The World at War, 1914-1945
1914
Austrian archduke Franz Ferdinand is assassinated on June 28 by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip, setting off a series of
ultimatums that eventually lead to World War I.
The Austro-Hungarian Empire declares war on Serbia on July 28.
The Central Powers come into existence, growing out of the Triple Alliance.
Germany declares war on Russia on August 1.
On August 2, the Ottoman Empire joins the Central Powers by signing an alliance with Germany against Russia.
Germany requests free passage through Belgium on August 2 but is denied.
Germany declares war on Belgium and invades on August 4. Belgium declares war on Germany and is defeated within a few weeks;
however, Belgium's effort to defend itself and stop Germany earns it admiration throughout the world.
War on the Western Front begins as Germany meets France at the Battle of the Frontiers, which includes battles at Lorraine, the
Ardennes, the Sambre, and Mons.
In August, the British Parliament enacts the Defense of the Realm Consolidation Act, the first in a series of laws that increase
government power over private, war-related industries during the war. The law is the first step toward total war, as it gives the British
government control over the defense industry and the media, as well as the power to establish price and wage controls for almost all
aspects of society.
Mexican revolutionaries, led by Pancho Villa, Emiliano Zapata, and Venustiano Carranza, force Gen. Victoriano Huerta to resign as
president on July 15.
The United States issues a Declaration of Neutrality on August 19.
Russia changes the name of St. Petersburg to Petrograd, a patriotic effort to disavow German-sounding names.
Russia invades Poland on August 17.
Russian forces defeat the Austrians on August 26 at the Battle of Galicia. The Austro-Hungarian Empire never fully recovers from
the defeat, and it forces the Germans to take a more active role in protecting their ally from Russian attacks.
The German Army, led by Paul von Hindenburg, defeats the Russian Second Army on August 30 at the Battle of Tannenberg. The
battle is the first great German victory on the Eastern Front and prevents a Russian invasion of East Prussia.
The German Army defeats the Russian Army in September at the Battle of Masurian Lakes, the final battle in the defeat of Russia's
invasion of East Prussia. Russia's attempt to help its hard-pressed French allies results in two terrible defeats that help create a
sense of inferiority among the Russians against the Germans throughout the war.
On September 4, the Triple Entente declares that its member countries will not conclude peace separately.
Hesitation by Helmuth von Moltke Jr. leads to the failure of the Schlieffen Plan and Allied victory in the First Battle of the Marne in
September. The Allied victory and the Germans' subsequent stabilization lead to stalemate on the Western Front that lasts for the
remainder of the war.
The Ottoman Empire formally declares war on Russia, and Great Britain formally annexes Cyprus and Egypt in response.
Ottoman ships attack Russian ports in the Black Sea.
Great Britain, France, and Russia declare war on the Ottoman Empire.
Great Britain takes Basra, in present-day Iraq, to protect its Persian Gulf oil interests from the Ottomans.
Allies defeat a German force at the Battle of Ypres during October and November. The battle is referred to as the "Slaughter of the
Innocents" because of the tremendous casualties suffered by the young and inexperienced German force.
Germans defeat British Indian troops at Tanga in German East Africa.
Japan declares war on Germany in an effort to expand its Pacific empire at Germany's expense.
New Zealand troops take German Samoa to preempt Japan's expansion.
1915
Japan issues its Twenty-One Demands on January 18, demanding China to recognize Japan's predominance in Asia. China is
eventually forced to accept the demands, but Japanese dominance starts a nationalist movement in China.
Turkish forces unsuccessfully attempt to seize the Suez Canal.
Great Britain declares the blockade of the Central Powers and angers the United States by blacklisting U.S. firms known to be
trading with Germany.
Germany orders a blockade of Great Britain.
Germany introduces the use of poison gas on April 22, starting the Second Battle of Ypres.
On April 24, Turkish leaders of the Ottoman Empire arrest and murder Armenian social and political leaders. The mass removal of
Armenians from the Ottoman Empire, known as the Armenian Genocide, begins in May.
After failing to conquer the Ottoman Empire by sea, the Allies land on the peninsula of Gallipoli, hoping to take the Turkish-held
Dardanelles and open a path for the Russian Army. The Battle of Gallipoli starts on April 25 and lasts until the British and Australian
force finally admits defeat in August.
Italy signs the Secret Treaty of London on April 26, a treaty offering Italy a stake in postwar territorial partitions in exchange for its
support for the Allies. Italy subsequently quits the Triple Alliance and declares its support for the Allies on May 23.
On May 7, the British ocean liner Lusitania is torpedoed off the coast of Ireland. The Lusitania sinking takes the lives of 1,198
civilians, including 128 U.S. citizens.
U.S. president Woodrow Wilson issues his first of three Lusitania notes to Germany demanding an end to unrestricted submarine
warfare and the payment of reparations for the loss. Germany refuses the demands, and relations between Germany and the United
States begin to deteriorate.
