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September 1931: Japan Invades Manchuria
Manchuria was invaded by the Kwantung Army of Japan almost immediatly following the Mukden Incident. The Japanese established a puppet state, Manchukuo and their occupation lasted until the second worl war was over. -
October 1935: Italy attacks Ethiopia
Italo-Ethiopian War (what it was known as) an armed conflict that resulted in Ethiopia’s subjection to Italian rule. Often seen as one of the episodes that prepared the way for World War II, the war demonstrated the ineffectiveness of the League of Nations when League decisions were not supported by the great powers. -
March 1936: Germany occupies Rhineland
Germany was forced to sign The Treaty of Verasilles even though they did not want to. As dictated by the Treaty of Versailles, Germany’s military forces were reduced to insignificance and the Rhineland was to be demilitarized. As you can see Germany did not get what it wanted. -
July 1937: Japan invades China
n the 1930’s the Chinese suffered continued territorial encroachment from the Japanese, using their Manchurian base. The whole north of the country was gradually taken over by Japan. -
March 1938: Germany annexes Austria
On March 12, 1938, German troops march into Austria to annex the German-speaking nation for the Third Reich. Austrian Nazis conspired for the second time in four years to seize the Austrian government by force and unite their nation with Nazi Germany. -
September 1938: Germany takes Sudetenland
Hitler granted the Sudentenland by Britain, France and Italy. In the early hours of Sept. 30, 1938, leaders of Nazi Germany, Great Britain, France and Italy signed an agreement that allowed the Nazis to annex the Sudetenland, a region of Czechoslovakia that was home to many ethnic Germans. -
March 1939: Germany seizes Czechoslovakia
Hitler’s forces invade and occupy Czechoslovakia. Czechoslovakia is a nation sacrificed on the altar of the Munich Pact, which was a vain attempt to prevent Germany’s imperial aims. -
April 1939: Italy conquers Albania
On this day in 1939, in an effort to mimic Hitler’s conquest of Prague, Benito Mussolini’s troops, though badly organized, invade and occupy Albania. Albania was already dependent on Italy’s economy, so had little to offer the invaders.
