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Japan seizes Manchuria
Japanese military leaders and ultranationalists thought that Japan should have an empire equal to those of the Western powers -
Neutrality Acts
United States Congress passed a series of Neutrality Acts -
Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis or AXIS POWERS
In the face of the apparent weakness of Britian, France, and the United States, Germany, Italy, and Japan formed the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis. Three nations agreed to fight Soviet communism -
Invasion in Ethiopia
Italy invanded Ethiopia. Ethiopians resisted bravely, their outdated weapons were no match for Mussolini's taks, machine guns, poison gas, and airplanes. -
Hitler violates another treaty
Hitler sent troops into Rhineland bordering France -
Trouble in Spain
Spain polarized public opinion thoughout Europe. Trouble began in 1931, when popular unrest against the old order forced the king to leave Spain -
Francisco Franco
Conservative general named Francisco Franco led a revolt that touched off a bloody civil war. -
Controversial Reforms
Government passed a series of controversial reforms, taking land and priveleges away from the Church and old ruling classes -
Ethiopia is Conquered
The League had no power to enforce the sanctions, and Italy had conquered Ethiopia -
Appeasement
Western democracies adopted a policy of appeasement -
Second Sino-Japanese War
Japanese armies overran much of eastern China, starting the Second Sino-Japanese War -
Guernica
German air raid on Guernica. German planes dropped their load of bombs, and then swooped low to machine-gun anyone who had survived the bombs. Nearly 1,000 innocent civilians were killed. -
Engineering the Anschluss
Hitler was ready to engineer the Anschluss, or union of Austria and Germany. -
Munich Conference
At the Munich Conference in September 1938, British and French leaders again chose appeasement. -
Czechoslovakia
Hitler broke his promises and gobbled up the rest of Czechoslovakia -
Blitzkrieg against other countries
Hitler launched a blitzkrieg against Norway and Denmark. iHs forces slammed into the Netherlands and Belgium. -
Invasion in Poland
Germany invades Poland. France and Britain declare war on Germany -
Franco had triumphed
Once in power, he created a fascist dictatorship similar to the dictatorships of Hitler and Mussolini. Used terror to promote order. -
Neutrality
United States declared its neutrality. Many Americans sympathized with those who battled the Axis powers. -
Japan and United States Face Off
Japan advanced into French Indochina and the Dutch East Indies -
Enemy Pact
Hitler stunned the world by announcing a nonaggression pact with his great enemy, Joseph Stalin. -
Invasion in Poland
A week after the Nazi-Soviet Pact, German forces invaded Poland. -
World War II Begins
Britain and France declared war on Germany after Germany invades Poland -
Operation Sea Lion
Hitler made plans for Operation Sea Lion, the invasion of Britain. He launched massive air strikes against the island nation. -
French Surrendering
Hitler forced the French to sign the surrender documents in the same railroad car in which Germany had signed the armistice ending World War I. -
Bombarding England
German bombers began a daily bombardment of England’s southern coast -
Germany Launches the Blitz
German bombers first appeared over London. Aircraft showered high explosives and firebombs on the sprawling capital. The bombing continued for 57 nights in a row. -
Greece Gets Invaded
Italian forces invaded Greece, and they encountered stiff resistance
