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Japan invades Manchuria
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FDR elected President
Franklin D. Roosevelt elected the 32nd President of the United States -
Adolf Hilter becomes dictator of Germany
Adolph Hitler succeeds Hindenburg as leader of Germany -
Italy invades Ethiopia
Italy invades Ethiopia -
Neville Chamberlain becomes the new British Prime Minister
Neville Chamberlain becomes the new British Prime Minister -
Japan invades China; Sino-Japanese War begins
Japan invades China; Sino-Japanese War begins -
Germany invades and annexes Austria (Anschluss)
Germany invades and annexes Austria (Anschluss) -
Signing of the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact
Signing of the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact -
Germany invades Poland, WWII begins
orld War II begins when Germany invades Poland -
Great Britain and France declare war on Germany
Honoring their guarantee of Poland’s borders, Great Britain and France declare war on Germany -
Germany attacks Western Europe
Germany attacks western Europe—France and the neutral Low Countries. Luxembourg is occupied on May 10; the Netherlands surrenders on May 14; and Belgium surrenders on May 28. On June 22, France signs an armistice agreement by which the Germans occupy the northern half of the country and the entire Atlantic coastline. In southern France, a collaborationist regime with its capital in Vichy is established. -
Italy enters the war
Italy enters the war. Italy invades southern France on June 21. -
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Battle of Britain
The air war known as the Battle of Britain ends in defeat for Nazi Germany. -
Germany, Italy, and Japan sign the Tripartite Pact
Germany, Italy, and Japan sign the Tripartite Pact -
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Operation Barbarossa
Nazi Germany and its Axis partners (except Bulgaria) invade the Soviet Union. Finland, seeking redress for the territorial losses in the armistice concluding the Winter War, joins the Axis just before the invasion. The Germans quickly overrun the Baltic States and, joined by the Finns, lay siege to Leningrad (St. Petersburg) by September. In the center, the Germans capture Smolensk in early August and drive on Moscow by October. In the south, German and Romanian troops capture Kiev (Kyiv) in Sep -
Pearl Harbor
Japan bombs Pearl Harbor. -
United States enters WWII
The United States declares war on Japan, entering World War II. Japanese troops land in the Philippines, French Indochina (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia), and British Singapore. By April 1942, the Philippines, Indochina, and Singapore are under Japanese occupation. -
Battle of the Coral Sea
The Battle of the Coral Sea, fought from 4–8 May 1942, was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II between the Imperial Japanese Navy and Allied naval and air forces from the United States and Australia. -
Battle of Midway
British and US navies halt the Japanese naval advance in the central Pacific at Midway. -
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Guadalcanal Campaign
US troops halt the Japanese island-hopping advance towards Australia at Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. -
Battle of Stalingrad begins
Germany and her Axis partners launch a new offensive in the Soviet Union. German troops fight their way into Stalingrad (Volgograd) on the Volga River by mid-September and penetrate deep into the Caucasus after securing the Crimean Peninsula. -
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Operation Torch
British–American invasion of French North Africa in World War II during the North African Campaign -
Battle of Staligrand ends
Red Army defeats Axis powers in one of the bloodiest in history. The heavy losses inflicted on the German army made it a significant turning point in the whole war. After the Battle of Stalingrad, German forces never recovered their earlier strength, and attained no further strategic victories in the East. -
North African Campaign ends
Axis forces in Tunisia surrender to the Allies, ending the North African campaign. -
Allies control Sicily
US and British troops land on Sicily. By mid-August, the Allies control Sicily. -
D-Day, Operation Overlord Begins
British and US troops successfully land on the Normandy beaches of France, opening a “Second Front” against the Germans. -
Period: to
Battle of the Bulge
The Germans launch a final offensive in the west, known as the Battle of the Bulge, in an attempt to re-conquer Belgium and split the Allied forces along the German border. By January 1, 1945, the Germans are in retreat. -
Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg,[3] was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. -
Battle of Berlin
The Battle of Berlin, designated the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, was the final major offensive of the European Theatre of World War II.[f] -
Germany surrenders to the western Allies
Germany surrenders to the western Allies -
A-Bomb dropped on Hiroshima
The United States drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima -
A-Bomb dropped on Nagasaki
The United States drops an atomic bomb on Nagasaki. -
V-J Day
Japanese Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu signs the Instrument of Surrender on behalf of the Japanese Government, on board USS Missouri (BB-63), 2 September 1945.
