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End of World War I
A major war centered on Europe that began in the summer of 1914. The fighting ended in November 1918. It was the second deadliest conflict in history. -
Period: to
World War II
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Hitler joins the Nazi party
Few would have thought that the Nazi Party, starting as a gang of unemployed soldiers in 1919, would become the legal government of Germany by 1933. In fourteen years, a once obscure corporal, Adolf Hitler , would become the Chancellor of Germany. -
Fascist Party established under Mussolini in Italy
The fear of revolution and the desire for national glory were manipulated to the advantage of a new political group, the Fascists, led by Benito Mussolini. -
Establishment of the USSR
The USSR was a union of socialist republics, which were run via the only recognized political party, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. It existed from 1922 until 1991. It stretched from the Baltic and Black Seas to the Pacific Ocean. In its final years it consisted of 15 Soviet Socialist Republics (SSRs). Russia was by far the largest Republic in the Soviet Union in terms of both land area and population, and also dominated it politically and economically. -
Mussolini takes over in Italy
Benito Mussolini (1883-1945) was fascist dictator of Italy from 1922 to 1943. -
Death of Vladimir Lenin; control of USSR to Joseph Stalin; deaths of 8-13 million Russians
Lenin died from syphilis. -
US and 61 other countries sign Kellog-Briand Pact
Agreement, signed Aug. 27, 1928, condemning “recourse to war for the solution of international controversies.” It is more properly known as the Pact of Paris. -
Japanese invasion of Manchuria
This was an attempt by the Japanese Empire to gain control over the whole province, in order to eventually encompass all of East Asia. -
Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany, establishing the Third Reich
Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, refers to Germany from 1933 to 1945 when it was governed by Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers' Party, commonly known in English as the Nazi Party -
Roosevelt takes office
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882 – April 12, 1945; also known by his initials, FDR) was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war. The only American president elected to more than two terms. -
U.S. begins passing Neutrality Acts
The Neutrality Acts were a series of acts created by the United States Congress that were geared toward keeping the United States out of another war. -
Hitler begins military buildup
Within eight months, Adolf Hitler became the leader of Germany. Immediately, he took Germany out of the League of Nations. -
Hitler announces secret plans for lebensraum
Lebensraum was a popular political slogan during the establishment of a united Germany. At this time, Lebensraum usually meant finding additional "living space" by adding colonies, following the examples of the British and French empires. -
Civil War begins in Spain under Francisco Franco
When the civil war broke out in Spain Franco sent a call for help to Germany and asked for support, particularly in the air. -
German troops invade Rhineland
In 1936 Hitler ordered German troops to enter the Rhineland. At this point the German army was not very strong and could have been easily defeated. Yet neither France nor Britain was prepared to start another war. -
Italian troops conquer Ethiopia
In 1896, Ethiopia fought a desperate battle against a stronger European nation attempting to invade, conquer, and colonize the smaller nation and more importantly, be able to exploit its natural resources. -
Japan invades China
The war was the result of a decades-long Japanese imperialist policy aiming to dominate China politically and militarily and to secure its vast raw material reserves and other economic resources, particularly food and labour. -
Hitler takes Austria
Hitler began his conquests by occupying Austria in March 1938 and annexing it to Germany. -
Munich Agreement; Sudetenland to Germany
An agreement permitting Nazi German annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland. The Sudetenland were areas along Czech borders, mainly inhabited by ethnic Germans. The agreement was negotiated at a conference held in Munich, Germany, among the major powers of Europe without the presence of Czechoslovakia. -
Totalitarian government established in USSR
Totalitarianism is a political system where the state, usually under the control of a single political person, faction, or class, recognizes no limits to its authority and strives to regulate every aspect of public and private life wherever feasible. -
Franco is successful in Spain
The leader of the Nationalist forces, General Franco, headed the authoritarian regime that came to power in the aftermath of the Civil War. Until his death in November 1975, Franco ruled Spain as "Caudillo by the grace of God," as his coins proclaimed. In addition to being generalissimo of the armed forces, he was both chief of state and head of government, the ultimate source of legitimate authority. -
Czechoslovakia falls to Hitler
Began with the Nazi annexation of Czechoslovakia's northern and western border regions, known collectively as the Sudetenland, under terms outlined by the Munich Agreement. Nazi leader Adolf Hitler's pretext for this effort was the alleged privations suffered by ethnic German populations living in those regions. -
Non-aggression pact; Germany and Russia; divide Poland
A non-aggression pact is an international treaty between two or more states agreeing to avoid war or armed conflict between them and resolve their disputes through peaceful negotiations. -
German invasion of Poland; blitzkrieg
German ground forces had overwhelmed the initial lines of Polish defense within 2 days. -
Russian army into Finland (Finns surrender in three months)
Finland was another such nation in the Soviet scope. However, the Finns were not all too ready to bow down to the Communist herd and stood strong in the face of threats from the Soviets. Eventually, the threats were called off and two days later, the Soviet Army invaded Finland. World support from the US, UK, France and Sweden all proposed assistance but little of this actually materialized to help the Finns out. -
France surrenders to Germany
Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, executed on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. -
British and French defeat at Dunkirk
When Heinz Guderian heard the news, Winston Churchill ordered the implementation of Operation Dynamo, a plan to evacuate of troops and equipment from the French port of Dunkirk, that had been drawn up by General John Gort, the Commander in Chief of the British Expeditionary Force -
Defeat of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg by Germany
Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933. From that point onward, Germany followed a policy of rearmament and confrontation with other countries. During the war German armies occupied most of Europe -
Plans for an invasion of Great Britain; beginning of the Battle of Britain.
The Battle of Britain was the first major campaign to be fought entirely by air forces. and was also the largest and most sustained aerial bombing campaign to that date. -
German invasion of Denmark and Norway
Although lacking the resources to capitalize on it, the Germans had made a move of potential value to them in the development of a global strategy. It confronted the United States as well as Great Britain with a strategic threat. It brought Germany, theoretically at least, into a position to strike outward from the mainland of Europe toward Iceland, Greenland, and possibly the North American continent. -
Italy enters the war on the side of Germany and invades France
In June 1940, after initial success the Italian offensive into southern France stalled at the fortified Alpine Line. On 24 June 1940, France surrendered to Germany. Italy occupied some areas of French territory along the Franco-Italian border.
