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Signing
Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan sign the Anti-Comintern Pact, directed against the Soviet Union and the international Communist movement. -
Munich Agreement
Germany, Italy, Great Britain, and France sign the Munich agreement which forces the Czechoslovak Republic to cede the Sudetenland, including the key Czechoslovak military defense positions, to Nazi Germany. -
Britain and France declare war
Honoring their guarantee of Poland’s borders, Great Britain and France declare war on Germany. -
Slovaks declare their independence
Under German pressure, the Slovaks declare their independence and form a Slovak Republic. The Germans occupy the rump Czech lands in violation of the Munich agreement, forming a Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. -
Soviet Union invades
The Soviet Union invades Finland, initiating the so-called Winter War. The Finns sue for an armistice and have to cede the northern shores of Lake Lagoda and the small Finnish coastline on the Arctic Sea to the Soviet Union. -
Halt
US troops halt the Japanese island-hopping advance towards Australia at Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. -
Allied
Allied forces land in southern France near Nice and advance rapidly towards the Rhine River to the northeast. -
Captured
Partisan units, led by Yugoslav Communist leader Josip Tito, capture Zagreb and topple the Ustasa regime. The top Ustasa leaders flee to Italy and Austria.