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World War II began on July 7, 1937—not in Poland or at Pearl Harbor, but in China. On that date, outside of Beijing, Japanese and Chinese troops clashed, and within a few days, the local conflict had escalated to a full, though undeclared, war between China and Japan. -
Nazi Germany annexed the neighboring country of Austria (Österreich). This event is known as the Anschluss. “Anschluss” is a German word that means “connection” or “joining.” Series of maps showing Austria in 1933, Vienna, the Anschluss, and Austria in 1945. -
They took over Bohemia, and established a protectorate over Slovakia. Hitler's invasion of Czechoslovakia was the end of appeasement for several reasons: it proved that Hitler had been lying at Munich. -
Invasion of Poland, attack on Poland by Nazi Germany that marked the start of World War II. The invasion lasted from September 1 to October 5, 1939. As dawn broke on September 1, 1939, German forces launched a surprise attack on Poland. -
After a fierce debate in Congress, in November of 1939, a final Neutrality Act passed. This Act lifted the arms embargo and put all trade with belligerent nations under the terms of “cash-and-carry.” The ban on loans remained in effect, and American ships were barred from transporting goods to belligerent ports. -
Between 9 May and 22 June 1940, a remarkable German assault on north-west Europe, known as the Battle of France, resulted in the capture and subjugation of not only France but three other countries – Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Belgium. -
The Battle of Britain was a major air campaign fought largely over southern England in the summer and autumn of 1940. After the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk and the Fall of France, Germany planned to gain air superiority in preparation for an invasion of Great Britain. -
Three months after the start of the Battle of Bataan, the Bataan Death March began, forcing 60,000-80,000 Filipino and American prisoners of war to march through the Philippines. The route was about 65 miles long and stretched from the peninsula to the railhead inland (see below). -
On Friday, August 1 1941, The US announces a ban on oil exports to “aggressor countries,” including Japan. This was just as acting Secretary of State Wells had warned Ambassador to the United States Kichisaburo Nomura on July 24. -
The carriers launched their aircraft early on a Sunday morning. US forces were completely unprepared, and in less than ninety minutes, Japanese planes destroyed or damaged 19 US warships and 300 aircraft, and killed over 2,400 US servicemen. -
The five-day battle, fought from June 3-7, 1942, encompassed an area the size of the contiguous United States. Japanese and American ships fought at ranges of 50-150 miles apart. -
Soviet forces launched a counteroffensive against the Germans arrayed at Stalingrad in mid-November 1942. They quickly encircled an entire German army, more than 220,000 soldiers. In February 1943, after months of fierce fighting and heavy casualties, the surviving German forces—only about 91,000 soldiers—surrendered. -
On June 6, 1944, in Operation Overlord, the Allied forces landed troops on Normandy beaches for the largest amphibious assault in history, beginning the march eastward to defeat Germany. In a larger strategic sense, the successful Allied landing in France was a psychological blow to the German occupation of Europe. -
At Yalta, Roosevelt and Churchill discussed with Stalin the conditions under which the Soviet Union would enter the war against Japan and all three agreed that, in exchange for potentially crucial Soviet participation in the Pacific theater, the Soviets would be granted a sphere of influence in Manchuria following . -
On May 8, 1945 - known as Victory in Europe Day or V-E Day - celebrations erupted around the world to mark the end of World War II in Europe. -
Hitler made the mass operation to slaughter the innocent Jews for being Jewish. They made concentration camps and other places to keep them and torture them. -
On 6 and 9 August 1945, the United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively. The bombings killed between 150,000 and 246,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and they remain the only use of nuclear weapons in an armed conflict. -
The atomic bomb used at Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945, was "Little Boy". The bomb was dropped by a USAAF B-29 bomber, Enola Gay, piloted by U.S. Army Air Force Colonel Paul Tibbets, Jr. The bomb weighed 9,000 pounds and had a diameter of only 28 inches. -
World War II was the biggest and deadliest war in history, involving more than 30 countries. Sparked by the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland, the war dragged on for six bloody years until the Allies defeated the Axis powers of Nazi Germany, Japan and Italy in 1945.