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Period: to
WWII
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coins the name of alxis
Speaking to a crowd in Milan, Benito Mussolini coins the name "Axis" for Italy and its allies when he states that the "line between Rome and Berlin is not a partition but rather an axis around which all European states...can also collaborate." -
The Anti-Comintern Pact is signed
by Nazi Germany and Japan against the International Comintern but not against the Soviet Union. -
munich agreement
settlement reached by Germany, Great Britain, France, and Italy that permitted German annexation of the Sudetenland in western Czechoslovakia -
hitler promised peace
More than 1 million Polish troops are poised to invade. Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain gives the British the Munich agreement and his pledge with Nazi leader Adolf Hitler that Britain and Germany "never will go to war with one another again." -
the hitler-stalin pact
Germany and the Soviet Union sign a non-aggression pact, stunning the world, given their diametrically opposed ideologies. But the dictators were, despite appearances, both playing to their own political needs. -
germany invades poland
German forces bombard Poland on land and from the air, as Adolf Hitler seeks to regain lost territory and ultimately rule Poland. World War II had begun. -
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.he first casualty of that declaration was not German—but the British ocean liner Athenia, which was sunk by a German U-30 submarine that had assumed the liner was armed and belligerent. -
sovient union invades poland
Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov declares that the Polish government has ceased to exist, as the U.S.S.R. exercises the “fine print” of the Hitler-Stalin Non-aggression pact.Hitler’s troops were already wreaking havoc in Poland, having invaded on the first of the month -
germany invades norway and denmark
German forces were able to slip through the mines Britain had laid around Norwegian ports because local garrisons were ordered to allow the Germans to land unopposed. The order came from a Norwegian commander loyal to Norway’s pro-fascist former foreign minister Vidkun Quisling -
france surrenders to nazi germany
the french government signed an armistice with Nazi Germany just six weeks after the Nazis launched their invasion of Western Europe. -
pearl harbor
Just before 8 a.m. on December 7, 1941, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawaii. The barrage lasted just two hours, but it was devastating: The Japanese managed to destroy nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight enormous battleships, and more than 300 airplanes -
united states declares war on japan
as America’s Pacific fleet lay in ruins at Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt requests, and receives, a declaration of war against Japan.Leaning heavily on the arm of his son James, a Marine captain, FDR walked haltingly into the House of Representatives at noon to request a declaration of war from the House and address the nation via radio