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Adolf Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany
His Nazi Party, or the Third Reich, takes power and Hitler becomes the dictator of Germany -
Rome-Berlin Axis treaty
Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy sign an agreement that links the two fascist countries. -
Anti-Comintern Pact
Nazi Germany signs a pact against communism and Russia with Imperial Japan -
Japan invades China
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Hitler annexes the country of Austria
Hitler wanted to unify all German-speaking people. He annexed Austria and demanded that German people in Czechoslovakia be liberated -
Treaty of Munich
Hitler, Chamberlain, Daladier of France and Mussolini of Italy met in Munich. They agreed that Hitler should have the Sudetanland of Czechoslovakia. The Czechs had no one to defend them and surrendered. Hitler said that he did not want to expand Germany any further. Chamberlain went back to England with a paper signed by Hitler proclaiming 'peace in our time' -
Hitler invades Poland
Hitler breaks the treaty of Munich and invades Poland. In August Russia and Germany sign a non-aggression pact and plans to divide up Poland -
France and Great Britain declare war on Germany
honoring their treaty with Poland, France, and Great Britain enter the war against Germany -
France falls to the Germans
General Hering, the military governor of Paris, declares the French capital an open city to prevent it from being destroyed. The Germans march into Paris. France accepts German armistice terms and establishes the Vichy Government. -
Germany invades and takes control of Denmark and Norway
Hitler invades and occupies Denmark and Norway to safeguard supply routes of Swedish ore and to establish a Norwegian base to break the British naval blockade on Germany -
Blitzkrieg
Germany uses quick strikes called blitzkrieg, meaning lightning war, to take over much of western Europe including the Netherlands, Belgium and northern France -
Winston Churchill becomes leader of Britain
Chamberlain resigns after pressure by Labour members and Winston Churchill becomes become the new head of the wartime coalition government. -
Battle of Britain
Germany launches an air attack on Great Britain. These attacks last until the end of October. -
Axis Alliance
Germany, Italy, and Japan sign a pact creating the Axis Alliance -
Axis attacks Russia
Germany and the Axis Powers attack Russia with a huge force of over 4 million troops -
Pearl Harbor
The Japanese attack the US Navy in Pearl Harbor. The next day the US enters World War II on the side of the Allies -
Battle of Midway
US Navy defeats the Japanese navy at the Battle of Midway -
Italy Surrenders
Italy surrenders to the Allies, however, Germany helps Mussolini escape and set up a government in northern Italy. -
D-Day
Allied forces invade France and push back the Germans in the Normandy invasion. -
Battle of the Bulge
The Germans launch a large attack in the Battle of the Bulge. They lose to the Allies. This seals the fate of the German Army, who will lose the war. -
Iwo Jima
US Marines invade the island of Iwo Jima, after a fierce battle they capture the island -
Roosevelt dies
US President Franklin Roosevelt dies. He is succeeded by President Harry Truman. -
Hitler commits suicide
Hitler knows that Germany has lost the war and commits suicide -
Germany surrenders to the Allies
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Hiroshima
The United States drops the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. The city is devasted. -
Nagasaki
Another bomb is dropped on Nagasaki, Japan -
Japan surrenders
Japan surrenders to US General Douglass MacArthur and the Allies
