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Hitler came to power
Hitler joined the political party known as the Deutsche Arbeiterpartei Hitler decided to enter a coalition government as chancellor in January 1933. Hitler claimed credit and consolidated his position as a dictator -
Mussolini seizes power
ruling the country as Prime Minister from 1922 Secured the powers of a dictator for a year, using it to secure the Fascists in parliament.
He then won a dubious election in 1924, aided by the desperation of Italians who believed a strong leader would solve Italy’s problems. -
Germany invaded Austria
annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938 German troops invaded Austria. Hitler immediately announced that Austria had become part of the German Reich. The laws of Germany, including its anti-Semitic acts, were applied in Austria. -
Germany invades the Sudetenland
Britain and France made a Pact with Hitler at Munich (29 September). They gave the Sudetenland to Germany. The Munich Agreement stated that Hitler could have the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia provided that he promised not to invade the rest of Czechoslovakia -
German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact
August 23, 1939 ivided eastern Europe into German and Soviet spheres of influence. nonaggression pact between Germany and the Soviet Union -
Germany invades Poland
September 1 Hitler soght to regain territory. The invasion of Poland was a primer on how Hitler intended to wage war--what would become the "blitzkrieg" strategy. Was characterized by extensive bombing early on to destroy the enemy's air capacity, railroads, communication lines, and munitions dumps, followed by a massive land invasion with overwhelming numbers of troops, tanks, and artillery. -
Britain and France declare war on Germany
Britain and France had sworn to defend Poland. Honoring these obligations, the two countries sent ultimatums to Hitler demanding his withdrawal from Poland September 3, Prime Minister Chamberlain went to the airwaves to announce to the British people that a state of war existed between their country and Germany. World War II had begun. -
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WWII
Major WWII battle.
Hope for American isolationism came to an end with the Battle of Britain. -
Germany begins invasions of Belgium, the Netherlands, and France
May 10, 1940 -
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Battle of Britain
Major WWII battle.
Hope for American isolationism came to an end with the Battle of Britain.
Intense air battle between the Germans and the British over Great Britain's airspace from July 1940 to May 1941, with the heaviest fighting from July to October 1940. http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1756.html -
Tripartite Pact (Axis Powers) are formed
Axis powers are formed as Germany, Italy, and Japan become allies with the signing of the Tripartite Pact in Berlin Pact provided for mutual assistance should any of the signatories suffer attack by any nation not already involved in the war. -
Lend Lease Act passes
United States supplied Great Britain, the USSR, Free France, the Republic of China, and other Allied nations with material between 1941 and August 1945. A total of $50.1 billion (equivalent to $656 billion today) worth of supplies were shipped -
Germany invades Soviet Union
largest German military operation of World War II. Directive 21 (code-named Operation "Barbarossa"), the first operational order for the invasion of the Soviet Union. -
Douglas MacArthur
Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s 26 July 1941, Roosevelt federalized the Philippine Army, recalled MacArthur to active duty in the U.S. Army as a major general, and named him commander of U.S. Army Forces in the Far East -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Japan first hit its target at 7:53 AM, the second at 8:55 AM. 2,403 dead, 188 destroyed planes and a crippled Pacific Fleet that included 8 damaged or destroyed battleships. Caused America to join war & declare war on Japan -
Manhattan Project
Roosevelt signed an order creating a secret project to develop the nuclear weapon The Manhattan Project produced three bombs http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1644.html -
Battle of Midway
high water mark of Japan's Pacific Ocean war After Midway, the two opposing fleets were essentially equals, and the United States soon took the offensive http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/wwii-pac/midway/midway.htm -
D-Day
Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch (heavily-fortified) French coastline to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France General Dwight D. Eisenhower called the operation a crusade in which “we will accept nothing less than full victory.” -
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Battle of the Bulge
Key engagement of World War II 20,876 Allied soldiers were killed, while another 42,893 were wounded and 23,554 captured/missing http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/worldwarii/p/bulge.htm -
Unconditional surrender of Germany
General Alfred Jodl, signs the unconditional surrender of all German forces General Dwight Eisenhower demanded complete surrender of all German forces, those fighting in the East as well as in the West http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germany-surrenders-unconditionally-to-the-allies-at-reims -
VE day
The formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces. Marked the end of World War II in Europe. -
Hiroshima
population of Hiroshima at the time about 370,000 people. The entire Second Japanese Army was destroyed to a man plus others for a total of 66,000 killed along with 4 sq http://www.ww2pacific.com/hiroshima.html -
Nagasaki
Bomb killed 60,000–80,000 people The bomb exploded at 11:02 a.m. over the narrow Urakami Valley northwest of downtown Nagasaki. -
VJ day
“Victoryover Japan Day,” or “V-J Day.” (May 8, 1945–when the Allies accepted Nazi Germany’s official surrender–had previously been dubbed “Victory in Europe Day,” or “V-E Day.”) http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/v-j-day -
Surrender of Japan
Truman accepted the surrender, and announced that the war was over on August 15th. Wild celebrations occurred in every Allied capital and most cities -
Nuremberg Trials
two sets of trials of Nazis involved in crimes committed during the Holocaust of World War II The Allied countries wanted the war crimes trial to be held in Germany, but in 1945, few German cities had standing courthouses in which a major trial could take place http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1685.html -
Dwight Eisenhower
elected to the White House in 1952 Allied military commander Eisenhower was put in charge of the War Plans Division March 1942, Eisenhower was promoted to major general and made head of the Operations Division After finishing his tour in 1929, Eisenhower was appointed chief military aide under General Douglas MacArthur. By D-Day, Eisenhower was promoted to five-star rank. Upon Germany's surrender in 1945 http://www.netplaces.com/world-war-ii/the-military-leaders/dwight-eisenhower.htm
