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Invasion of Manchuria
Japan was an industrializing country at the time, and they needed to find more materials. By 1939, Japan controlled 1/4 of China. -
Hitler becomes Chancellor
Hitler had rallied Germany and brought back their nationalism, he used the broken German economy to promise the Germans he could fix it. Once he was determined Chancellor, there was no turning back for Hitler. -
Invasion of Ethiopia
Italy invaded Ethiopia, one of the only independent nations in Africa, in order to restore the glory of Rome. The League of Nations did very little to stop the Italian invasion. -
Munich Conference
The Munich Conference resulted in letting German annexation of the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia. The Germans said that since there was a large number of Germans in the Sudetenland they deserved to be a part of Germany. -
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht was when Germans attacked Jewish people and their property. Kristallnacht means the night of broken glass. -
Non-Aggression Pact
The Soviet Union and Germany signed a non-aggression pact which meant that they basically do not attack each other. Hitler would later break this pact however. -
Invasion of Poland
Germany used Blitzkrieg warfare against Poland to invade them, which is a fast concentrated land attack. On September 3rd, two days after, Britain and France declared war on Germany. -
Invasion of France
The French military leaders did not prepare well for the invasion of France, they assumed that the Maginot line which was a system of forts would be able to stop the invasion. Then the French government was sent to Vichy and controlled by the Germans. -
Battle of Britain
Hitler ordered bomb raids on Britain, but Churchill refused to give up. The British eventually developed radar to be able to know when the attacks were coming, and Hitler eventually stopped attacking Britain and turned his attention to the Eastern front. -
Stalingrad
Germany invaded Russia and Hitler violated the non-aggression pact he had with Stalin. Stalin wanted the city of Stalingrad held at all costs and after 6 months the Soviets defeated the Germans. -
Pearl Harbor
The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Eight battleships, 300 planes were destroyed, and there were 2,403 casualties. -
Normandy Invasion
General Dwight D. Eisenhower led the attack, and 156,000 America, British, and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along the coast of Normandy. It ultimately ended in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany control. -
V-E Day
In the spring of 1945 there was a rush on Berlin and the Germans were fading fast. After V-E day was announced, the Allies turned their focus to Japan. -
Atomic Bombings of Japan
The US dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, President Harry Truman said he did this to end the war. As a result, 120,000 Japanese were dead immediately. -
V-J Day
After the atomic bombs were dropped, Japan surrendered on August 14th and was put under the control of Douglas MacArthur. V-J Day was officially announced on September 2.
