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Japan Invades China
Conflict in Asia began well before the official start of World War II. Seeking raw materials to fuel its growing industries, Japan invaded the Chinese province of Manchuria in 1931. By 1937 Japan controlled large sections of China, and war crimes against the Chinese became commonplace. -
The Anschluss
Anschluss refers to the annexation of Austria in 1938. There was growing support in Austria for the Nazis from 1933. The country had a (non-Nazi) semi-fascist government from around this time. In 1934, the Nazis assassinated the Austrian chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss in the hope of establishing a Nazi regime. -
Invasion of Czechoslovakia
German troops marched into Czechoslovakia. They took over Bohemia, and established a protectorate over Slovakia. -
Invasion of Poland
Invasion of Poland, attack on Poland by Nazi Germany that marked the start of World War II. The invasion lasted from September 1 to October 5, 1939. As dawn broke on September 1, 1939, German forces launched a surprise attack on Poland. -
Neutrality Act of 1939
After a fierce debate in Congress, in November of 1939, a final Neutrality Act passed. This Act lifted the arms embargo and put all trade with belligerent nations under the terms of “cash-and-carry.” The ban on loans remained in effect, and American ships were barred from transporting goods to belligerent ports. -
Fall of France
On 22 June 1940, the French delegation signed the Armistice agreement imposed by Germany at the very location of the 1918 Armistice signing. This entailed France's surrender in the Second World War. -
Battle of Britain
The Germans began by attacking coastal targets and British shipping operating in the English Channel. -
U.S Oil Embargo on Japan
The US announces a ban on oil exports to “aggressor countries,” including Japan. -
The Attack on Pearl Harbor
Japan launched a surprise attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. -
Bataan Death March
Three months after the start of the Battle of Bataan, the Bataan Death March began, forcing 60,000-80,000 Filipino and American prisoners of war to march through the Philippines. The route was about 65 miles long and stretched from the peninsula to the railhead inland -
Battle of Midway
the U.S. Navy intercepted a Japanese invasion fleet heading for Midway Island, achieving an overwhelming victory and resulting in the turning point of the war in the Pacific. -
Battle of Stalingrad
Soviet forces launched a counteroffensive against the Germans arrayed at Stalingrad in mid-November 1942. They quickly encircled an entire German army, more than 220,000 soldiers. In February 1943, after months of fierce fighting and heavy casualties, the surviving German forces—only about 91,000 soldiers—surrendered. -
D-Day
Allied attacked German forces on the coast of northern France, on 6 June 1944. D-Day was the largest military seaborne operation ever attempted, and marked the start of the campaign to liberate Nazi-occupied north-west Europe. -
The Yalta Conference
At Yalta, Roosevelt and Churchill discussed with Stalin the conditions under which the Soviet Union would enter the war against Japan. -
V-E Day
Germany Surrenders -
Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima
On 6 and 9 August 1945, the United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively. The bombings killed between 150,000 and 246,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and they remain the only use of nuclear weapons in an armed conflict. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki
The atomic bomb used at Nagasaki, Japan, on August 9, 1945, was "Fat Man". The bomb was dropped by a USAAF B-29 airplane named "Bockscar", piloted by U.S. Army Air Force Major Charles Sweeney