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Period: to
WWII
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Benito Mussolini
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
The Anti-Comintern Pact is signed by Nazi Germany and Japan against the International Comintern but not against the Soviet Union. -
Munich agreement
Germany, Italy, Great Britain, and France sign the Munich agreement which forces the Czechoslovak Republic to cede the Sudetenland, including the key Czechoslovak military defense positions, to Nazi Germany. -
Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union
Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union sign a nonaggression agreement and a secret codicil dividing eastern Europe into spheres of influence. -
Germany
Germany invades Poland, initiating World War II in Europe. -
Great Britain and France declare war
Honoring their guarantee of Poland’s borders, Great Britain and France declare war on Germany. -
The Soviet Union
The Soviet Union invades Poland from the east. -
Germany invades Denmark and Norway
Germany invades Denmark and Norway. Denmark surrenders on the day of the attack; Norway holds out until June 9. -
armistice agreement
On June 22, France signs an armistice agreement by which the Germans occupy the northern half of the country and the entire Atlantic coastline. In southern France, a collaborationist regime with its capital in Vichy is established. -
Battle of Britain ends
The air war known as the Battle of Britain ends in defeat for Nazi Germany. -
Nazi Germany and its Axis partners (except Bulgaria) invade 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 (Kyiv) in Sep -
Japan
Japan bombs Pearl Harbor. -
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. -
Nazi German troops
Nazi German troops march into the Sudetenland. Without the support of their alleged allies, France and Britain, the Czechoslovakians are powerless against Adolf Hitler's army.