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japan invades manchuria
Japan claimed that Chinese soldiers had sabotaged the railway, and attacked the Chinese army. The Chinese army did not fight back because it knew that the Japanese were just wanting an excuse to invade Manchuria. -
Italy Attacks Ethiopia
The aim of invading Ethiopia was to boost Italian national prestige. Both sides combined 200 soldiers lost their lives. -
Germany occupies Rhineland
Hitler violates the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Pact by sending German military forces into the Rhineland. German forces remilitarized the territory as part of a diplomatic test of will. -
Japan invades China
Was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. China fought Japan, with some economic help from Germany, the Soviet Union, the British Empire, and the United States. -
Germany annexes Austria
Austrian Nazis conspired for the second time in four years to seize the Austrian government by force and unite their nation with Nazi Germany. Hitler appointed a new Nazi government, and on March 13 the Anschluss was proclaimed. -
Germany takes Sudetenland
The Sudetenland was made up mostly of ethnic Germans, and Hitler gained the territory by proclaiming himself a champion of these citizens. Shortly after the occupation of the Sudetenland, Jews living in the area were viciously persecuted. -
Germany seizes Czechoslovakia
Hitler made it clear that he intended to force the central Czechoslovakian government to give Slovakia its independence. Also handed over to the Nazi war machine 66 percent of Czechoslovakia’s coal, 70 percent of its iron and steel, and 70 percent of its electrical power. Without those resources, the Czech nation was left vulnerable to complete German domination. -
Italy conquers Albania
This was a brief military campaign by the Kingdom of Italy against the Albanian Kingdom. The conflict was a result of the imperialist policies of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.
