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Japan invades Manchuria.
In 1931, the Japanese Kwangtung Army attacked Chinese troops in Manchuria in an event commonly known as the Manchurian Incident. This was an attempt by the Japanese Empire to gain control over the whole province. This proved to be one of the causes of World War II. -
Period: to
World War II
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii World War II killed more people, involved more nations, and cost more money than any other war in history. Altogether, 70 million people served in the armed forces during the war and 17 million combatants died. Civilian deaths were ever greater. At least 19 million Soviet civilians, 10 million Chinese, and 6 million European Jews lost their lives during the war. -
Fascist Italy invades, conquers, and annexes Ethiopia
Fascist Italy invades Ethiopia. Many months after they invade they have conquered Ethiopia. After the conquered them they annexed Ethiopia. -
Axis is Formed.
Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy sign a treaty of cooperation on October 25. On November 1, the Rome-Berlin Axis is announced. -
Japan invades China
The Japanese Kwantung army started the invasion of china on July 7th 1937. China wasnt prepared for the invasion so they were unable to resist the Japanese. On the other hand Japan was well prepared, better armed and very brutal. The Japanese moved south gaining control of most of eastern China and the major parts by 1939 when war broke out in Europe. -
German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact
Publicly, this agreement stated that the two countries - Germany and the Soviet Union - would not attack each other. If there were ever a problem between the two countries, it was to be handled amicably. This means when Germany attacks poland the Soviets will not come to their aid. -
Nazi Germany invades Poland.
1.5 million German troops invaded Poland by air and by land, unleashing the first “blitzkrieg,” a strategy meaning “lightning war.” Planes, tank and air forces were deployed with stunning speed. It only took a few weeks for Geermany to take comtrol over Poland. -
The Soviet Union invades Poland from the east.
As Soviet troops broke into Poland, they unexpectedly met up with German troops who had fought their way that far east in a little more than two weeks. The Germans receded when confronted by the Soviets, handing over their Polish prisoners of war. Thousands of Polish troops were taken into captivity. -
Nazi Germany invades Denmark and Norway.
Germany invades Denmark and Norway. Denmark surrenders on the day of the attack. Norway holds out until June 9. -
Nazi Germany is defeated in the Air War.
The failure of Germany to achieve its objectives of destroying Britain's air defences, or forcing Britain to negotiate an armistice or an outright surrender, is considered its first major defeat and a crucial turning point in World War II.[ -
Germany, Italy, Hungary, and Bulgaria invade Yugoslavia.
Germany, Italy, Hungary, and Bulgaria invade and dismember Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia surrenders on April 17. Germany and Bulgaria invade Greece in support of the Italians. Resistance in Greece ceases in early June 1941. -
Nazi Germany invades the Soviet Union
Nazi Germany and its Axis partners (except Bulgaria) invade the Soviet Union. Finland, seeking redress for the territorial losses in the armistice concluding the Winter War, joins the Axis just before the invasion. The Germans quickly overrun the Baltic States and, joined by the Finns, lay siege to Leningrad (St. Petersburg) by September. In the center, the Germans capture Smolensk in early August and drive on Moscow by October. In the south, German and Romanian troops capture Kiev in September. -
Japan bombs Pearl Harbor.
The attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters and the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941 (December 8 in Japan). The attack was intended as a preventive action in order to keep the U.S. Pacific Fleet from interfering with military action. -
The United States declares war on Japan.
The United States declares war on Japan, entering World War II. Japanese troops land in the Philippines, French Indochina (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia), and British Singapore. By April 1942, the Philippines, Indochina, and Singapore are under Japanese occupation. -
U.S. troops halt the Japanese island-hopping.
U.S. troops halt the Japanese island-hopping. They advance towards Australia at Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. This was a big momentum builder for the U.S. troops. -
U.S. and British troops land on the beaches of Algeria and Morocco.
U.S. and British troops land at several points on the beaches of Algeria and Morocco in French North Africa. The failure of the Vichy French troops to defend against the invasion enables the Allies to move swiftly to the western border of Tunisia, and triggers the German occupation of southern France. -
The Germans launch a massive tank offensive on the Soviet Union.
The Germans launch a massive tank offensive near Kursk in the Soviet Union. The Soviets blunt the attack within a week and begin an offensive initiative of their own. -
U.S. and British troops land on Sicily.
U.S. and British troops land on Sicily. By mid-August, the Allies control Sicily. The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major World War II campaign, in which the Allies took Sicily from the Axis (Italy and Nazi Germany). It was a large scale land and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign. -
U.S. troops successfully land on the Normandy beaches.
British and U.S. troops successfully land on the Normandy beaches of France, opening a “Second Front” against the Germans. This event is also called D-day. -
Allied troops reach Paris.
Allied troops reach Paris. On August 25, Free French forces, supported by Allied troops, enter the French capital. By September, the Allies reach the German border; by December, virtually all of France, most of Belgium, and part of the southern Netherlands are liberated. -
U.S. troops land in the Philippines.
U.S. troops land in the Philippines. On this day in 1944, more than 100,000 American soldiers land on Leyte Island, in the Philippines, as preparation for the major invasion by Gen. Douglas MacArthur. The ensuing battles of Leyte Island proved among the bloodiest of the war in the Pacific and signaled the beginning of the end for the Japanese. -
Battle of the Bulge.
The Germans launch a final offensive in the west, known as the Battle of the Bulge. In an attempt to re-conquer Belgium and split the Allied forces along the German border. By January 1, 1945, the Germans are in retreat. -
Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima, or Operation Detachment, was a major battle in which the United States fought for and captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Empire of Japan. The U.S. invasion, charged with the mission of capturing the three airfields on Iwo Jima, resulted in some of the fiercest fighting in the Pacific Campaign of World War II. -
Hitler commits suicide.
Hitler commits suicide. On this day in 1945, holed up in a bunker under his headquarters in Berlin, Adolf Hitler commits suicide by swallowing a cyanide capsule and shooting himself in the head. Soon after, Germany unconditionally surrendered to the Allied forces, ending Hitler's drea -
Germany surrenders.
Germany surrenders to the western Allies. They also surrender to the Soviet Union. The was is over and the allies knew they would win now. -
Allied troops conquer Okinawa.
The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945. After a long campaign of island hopping, the Allies were approaching Japan, and planned to use Okinawa as a base for air operations on the planned invasion of Japanese mainland . -
The United States drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
The United States drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, the first of two such dropped on Japan this week. At 2:45 a.m. local time, on August 6, 1945, a B-29 Superfortress called Enola Gay lifts off with two escort B-29s from Tinian, a small island in the Marianas. The planes fly 1,500 miles to Japan and the Enola Gay drops the bomb. -
The United States drops an atomic bomb on Nagasaki.
Three days after the bombing of Hiroshima, the United States dropped a second atomic bomb on the city of Nagasaki. Nagasaki was a very large industrial and shiping area with a population of about 258,000. This is a day known as Victory in Japan, or V-J, Day. It marked the end of World War II. -
Japan Surrenders.
Having agreed in principle to unconditional surrender on August 14, 1945, Japan formally surrenders, ending World War II. The surrender of the Empire of Japan on September 2, 1945 brought the hostilities of World War II to a close.
