WORLD WAR 2 TIMELINE

  • Japan & Manchuria

    Japan & Manchuria
    Japan invades the Chinese province of of Manchuria. Japan wanted to seize it for land and resources.
  • Italy Invades Ethiopia

    Italy Invades Ethiopia
    Italy invades Ethiopia with plans to rebuild an Italian empire. Ethiopian emperor asked the League of Nations for help. No help was given.
  • The Start Of The War

    The Start Of The War
    Hitler gives a speech in which he expresses his strong belief in the racial superiority of Germanic people, called Aryans.
  • The Anschluss

    The Anschluss
    Hitler wanted Austria and Germany to become united, however the Austrian government refused. Hitler sent troops to Austria immedietly. The world was on the verge of war.
  • Aryans & Jews

    Aryans & Jews
    The nights that Jewish businesses were attacked came to be called Kristallnacht. Thousands of Jewish businesses and places of worship were damaged. Nearly 100 Jews were killed that day. Over 26,000 more were sent to concentration camps.
  • Germany Attacks Poland!

    Germany Attacks Poland!
    Hitler had a German criminal dressed in a Polish military uniform. The man was then taken to the German border and shot. He used that as evidence that Poland had attacked Germany. German troops immediately launched a massive invasion on Poland.
  • Germany Violates A Treaty

    Germany Violates A Treaty
    Germany begins the invasion of the Soviet Union.
  • The Attack On Pearl Harbor

    The Attack On Pearl Harbor
    Japan surprise attacks Americans' at Pearl Harbor. Most American fighter planes never made it off the ground. The attack lasted about two hours. This attack did nothing then awake an angry giant.
  • Internment Capms

    Internment Capms
    The U.S. begins to intern Japanese Americans. They are sent to camps where their rights are stripped away from them. Here they stayed until the end of the war. Some joined the U.S. Army to show their loyalty.
  • U.S vs Japan

    U.S vs Japan
    Americans destroy four Japanese aircraft carriers in the Battle of Midway. This event was a huge victory for the Americans.
  • The Holocaust

    The Holocaust
    Hitler and the Nazis formalize plans for exterminating Europe's Jews.
  • Operation Torch

    Operation Torch
    General Dwight D. Eisenhour called for American troops to invade the North African countries of Morocco and Algeria. Vichy leaders were installed here. U.S. hoped they would liberate the French from them.
  • D-Day

    D-Day
    Allied aircraft filled the sky to provide cover for the wave of troops to come. Germans were slow to respond to the invasion. There were thousands of caualties, but it was an attempt to capture the area for allies to come. Paris had been freed. Hitler was in full retreat.
  • Battle Of The Bulge

    Battle Of The Bulge
    Germans launched a surprise attack of their own. Americans however did not give up, and defeated the Germans once again.
  • Liberation of Millions

    Liberation of Millions
    The bodies of victims lay in piles throught the camps. Mostly all of the survivors were to weak to celebrate liberation. Many were so ill that 13,000 died after liberation.
  • A Dead Dictator

    A Dead Dictator
    Adolf Hitler commits suicide in Berlin, after almost being caught by troops.
  • Island Hopping

    Island Hopping
    Allies capture Okinawa. This island was vital to both countries.
  • NATO

    NATO
    To contain Soviet expansion during the cold war, U.S. joins eleven other nations to form the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
  • The First Atomic Bomb

    The First Atomic Bomb
    On this date , the Enola Gay flew over the city of Hiroshima and dropped its atomic bomb. 80,000 residents died immedientaly. Two thirds of the city's 90,000 buildings were obliterated. Still after this bomb, Japan refused to give up. A second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki.
  • V-J Day

    V-J Day
    Japan emperor Hirohito announced on this day on radio broadcast that the Japanese had lost. Allies celebrated as the war had ended.