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Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany. His Nazi Party, or the Third Reich, takes power and Hitler is essentially the dictator of Germany. -
Nazi
Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy form the Rome-Berlin Axis treaty. -
Pact against communism and Russia
Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan sign the Anti-Comintern Pact. This was a pact against communism and Russia. -
Japan invades China.
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Hitler annexes the country of Austria into Germany.
Hitler annexes the country of Austria into Germany. This is also called the Anschluss. -
Germany invades Poland.
Germany invades Poland. World War II begins -
France and Great Britain declare war on Germany
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Germany invades and takes control of Denmark and Norway.
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Germany uses quick strikes called 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 the British government
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Italy enters the war as a member of the Axis powers.
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Germany launches an air attack on Great Britain.
Germany launches an air attack on Great Britain. These attacks last until the end of October and are known as the Battle of Britain. -
Germany, Italy, and Japan sign the Tripartite Pact creating the Axis Alliance.
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Germany and the Axis Powers attack Russia with a huge force of over four million troops.
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Germany and the Axis Powers attack Russia with a huge force of over four million troops.
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The Japanese attack the US Navy in Pearl Harbor. The next day the US enters World War II on the side of the Allies.
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The US Navy defeats the Japanese navy at the Battle of Midway.
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The Allies invade and take the island of Sicily.
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Italy surrenders to the Allies, however Germany helps Mussolini to escape and set up a government in Northern Italy
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D-day and the Normandy invasion. Allied forces invade France and push back the Germans.
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Paris is liberated from German control.
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The Germans launch a large attack in the Battle of the Bulge. They lose to the Allies sealing the fate of the German army.
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US Marines invade the island of Iwo Jima. After a fierce battle they capture the island.
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The US Third Army under General Patton crosses the Rhine River.
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US President Franklin Roosevelt dies. He is succeeded by President Harry Truman.
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Adolf Hitler commits suicide as he knows Germany has lost the war.
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Germany surrenders to the Allies.
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The United States drops the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. The city is devastated.
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Another atomic bomb is dropped on Nagasaki, Japan.
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Japan surrenders to US General Douglass MacArthur and the Allies.