Great Britain decides to support Arab independence in the Ottoman Empire. T.E. Lawrence becomes an adviser to the rebels, and
Great Britain promises to deliver aid in June 1916.
Italy attacks Austria on June 23 in the first battle of the Isonzo campaign. Italy fights Austria in three more battles along the Isonzo
River in 1915, diverting Austria from its fight against Russia and Serbia.
After being courted by both sides, Bulgaria joins the Central Powers on September 6.
The Central Powers invade Serbia and Montenegro in October.
Russia declares war on Bulgaria on October 6.
South African general Louis Botha sides with Great Britain. He quells an Afrikaner uprising and leads an attack, defeating the
Germans in southwest Africa.
1916
Germany launches a massive attack on the French at Verdun and its surrounding forts on February 21, believing that the French will
protect Verdun at all cost and suffer incredible loss, causing them to sue for peace. Reinforcements save the French position, and
the German defeat at the Battle of Verdun leads to a continuation of the war.
Great Britain invades Syria and attacks the Ottoman Empire, aiding Arab independence by drawing Turkish men and supplies away
from fighting the Arab forces.
Pancho Villa, angered the lack of U.S. support for his revolutionary regime, leads a raid on Columbus, New Mexico on March 9,
killing 18 U.S. citizens.
U.S. general John J. Pershing leads the punitive Mexican Expedition in an attempt to capture Pancho Villa.
The Irish Republican Brotherhood proclaims Ireland free from British rule. Irish nationalists rebel against Great Britain as the weeklong Easter Rebellion begins on April 24. Great Britain's subsequent execution of the rebel leaders increases the nationalist fervor in
Ireland and brings popular support to the revolutionaries.
Italy attacks Austria on March 9 in the fifth battle of the Isonzo campaign. The offensive is ineffective, as Italy makes little use of its
advantage in troop strength.
A German U-boat sinks the French passenger ship Sussex on March 24.
British Indian forces surrender to the Ottomans at Kut el-Amara on April 29 after a failed attempt to capture Baghdad the previous
fall.
On May 16, Great Britain and France sign the Sykes-Picot Agreement, an agreement on the division of the territories of the Ottoman
Empire after the war. The agreement is controversial, as Arabs do not believe that it represents their interests.
British and German battle fleets meet during World War I for the only time on May 31 at the Battle of Jutland. The German fleet
inflicts heavy damage on the British, but the battle is essentially a draw as Great Britain is able to continue its blockade of Germany.
In June, Hussein ibn Ali, the sharif of Mecca, leads the start of a general Arab revolt against the Turks.
The Allies launch an offensive on July 1 near the Somme River in northern France. The Battle of the Somme grows into a stalemate
and comes to symbolize the massive casualties and futile slaughter of World War I, as a combined total of more than 1 million
soldiers are believed to have died during the months-long battle.
U.S. Marines land in Haiti on July 29.
On August 9, Italy attacks Austria and captures the city of Gorizia in the sixth battle of the Isonzo offensive. Italy's advances are met
by a counterattack from Austrian reserves.
On August 29, Paul von Hindenburg is made chief of the German General Staff, taking Erich von Ludendorff with him to Berlin to
assume command of the entire German Army.
Hindus and Muslims in India, led by Mohammed Ali Jinnah, formulate the Lucknow Pact, pledging unity against the British.
British troops are evacuated from Turkish coast.
British poet Rupert Brooke publishes "Peace," a poem that captures the vivid imagery of the horrors of war.
The tank is introduced into warfare, used by the British in a September attack during the Battle of the Somme.
While serving time in prison for her opposition to German involvement in the war, Rosa Luxemburg writes and secretly publishes a
pamphlet entitled The War and the Workers. The Marxist document denounces the war as violating the interests of Europe's working
class.
German and Austrian forces invade and occupy Bucharest.
Russian forces invade Armenia.
U.S. Marines occupy the Dominican Republic and take over the government in response to domestic strife.
The United States purchases the Virgin Islands from Denmark.
Austrian emperor Franz Joseph I dies on November 21, and Austria is placed under martial law.
The Mexican Constitutional Convention convenes in Querétaro on December 1.
David Lloyd George becomes prime minister of Great Britain in December.
Rival warlords in China begin a battle for Beijing.
Jan Smuts assumes command of Allied forces in eastern Africa.
1917
The Mexican Constitutional Convention produces the Constitution of 1917.
British intelligence decodes the Zimmermann Note of January 16. The note details Germany's intention to reinitiate unlimited
submarine warfare and calls for Mexico to ally with Germany if the United States enters the war on the side of the Allies.
U.S. general John J. Pershing withdraws from Mexico in January after failing to capture Pancho Villa.
T.E. Lawrence and Faisal I defeat Turkish forces and capture Al Wajh on January 24.
Germany declares the resumption of unrestricted U-boat warfare.
The U.S. State Department informs the U.S. press about the details of the Zimmerman Note on March 1.
