World War II timeline

By ravenlevine
  • Adolf Hitler becomes the leader of the Nazi Party

    Adolf Hitler becomes the leader of the Nazi Party

    President Paul von Hindenburg names Adolf Hitler, leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party (or Nazi Party), as chancellor of Germany.
  • Benito Mussolini appointed Prime Minister of Italy

    Benito Mussolini appointed Prime Minister of Italy

    Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician, journalist, and leader of the National Fascist Party, ruling the country as Prime Minister from 1922 until his ousting in 1943. He dropped all pretense of democracy and set up a legal dictatorship. Mussolini was one of the key figures in the creation of fascism.
  • Josef Stalin sole dictator of the Soviet Union (USSR)

    Josef Stalin sole dictator of the Soviet Union (USSR)

    Joseph Stalin or Iosif Vissarionovich Stalin was the leader of the Soviet Union from the mid-1920s until his death in 1953. Stalin was appointed general secretary of the party's Central Committee in 1922.
  • Japan’s Army seizes Manchuria, China

    Japan’s Army seizes Manchuria, China

    The Japanese invasion of Manchuria began on September 19, 1931, when the Kwantung Army of the Empire of Japan invaded Manchuria immediately following the Mukden Incident. The Manchukuo lasted until the end of World War II
  • Hitler is named Chancellor of Germany

    Hitler is named Chancellor of Germany

    President Paul von Hindenburg names Adolf Hitler, leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party (or Nazi Party), as chancellor of Germany.
  • Neutrality Acts passed by US Congress

    Neutrality Acts passed by US Congress

    The Neutrality Acts were passed by the United States Congress in the 1930s, because of the confusion in Europe and Asia that soon led to World War II.

  • Italian Army invades Ethiopia in Africa

  • Militarist take control of Japanese Government

  • Hitler sends troops into Rhineland of Germany in violation of the Versailles Treaty

    Hitler sends troops into Rhineland of Germany in violation of the Versailles Treaty

    This was significant because it violated the terms of the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Treaties, marking the first time since the end of World War I that German troops had been in this region.
  • Japan's army pillages Nanjing, China; massacre a quarter of a million people.

    Japan's army pillages Nanjing, China; massacre a quarter of a million people.

    30,000-40,000 civilans were murdered by japans troops.
  • Nazis begin rounding up Jews for labor camps.

    Nazis begin rounding up Jews for labor camps.

    Concentration camps became places where millions of ordinary people were enslaved, often starved, tortured and killed. Extermination and death camps were camps whose primary function was genocide. Not only Jews, but there were also large numbers of gypsies, etnics, homosexuals, etc.

  • Munich Pact signed giving the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia to Germany

  • Battle of Britain- Royal Air Force defeats German Air Force to prevent invasion of their island

  • Nazis invade Danmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium- take control

    Nazis invade Danmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium- take control

  • Germany invades France and forces it to surrender

    Successful German invasion of France.

  • First time Peacetime Draft in US

    The first peacetime program of compulsory military service took effect. All males between the ages 21 to 35 are required to register for the draft.

  • Churchill and FDR issue the Atlantic Charter

    The Charter stated the ideal goals of the war: no territorial aggrandizement; no territorial changes made against the wishes of the people; restoration of self-government to those deprived of it; reduction of trade restrictions; global cooperation to secure better economic and social conditions for all; freedom from fear and want; freedom of the seas; and etc.
  • Pearl Harbor in Hawaii attacked by Japanese Naval and Air forces, US declares war on Japan, Germany, and Italy declare war on the US

    Pearl Harbor in Hawaii attacked by Japanese Naval and Air forces, US declares war on Japan, Germany, and Italy declare war on the US

    The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The attack led to the United States' entry into World War II.
  • Philippines fall to Japanese- Bataan Death March

    Philippines fall to Japanese- Bataan Death March

    Tranfer by the Imperial Japanese Army of 60,000-80,000 Filipino and American prisonors.
  • Japanese Americans interned in isolated camps

    Japanese Americans interned in isolated camps

    The internment of Japanese Americans in the United States was the forced relocation and incarceration during World War II.
  • Period: to

    Battle of Midway, turning point of war in the pacific

  • Russians stop Nazi advance at Stalingrad save Moscow

  • Zoot Suit Riots- Los Angeles, CA

    Zoot Suit Riots- Los Angeles, CA

    Series of riots that broke out between American sailors and Marines stationed in the city.
  • British and US forces defeat German and Italian armies in North America

    British and US forces defeat German and Italian armies in North America

  • D-Day invasion of France at Normandy by Allies

    Allied Forces were ready to undertake the invasion of France.

  • Paris retaken by Allies Forces

  • Battle of the Bulge- last offensive of German Forces

  • US forces return to recapture the Philippines

  • FDR dies, Harry S. Truman becomes president.

  • V-E Day, war ends in Europe

    V-E Day, war ends in Europe

    The day marking the Allied Victory in Europe.
  • V-J Day, Japan surrenders to Allied Forces

    V-J Day, Japan surrenders to Allied Forces

    The day Japan ceased fighting in World War II.
  • First Atomic Bombs dropped

    First Atomic Bombs dropped

  • War Crimes Trials held in Nuremburg, German; Manila, Philippines and Tokyo, Japan

    War Crimes Trials held in Nuremburg, German; Manila, Philippines and Tokyo, Japan

    An action carried out during the conduct of war that violates accepted international rules f war.