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Mussolini becomes Prime Minister of Italy (1922)
Mussolini was one of the first leaders to come to power before WWII broke out. Many of the later leaders looked up to him and were inspired by him. Benito was first a journalist but became Prime Minister in the span of five years which is remarkable. His fear of a communist revolution allowed for him and his fascist party to seize power of Italy. The fascist movement rose to power which worried the old Prime Minister, Victor Emmanuel III which helped Mussolini rise to power. -
Stalin comes to power
In 1924, right after Lenin died, Stalin took power. He purged all his enemies in 1939 and won the power struggle for control of the Communist Party. -
Hitler becomes chancellor of Germany
On January 30, 1933 President of Germany, Paul von Hindenburg named Adolf Hitler the Chancellor of Germany. Hitler himself rose to power in German politics as leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party and all of that led up to him becoming chancellor of Germany. -
Battle of the Atlantic
The Battle of Atlantic was the longest war in World War II running from 1939 to 1945 ending with the defeat of Germany. During those six years, thousands of ships were sunk and thousands of men were killed in the Atlantic Ocean. -
Non-aggression pact
On August 23rd, 1939, enemies Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union surprised the world by signing the German-Soviet Non aggression pact. The two countries agreed to take no military action against each other for the next ten years. -
Invasion of Poland (The start of WWII)
German forces invade Poland on land from air. Germany seems to believe that Poland has to be claimed again because it´s lost territory from WWI. Germany decided to claim back what was theirs and more. -
Phony War ¨Sitzkreig¨
The Phony War got its name because it was phony because the war was pointless. Was between September 3, 1939 to April 1940. Throughout the war nothing happened. -
Battle of Britain
In 1940, British and German air forces clashed in the skies over Southern England. Britain's victory saved the country from a ground invasion. -
Lend-Lease Act passed in U.S.
The lend-lease act was proposed in 1940 and passed in 1941. It was the principal means for providing United States military aid to foreign nations during World War II. -
Hitler invades Soviet Union
Hitler broke the German-Soviet nonaggression pact in 1941 when he sent his military to invade the Soviet Union. He always saw the pact as temporary and decided to take matters into his own hands.The invasion of the Germans was a success. -
Pearl Harbor attack
On December 7, 1941, Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor. The attack lasted two hours and twenty American vessels, eight battleships, and three hundred airplanes were destroyed. More than two thousand American sailors and soldiers died. -
America declares war on Japan
Japan was planning to takeover the Philippines which was owned by the United States, so FDR decided to not trade Japan the oil they need to fight. The Japanese with anger decided to not attack the Philippines, but to have a surprise attack in Hawaii which is known as Pearl Harbor. After the horror of the attack of Pearl Harbor the United States had no choice but to declare war on Japan and enter WWII. -
Executive Order 9066
Ten weeks after Pearl Harbor FDR signs executive order 9066 which authorizes the removal of any or all people from military bases. Just by June, 110,000 Japanese Americans were relocated to internment camps by the United States. -
Battle of Coral Sea
Was a major battle between the Japanese Navy and Air Forces of the United States with Australia. Was the first air-sea battle in History. Japan tried taking control of the coral sea which was part of the United States. It resulted to a victory for the United States and Australia. -
Battle of Midway
Naval battle in the Pacific, the battle was between Japan and the United States. The result of the battle was America victory yet again. -
Battle of Stalingrad
During World War II, a major battle on the Eastern Front where Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad. Russians consider it to be the greatest and bloodiest battle of the Great Patriotic War with almost two million casualties. -
Operation Torch
The British and American invasion of French North Africa in November 1942. This was the first time America and Britain had jointly worked on an invasion together. It also helped clear the axis powers from North Africa and improve naval control of the Mediterranean Sea. -
Office of War Mobilization created
A United States government independent agency formed during World War II to coordinate all government agencies involved in the war effort. -
Invasion of Sicily/Italy
After the victory of North Africa, in 1943, Churchill convinced Roosevelt that the next target should be Italy. This invasion called for two thousand allied ships, one hundred eighty thousand troops, six hundred tanks and fourteen thousand vehicles. The island of Sicily was taken away. -
D-Day
On June 6th 1944, 156,000 American, Canadian and British forces landed on five beaches along a fifty mile stretch of France's Normandy region. The invasion needed a lot of planning and was one of the largest military assaults. At the end of the invasion all of Northern France had been liberated. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The United States Marine Corps landed on and captured the Island of Iwo Jima from the Japanese Imperial Army, another victory for the United States. -
Battle of Okinawa
Took place in Okinawa island in Japan was the United States and the United Kingdom against Japan. Resulted in an allied victory (U.S and UK). Remained occupied by the United States until 1972. -
Battle of Berlin
The Battle of Berlin began on April 16, 1945 and lasted until May 2, 1945. It was fought between the Soviet Army and the German Army and resulted in the surrender of the German Army and the suicide of Adolf Hitler. -
Hitler commits suicide
Adolf Hitler commits suicide in his underground bunker in Berlin. Hitler killed himself with a gunshot meanwhile his wife Eva Braun committed suicide with him by taking Cyanide. -
Holocaust
Was a genocide in which 6 million European Jews were killed by Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany and Germany's allies. -
V-E Day
Victory in Europe Day is the celebrated day marking the allied victory in Europe. German troops surrendered its armed forces and Great Britain and the United States celebrate in victory. -
Dropping of the atomic bombs
Enola Gay, an American bomber, dropped a five ton bomb over Hiroshima, ending World War II. The United States became the first nation to use an atomic weapon during wartime. -
End of WWII
Victorious allies mostly the United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union and France created a peace treaty with minor axis powers mostly Italy, Romania, Germany, Hungary, and Bulgaria which ended WWII. -
War Production Board
A United States government agency to direct war production and the procurement of materials in World War II. After the defeat of Japan, the agency was abolished in November 1945.
