WWII

Japan invades Manchuria

Sep 18, 1931

Japan was becoming very crowded because of its limited size and rapidly growing population. Manchuria offered 200,000 square kilometers. It was also believed that Manchuria was rich in minerals, forestry and had rich agricultural land.

Anti-Comintern Pact

Nov 25, 1936

Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan sign the Anti-Comintern Pact, directed against the Soviet Union and the International Communist movement.

Japan invades China

Jul 7, 1937

Japan invades China in 1937. This is known to be one of the biggest reasons World War II started, this invasion initiated the war in the Pacific.

Munich agreement

Sep 29, 1938

Germany, Italy, Great Britain and France sign the Munich agreement which forces the Czechoslovak Republic to cede the Sudetenland, including the key Czechoslovak military defense positions, to Germany

Integrity of the borders

Mar 31, 1939

France and Great Britain guarantee the integrity of the borders of the Polish state

Nonaggression agreement

Aug 23, 1939

Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union sign a nonaggression agreement and a secret codicil dividing eastern Europe into spheres of influence

Germany invades Poland

Sep 1, 1939

On September 1st 1939 Germany invades Poland. This is believed to be one of the biggest causes of initiating WWII

Great Britain and France declare war on Germany

Sep 3, 1939

Honoring their guarantee of Poland's borders, Great Britain and France declare war on Germany

Warsaw surrenders

Sep 27, 1939

Warsaw surrenders in September 1939. The Polish government flees into exile via Romania. Germany and the Soviet Union divide Poland between them

Soviet Union invades Finland

Nov 29, 1939

The Soviet Union invades Finland, initiating the so called Winter War. The Finns sue for an armistice and have to cede the northern shores of Lake Lagoda and the small Finnish coastline on the Arctic Sea to the Soviet Union