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Japanese Invasion of Manchuria
Japan invaded China seeking raw materials to fuel its growing industries. -
Hitler appointed Chancellor of Germany
After resistance to Hitler's demand to be appointed as Chancellor, President Paul von Hindenburg gave in and appointed Hitler to this position as a result of a political deal. -
Nanking Massacre
Japanese troops were seeking revenge for the comrades lost in the earlier battle. Violation of war laws was by murdering Chinese civilians, raping Chinese women, and destroying Chinese property. The death toll ranges from 40,000 to 200,000. -
Munich Conference
The Munich Agreement was meant to be a peaceful agreement between Germany, Italy, Great Britain, and France by which Czechoslovakia must surrender its border regions and defenses to Nazi Germany. -
Kristallnacht
Became known as the night of broken glass when the Nazi regimen coordinated a wave of antisemitic violence toward the Jews. -
Non-Aggression Pact is Signed
This pact allowed Germany to fight intermediate wars without fear of a Soviet attack, avoiding a two-front war. A month later Hitler order war plans for the Soviet Union. -
Germany Invasion of Poland
This invasion of Poland made by Nazi Germany, the Slovak Republic, and the Soviet Union marked the start of World War II. -
Fall of Paris
Known as the western Campagne, the German invasion of France during world war II France declared war on Germany following the invasion of Poland. -
Dunkirk
The battle of Dunkirk evolved into the rescue of more the 338,000 British and french soldiers from the French port of Dunkirk between May 26th and June 4th. -
The Blitz
An intense German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom. -
Selective Training and Service Act is passed
KNown as the Burke-Wadsworth Act, The first peacetime conscription in US history. -
Operation Barbarossa
The code name for the German invasion of the Soviet Union. The failure of German forces to defeat Soviet forces signaled a crucial turning in the war. -
Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was planned to prevent US troops from interfering with their own planned forces in Southeast Asia against overseas territories. -
Bataan Death March
Prisoners suffered from starvation, and sleeping in harsh conditions, and the prisoners unable to make it through were beaten, killed, and sometimes beheaded. -
Battle of Midway
The United States destroyed Japan's first-line carrier strength and most of its best-trained pilots. -
Battle of Stalingrad
Battle on the Eastern front where Nazi Germany unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of Stalingrad. -
D-Day
Normandy landing code name of Operation Neptune. Biggest seaborne invasion in history. -
Battle of the Bulge
Known as the Ardennes Offensive, the last major German offensive campaign on the western Front during World War II. -
Yalta Conference
world War II meeting of heads of government of the United States, United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union to discuss the postwar recognization of Germany and Europe. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
A major battle the US marine corp and the united states navy landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima. -
Battle of Okinawa
The major battle of the Pacific War was fought on the island by the US army and marine Corps forces against the Imperial Japanese Army. -
Adolf Hitler commits suicide
Hitler and his wife Eva Braun killed themselves in Fuhrerbunker in the streets below Berlin. It is said that they both swallowed cyanide pills and then Hitler shot himself and then his wife. -
VE Day
Stands for Victory in Europe Day, celebrating the formal acceptance by the allies of WWII of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces, marking the official end of WWII. -
Dropping the Atomic Bombs
On August 6th the first atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese City of Hiroshima. On August 9th the second bomb was dropped in the Japanese city of Nagasaki. -
VJ Day
Victory over Japan Day is the day on which Imperial Japan surrendered.