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Japan invades Manchuria.
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Japan invades China, initiating World War II in the Pacific.
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Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan sign the Anti-Comintern Pact, directed against the Soviet Union and the international Communist movement.
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Honoring their guarantee of Poland’s borders, Great Britain and France declare war on Germany.
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Germany invades Denmark and Norway. Denmark surrenders on the day of the attack; Norway holds out until June 9.
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Italy enters the war. Italy invades southern France on June 21.
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Germany, Italy, and Japan sign the Tripartite Pact.
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Japan bombs Pearl Harbor.
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British and US navies halt the Japanese naval advance in the central Pacific at Midway.
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Having agreed in principle to unconditional surrender on August 14, 1945, Japan formally surrenders, ending World War II.