missing the major fortifications, Omaha is the bloodiest beach that day. Eventually, the allies capture Normandy, and create the second font on "the longest day." Paris is liberated on August 25th. -
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The Battle of the Bulge
Pushed almost back into Germany, the Germans launch a desperate attempt to regain footing. Their last offensive of the war, the Germans attempt to exploit a bulge in the Allied line to retake Belgium. The "Battle of the Bulge" took place in and around the Ardennes Forest in Belgium, during a brutal winter. Of the 189,000 men that die in the battle, many die from hypothermia. The Germans retreat on January 1st, 1945. -
The Russians Reach Berlin
After the German defeat at Stalingrad, the Russians push back hard on the Germans, storming back across the steppes through Poland. The Germans put up a hard fight defending Seelow Heights, a suburb of Berlin, but their lines were easily broken. On April 16th, four days before Hitlers' birthday, the Russians encircle the heart of the Reich. -
Hitler Commits Suicide
14 days into the siege of Berlin, Adolph Hitler commits suicide. At his bunker in Berlin, fifty five feet below the Reichstag, Hitler, his wife Ava Braun, and his dog Blondi, stayed until the 30th, when Hitler and Ava consumed cyanide capusles, one was fed to the dog, and Hitler shot himself for good measure. His body was cremated, but he wasnt officially determined dead by the Soviet Union until 1957. Germany surrenders a week later. -
The Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
On August 6th, 1945, at 8:15 in the morning, the first atomic bomb is used. Dropped over the city of Hiroshima, Japan, the blast was equivalent to 1.7 kilotons of tnt. 3 days later, on August 9th, a second atomic bomb is dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. In just two attacks, requiring only two bombs, 246,000 people are killed. One month later, on September 2nd, Japan formally agrees to their unconditional surrender, officially ending World War II.