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Fascist Italy invades, conquers, and annexes Ethiopia.
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Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy sign a treaty of cooperation on October 25; on November 1, the Rome-Berlin Axis is announced
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Japan invades China, initiating World War II in the Pacific.
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Germany invades Poland, initiating World War II in Europe
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Honoring their guarantee of Poland’s borders, Great Britain and France declare war on Germany.
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Italy enters the war. Italy invades southern France on June 21.
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Bulgaria joins the Axis
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Nazi Germany and its Axis partners (except Bulgaria) invade the Soviet Union
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Executive Order 8802 signed by FDR
Executive Order 8802 was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 25, 1941, to prohibit racial discrimination in the national defense industry. It was the first federal action, though not a law, to promote equal opportunity and prohibit employment discrimination in the United States. -
Japan bombs Pearl Harbor.
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The United States declares war on Japan, entering World War II
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Nazi Germany and its Axis partners declare war on the United States.
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US and British troops land on Sicily. By mid-August, the Allies control Sicily.
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The Fascist Grand Council deposes Benito Mussolini, enabling Italian marshall Pietro Badoglio to form a new government.
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Allied troops liberate Rome. Within six weeks, Anglo-American bombers could hit targets in eastern Germany for the first time.
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Finland concludes an armistice with the Soviet Union, leaving the Axis partnership.
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US troops cross the Rhine River at Remagen.
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The Soviets launch their final offensive, encircling Berlin.
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Hitler commits suicide.
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The United States drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
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The Soviet Union declares war on Japan and invades Manchuria.
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The United States drops an atomic bomb on Nagasaki.
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Having agreed in principle to unconditional surrender on August 14, 1945, Japan formally surrenders, ending World War II.