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Japan invades Manchuria
In 1931 Japan invaded Manchuria in Northern China. In the mind of some this is where WWII started, as a reigonal conflict in Asia. -
Hitler Takes Power
In January of 1933 Hitler came to power in Germany. The set off the downward spiral that quickly led to the outbreak of WWII. -
Germany Annexes Austria
In March of 1938 Germany Annexed Austria. While this was yet another flagrant violation of the Treaty the Allies let it slide yet again to avoid another war. Guess how that turned out. In my mind this was the trigger for WWII. This act of agression was the first step towards the war in Europe. -
Czechoslovakia
In 1938 Gemany marched into the Sudetenland and reclaimed it for themselves. This was a violation of the treaty of Versailles but was yet again basically ignored by Britain and France. -
Germany signs a non-agression pact with the USSR
In August of 1939 Germany and the Soviet Union signed a non-agression pact. They also agreed to split Poland between them. Germany later broke this agreement and invaded the USSR -
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Invasion of Poland
In September of 1939 Hitler invaded Poland from the West and the Soviet Union invaded from the East. This was part of an agreement between the Hitler and Stalin to split Poland between them. It was also a non-agression pact. That part didn't go so well. -
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Invasion of Western Europe
In May to June of 1940 the war turned in Nazi favor when they invaded Western Europe. Luxembourg is occupied on May 10, the Netherlands follows on May 14, Belgium surrenders on May 28, and france falls soon after. -
France Falls
On June 14, 1940 Hitler's forces marched into Paris and took direct control over the northern part. In the south they installed the Vichy Government, a puppet of the Nazis. -
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Battle of Britain
Hitler's goal in this battle was to destroy the RAF airfields. When this goal failed the focus switched to bombing cities to inspire fear. This Battle was a decisive victory for the British. -
The Tripartite Act
In September of 1940 the Tripartite is signed by Germany, Italy and Japan. -
Pearl Harbor
"December 7, 1941 a day that will live in infamy." -FDR following the attack.
In early December of 1941 Japan launched an attack Pearl Harbor a U.S. Naval base in Hawaii. This event dragged the U.S. Into the war. -
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Stalingrad
"One death is a tragedy, one million a statistic" -Joseph Stalin This was the bloodiest battle of the war. Axis forces lost aroun 850,000 men and the Soviet Union lost around 1,300,000. Despite losing more people this was a decisive Soviet victory that spelled doom for the Axis attempts to bring down the USSR. -
El Alamein
"Before El Alamein we never had a victory. After El Alamein we never had a defeat." -Winston Churchill This may be a slight exaggeration but El Alamein was a turning point. It spelled doom for the Axis Campaign in North Africa -
The Beginning of the End For Italy
In late January of 1944 Allied forces landed in Italy in Anzio. -
Rome is Liberated
By this point Mussolini had already been overthrown. While German resistance remained in Italy and fought till May of 1945 The first of the Axis Powers had fallen. -
D-Day
The Allies landed on the Normandy Beaches in June 1944. Diversion tactics used prior to the invasion spread the German Army out. Not only that but by this point many German soldiers weren't as commited to the war. -
Hitler Commits Suicide
In April of 1945 Hitler commited suicide with his fiance Eva Braun in a bunker as the Soviets marched into Berlin. This effectively marked the end of the war in Europe as in the following few weeks Germany would surrener to both the Western and Eastern Allied forces -
Atomic Bomb
On August 6th, 1945 the U.S. dropped one of only two atomic bomb ever used in warfare on Japan. Three days later they dropped the other one on Nagasaki. Japan surrendered just days later.
