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Adolf Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany
Adolf Hitler was assigned chancellor by President Hinderburg though he was annoyed at Hitler since he had kept him waiting as he was arguing with Alfred Hugenberg over demands for new elections. -
German Anschluss of Austria
German troops invade Austria and incorporate Austria into the German Reich in what is known as the Anschluss. -
Hitler invades Czechoslovakia
Nazi Germany invaded and kept the Czech provinces of Bohemia and Moravia in the rump Czecho-Slovak state. Hitler had blamed the Czechs for alleged persecution of this German minority. -
Britain rearms and reassures Poland
Britain and France insure Polish Sovereignty after the occupation of Czechoslovakia by German troops. Britain had been rearming and secretly installing a early radar system along the east coast of Poland. -
Russia and Germany sign pact
The Soviet Union and Germany sign a non-agreement pact to not attack each other it allowed the two to carve up spheres of influence in eastern Europe, also agreeing not to attack each other for the next 10 years. -
Hitler invades Poland
Hitler attacked Poland because he wanted Germans to live there. He considered the Polish people inferior and only fit as a work force which then led to WW2 since Germany didn't keep their promise -
Britain and France declare war on Germany
Great Britain and France declared war on Nazi Germany in retaliation to Germany attacking Poland. -
Hitler invades Denmark and Norway
Nazi Germany attacked Denmark and Norway. The same day Denmark surrendered and was utilized. The country was a useful base for workmanship for the fight against Norway. -
Dunkirk
The evacuation from Dunkirk included the saving of more than 338,000 British and French soldiers from the French port of Dunkirk -
Italy enters war on side of Axis powers
Italy joined the war as Germany's ally. In addition to invading France, Italian forces attacked British interests in North and East Africa -
France signs Armistice with Germany
The French delegation signed the Armistice agreement imposed by Germany at the very location of the 1918 Armistice signing -
Pearl Harbour
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the American naval base -
Britain and US declare war on Japan
The United States Congress declared war on Japan in response to the surprise attack on pearl harbour. -
Allies invade North Africa
Operation Torch was an Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of securing victory in North Africa -
Axis surrenders in North Africa
Six days after the fall of Tunis and Bizerte, the last Axis resistance in Africa ended with the surrender of over 230,000 Germans and Italians -
Italy surrenders
The Italian government had collapsed and Mussolini (the controversial Italian dictator and founder of fascism) was deposed. He was captured by the Allies, then recaptured by the Germans Italy quickly surrendered, signed an armistice with the Allies -
Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima
By July 1945, Germany had surrendered, and the war in Europe was over. Japan, refused to submit to the terms outlined in the Allies’ Potsdam Declaration. It appeared to American leaders that the only way to compel Japan’s unconditional surrender was to invade and conquer the Japanese home islands. -
Russia declares on Japan
Two days after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and the day before the second bomb fell on Nagasaki, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan -
Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki
The United States dropped two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki respectively. The bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of who were civilians and remain the only use of nuclear weapons in an armed conflict. -
Japanese surrender
The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close.