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Hitler Rises To Power
Hitler becomes chancellor of Germany, He was born in Austria and served in WWI. He was the head of the Nazi party. -
Hitler pledges to undo the Treaty Of Versailles
Hitler wanted more territory and grew power hungry. This lead to the Treaty Of Versailles to be broken. -
Germany, Italy, Japan form pact known as Axis Powers
Axis powers were opponents of the Allied powers in WWII. The Axis agreed on their opposition to the Allies, but did not completely coordinate their activity. -
Italy invades Ethiopa
One of the only two independent African nations at the time, Ethiopia was invaded by Italy under Benito Mussolini. The Italians wanted revenge for the loss to Ethiopia over 40 years ago. -
Germany annexes Austria
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. -
Germany, Italy, Great Britain, and France sign the Munich Agreement. (appeasement)
A settlement by all the four countries that permitted German annexation of the sudetenland in western Czechoslovakia. After his success in absorbing Austria into Germany proper in March 1938, Hitler looked covetously at Czechoslovakia. -
Kristallnacht "The Night Of Broken Glass"
Nazis in Germany torched synagogues, vandalized Jewish homes, schools and businesses, they also killed close to 100 Jews. 30,000 Jews were put in concentration camps. -
Germany breaks The Munich Agreement and occupies the rest of Czech lands
the German occupation of the Czechoslovakia began with the German annexation of Czechoslovakia's northern and western border regions. Hitler's pretext for this action was the alleged privations suffered by the ethnic German population living in those regions. -
Germany and The Soviet Union sign the Nazi-Soviet pact, dividing eastern Europe into spheres of influence
Germany and the Soviet Union surprised the world by signing the Non Agression pact, in which two countries agreed to take no military action against each other for the next ten years. -
Germany Invades Poland
On this day in 1939, German forces bombard Poland on land and from the air, as Adolf Hitler seeks to regain lost territory and ultimately rule Poland. World War II had begun. -
Honoring their support of Poland, Great Britain, France declare war on Germany
In response to Hitler's invasion of Poland, Britain and France, both allies of the overrun nation declare war on Germany. The first casualty was not German but it was British ocean liner Athenia, which was sunk by a German submarine. -
Soviet Union invades Poland
Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov declares that the Polish government has ceased to exist, as the U.S.S.R. exercises the "fine print" of the Hitler-Stalin Non-aggression pact the invasion occupation of eastern Poland -
The Phony War
"Phony War" is the name given to the period of time in World War II from September 1939 to April 1940 because after the Blitzkrieg on Poland nothing else really happened. -
Auschwitz
Auschwitz concentration camp was a network of German Nazi concentration camps and extermination camps built and operated during World War II -
Germany invades Denmark and Norway
German warships enter major Norwegian ports, from Narvik to Oslo, deploying thousands of German troops and occupying Norway. At the same time, German forces occupy Copenhagen, among other Danish cities. -
Operation Sea Lion
Operation Sea Lion was the name given by Hitler for the planned invasion of Great Britain in 1940. -
France falls and Germany controls Paris
Parisians awaken to the sound of a German-accented voice announcing via loud speakers that a curfew was being imposed for 8 p.m. that evening-as German troops enter and occupy Paris. -
North African Campaign
The North African Campaign included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts and in Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. -
Britain beats Germany in Operation Sea Lion
British and German air forces clashed in the skies over the United Kingdom. A significant turning point of WWII, the battle of Britain ended when Germany's Luftwaffe failed to gain air superiority over the Royal Air Force. -
Battle Of Britain Ends
Britain's decisive victory saved the country from a ground invasion and possible occupation by German forces while proving that air power alone could be used to win a major battle. -
Germany invades the Soviet Union- Operation Barbarossa
Adolf Hitler launched his armies eastward in a massive invasion of the Soviet Union: three great army groups with over 3 million German soldiers, 150 divisions, and three thousand tanks smashed across the frontier into soviet territory. Barbarossa was the crucial turning point in World War II, for it's failure forced Germany to fight a two front war against a coalition possessing immensely superior resources. -
Japan attacks Pearl Harbor
Just before 8 a.m. hundreds of Japanese planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawaii. The barrage lasted just two hours, but it was devastating. -
Battle of Midway Ends
Battle of Midway is one of the most decisive victories for the U.S. in it's war against Japan. In the four day sea and air battle, the out numbered U.S. Pacific fleet succeeded in destroying four Japanese air craft carriers with the loss of only one of its own. This is important because it was the turning point for the U.S. and the Allies. -
Battle of Guadalcanal
Battle of Guadalcanal was the first major offensive and decisive victory for the Allies in the Pacific theatre. -
Battle Of Stalingrad
The Battle Of Stalingrad was the successful Soviet defense of the city of Stalingrad in the U.S.S.R during World War II. Russians consider it to be the greatest battle of the Great Patriotic War, and most historians consider it to be the greatest battle of the entire conflict. -
D-Day
The battle of Normandy resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany's control. -
Germany surrenders
Germany officially surrendered to the Allies, bringing an end to the European conflict in World War II. General Alfred JodI, representing the German high command signed the unconditional surrender of both east and west forces in Reims. -
Hiroshima
An American B-29 bomber dropped the world's first deployed atomic over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. -
Nagasaki
A second atom bomb is dropped on Japan by the United States, at Nagasaki resulting finally in Japan's unconditional surrender. -
Japan surrenders
Aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, Japan formally surrenders to the Allies bringing an end to World War II.
