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Dawes Act
Adopted by Congress in 1887, authorized the President of the United States to survey American Indian tribal land and divide it into allotments for individual Indians. -
England refuses to renew its alliance with Japan
A diplomatic milestone that saw an end to Britain's splendid isolation, the alliance was renewed and expanded in scope twice, in 1905 and 1911, before its demise in 1921. -
French begin constructing the Maginot line
A line of concrete fortifications, obstacles, and weapons installations that France constructed along its borders with Germany during the 1930s -
Bolshevik Revolution
Two revolutions swept through Russia, ending centuries of imperial rule and setting in motion political and social changes that would lead to the formation of the Soviet Union. -
Winter War between Finland and Russia
The outbreak of the First World War and the collapse of the Russian Empire gave Finland a window of opportunity; on 6 December 1917, the Senate of Finland declared the nation's independence. -
Paris Peace Conference
A meeting that inaugurated the international settlement after World War I. -
Treaty of Versailles Signed
Although the armistice, signed on 11 November 1918, ended the actual fighting, it took six months of negotiations at the Paris Peace Conference to conclude the peace treaty. -
Washington Naval Conference
Between 1921 and 1922, the world’s largest naval powers gathered in Washington for a conference to discuss naval disarmament and ways to relieve growing tensions in East Asia. -
Rapallo Treaty
An agreement made in the Italian town of Rapallo on April 16, 1922 between Germany and the Soviet Russia under which each renounced all territorial and financial claims against the other following the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and World War I. -
Benito Mussolini comes to power in Italy
The March on Rome was a coup d'état by which Mussolini's National Fascist Party came to power in Italy and ousted Prime Minister Luigi Facta. -
Beer Hall Putsch
Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party led a coalition group in an attempted coup d'état which came to be known as the Beer Hall Putsch. -
Stalin comes to power in Russia
His connections helped him attain high positions in the new Soviet government, eventually becoming General Secretary in 1922. -
Mein Kamph Published
It was a blueprint of his agenda for a Third Reich and a clear exposition of the nightmare that will envelope Europe from 1939 to 1945. -
Stock Market Crash
A sudden dramatic decline of stock prices across a significant cross-section of a stock market, resulting in a significant loss of paper wealth. -
Hitler made chancellor of Germany
The appointment was made in an effort to keep Hitler and the Nazi Party “in check”; however, it would have disastrous results for Germany and the entire European continent. -
Japan invades Manchuria
Manchuria was invaded by the Kwantung Army of the Empire of Japan immediately following the Mukden Incident. -
Ukrainian Famine
Categorized as genocide in the annals of history, however muted its presence is in mainstream history textbooks -
US victory at Iwo Jima
A major battle in which the United States Armed Forces fought for and captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Japanese Empire. -
Stalin begins military purges and The Great Terror
He targeted members of his cabinet and government, soldiers, clergy, intellectuals, or anyone else he deemed suspect. -
Night of Long Knives
A purge that took place in Nazi Germany between June 30 and July 2, 1934, when the Nazi regime carried out a series of political murders. -
Hitler invades Austria
When word came in 1937 that Austria could be taken, the plans to take Czechoslovakia were moved aside. -
Hitler declares himself Vice Chancellor and Fuhrer of Germany
Papen almost convinced Hindenburg to declare in his will that Germany should return to a constitutional monarchy upon his death. -
Berlin Olympics
Adolf Hitler's Nazi dictatorship camouflaged its racist, militaristic character while hosting the Summer Olympics. -
Rape of Nanking
An episode of mass murder and mass rape committed by Japanese troops against Nanking during the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937. -
Hitler invades the Sudetenland
Britain had already given way to Hitler on a number of occasions, but it was the events of the Sudeten crisis which showed appeasement in action – trying to buy off Hitler by giving way to his demands. -
Munich Conference
The agreement was negotiated at a conference held in Munich, Germany, among the major powers of Europe, without the presence of Czechoslovakia. -
Hitler conquers the rest of Czechoslovakia
German invades Czechoslovakia, taking full control over the nation after taking pieces as part of the Munich Pact. -
Nazi Soviet Anti -Aggression Pact
Felt it would draw them into the middle of the European war and would not be able to concentrate in their battle with China. -
Hitler invades Poland
The act that started World War II. -
Britain and France declare war on Germany
In response to Hitler's invasion of Poland, Britain and France, both allies of the overrun nation declare war on Germany. -
Scandinavian wars
Germany invaded both Denmark and Norway the same day, 9 April 1940. -
Nazi occupation of Norway
Norway was continuously occupied by the Wehrmacht. -
Defeat of French army by the Nazis
Successful German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, defeating primarily French forces. -
Battle of Britain
First major campaign to be fought entirely by air forces. -
Hitler launches Operation Barbarossa
Code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II. -
Pearl Harbor
Hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. -
Desert Campaigns in Africa Begin
Australian troops approach a German-held strong point under the protection of a heavy smoke screen somewhere in the Western Desert, in Northern Africa. -
Winston Churchill Comes to power in England
Sir Winston Churchill was a British prime minister and statesman who led the country to victory against Nazi Germany and the Axis powers in World War Two.
