World War II Timeline

Invasion of Manchuria

Sep 18, 1931

Japan started to industrialize and because of this they needed to get more natural resources. The place that they looked to for the resources was Manchuria in China. The League of Nations did not do anything when China appealed for help.

Hitler becomes Chancellor

Jan 30, 1933

The people of Germany lost their pride and were humiliated after World War I. They were facing economic problems and Hitler promised to restore their pride and fix the economic problems. THis made the Germans quick to listen and follow him.

Invasion of Ethiopia

Oct 3, 1935

Italy invaded the only free nation of Africa.The League of Nations did nothing to help and Ethiopia was added to the "Italian Empire"

Munich Conference

Sep 28, 1938

This conference was a conference that included Great Britain, France, Italy, and Germany. Through this conference Germany was allowed to annex Czechoslovakia. This was called an appeasement and it was put in place to avoid war.

Kristallnacht

Nov 9, 1938

This night was known as "the night of broken glass". Many synagogues and books were burned. Many Jews were sent to camps.

Non-Aggression Pact

Aug 23, 1939

This was a pact signed between Germany and the Soviet Union. This pact allowed Hitler to eliminate the Soviet Union as a threat to his plan.

Invasion of Poland

Sep 1, 1939

Hitler used the Blitzkrieg or "lightning" technique to invade Poland. German laws were enforced and the Jews were imprisoned or killed.

Invasion of France

May 10, 1940

The French were expecting the Germans to attack where they attacked during WWI however the Germans went through the woods catching the Germans of guard.

Battle of Britain

Jul 10, 1940

The Allies were trapped in Great Britain and the Germans wanted to break the British's will to fight. They did this by constantly bombing Great Britain.

Pearl Harbor

Dec 7, 1941

This was the day that the Japanese attacked the Americans at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Eight battleships and more than 300 planes were destroyed. There were 2,403 American casualties and it led to Congress declaring war on Japan.

Stalingrad

1942

The Germans attacked the Soviet Union despite their Non-Aggression Pact. This caught the Russians off guard and they were losing until the Battle of Stalingrad. The Battle of Stalingrad was a turning point for the Russians and they began to win because Stalin wanted Stalingrad to be secured AT ALL COSTS.

Normandy Invasion

Jun 6, 1944

This invasion was the turning point for the Allies. The Allies invaded Northern France through Normandy. They had to penetrate the obstacles that the Germans placed on the beaches.

V-E Day

May 8, 1945

V-E Day stands for victory in Europe day. This is the day that the axis powers of Europe surrendered. Hitler had commited suicide and Mussolini was killed with his girlfriend by his citizens.

Bombing of Hiroshima

Aug 6, 1945

A bomb was first dropped on Hiroshima to get Japan to surrender. Japan did not surrender after the first bomb even with warning about a second bomb.

Bombing of Nagasaki

Aug 9, 1945

The second atomic bomb (Fat man) was dropped on Nagasaki. The Japanese still did not want to surrender but with the threat of more atomic bombs (that the U.S did possess) the Japanese finally surrendered.

V-J Day

Sep 2, 1945

V-J day stands for victory in Japan day. This was the official surrender of the last axis power ending World War II.