The British India Army captures Baghdad on March 11.
Russian czar Nicholas II issues a proclamation of abdication under duress on March 15 on both his behalf and on the behalf of his
young son, Alexander. The Russian Revolution of 1917 officially ends czarist rule in Russia and establishes the Provisional
Government. Nicholas and his family are held under house arrest.
The United States declares war on Germany on April 6.
The Allies, led by British general Douglas Haig, launch an offensive at Arras in France.
The United States occupies Cuba to suppress an uprising against the conservative government.
Italy attacks Austria on May 12 in the 10th battle of the Isonzo campaign but makes negligible gains.
The U.S. Congress adopts the Espionage Act on June 15, the first act directed against espionage and treason adopted by the U.S.
Congress since the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798.
The All-Russian Congress of Soviets meets for the first time in Petrograd on June 16. The Congress embodies the chief opposition
to the Provisional Government that emerged from the Russian Revolution of 1917 and adopts resolutions regarding its goals for the
governing of Russia.
The First Division of the American Expeditionary Force, led by John J. Pershing, lands in France on June 26.
In July, workers and soldiers rebel in Petrograd and nearly bring down the Provisional Government. Though Bolshevik Party leaders
had not led the rebellion, many are arrested, and Vladimir Lenin takes refuge in Finland.
T.E. Lawrence and Faisal I push deeper into Turkish territory and capture Al Aqabah on July 6.
Aleksandr Kerensky becomes prime minister of the Russian Provisional Government on July 17.
On July 31, the British Army launches an offensive at Ypres, known as the Battle of Passchendaele.
Sun Yat-sen becomes commander in chief of a military government in Guangzhou (Canton), China.
In August, mustard gas is used for the first time when the Germans use it against the attacking British during the second part of the
Battle of Passchendaele.
The 11th and final battle of the Isonzo campaign starts in August. The month-long battle is ineffective but causes Germany to
transfer troops to the Austrian front. The Isonzo campaign proves insignificant in territorial gains, occupies Austria, and drains
Germany's resources in a war of attrition.
Germany invades Portuguese Angola and Portuguese Mozambique.
On August 20, T.E. Lawrence publishes "Twenty-Seven Articles" in the Arab Bulletin as a guide for Britons working with Arabs.
On October 24, Vladimir Lenin issues a call to power, urging his fellow Bolsheviks to overthrow Russia's weak Provisional
Government and establish a new, communist state.
Aleksandr Kerensky declares Russia a democratic republic on September 2.
In September, while living in exile in Finland, Vladimir Lenin writes State and Revolution, outlining his goals for communist revolution
in the midst of the ongoing Russian Revolution. That work helps Lenin reestablish his authority to lead the second phase of the
Russian Revolution, now known as the October Revolution of 1917.
On November 2, British foreign secretary Arthur J. Balfour writes a letter to Lord Rothschild, a leader of the international Zionist
movement, declaring Britain's support for the creation of a homeland for the Jewish people carved out of the British protectorate of
Palestine. The letter, known as the Balfour Declaration, is an attempt to gain Jewish support for the Allies.
The Bolshevik Party, led by Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky, seizes the Russian provisional headquarters on November 6 and
exiles Aleksandr Kerensky to France.
German sailors stationed at Kiel harbor mutiny after learning of orders for a final attack against British and U.S. naval forces. The
Kiel Mutiny feeds the growing peace movement in Germany and ignites the German socialist revolution the following year.
The United States declares war on the Austro-Hungarian Empire on December 7.
The British India Army takes Jerusalem on December 9.
1918
U.S. president Woodrow Wilson delivers his Fourteen Points speech to a joint session of the U.S. Congress on January 8. The
speech details his dream to maintain world peace by creating an international organization to settle disputes between countries.
On January 17, the Russian newspaper Pravda publishes the Declaration of the Rights of the Toiling and Exploited Peoples. The
document, written by Vladimir Lenin in conjunction with Joseph Stalin, Nikolai Bukharin, and Yakov Sverdlov, calls for the
acceptance of communist Soviet groups as the ruling power in the land. The initial rejection and the struggle for ratification of the
document leads to the Russian Civil War.
After the Russian Civil War begins, British, French, and U.S. troops land in Russia in support of the White Russian Army.
On March 3, the Russian government signs the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, withdrawing from the war and acceding to German territorial
demands. The treaty is signed in order to gain time to consolidate the revolution in Russia and incidentally frees hundreds of
thousands of German troops for transfer to France.
At the Seventh Party Congress in March, the Bolshevik Party changes its name to the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
The influenza epidemic of 1918-1919 spreads throughout the world. The epidemic takes more than 20 million lives worldwide and
severely damages the German Army.
German field marshal Erich von Ludendorff plans for an offensive that is supposed to bring Germany a victorious end to the war. On
March 21, Germany begins a series of attacks that lead to the Second Battle of the Marne in the summer. Despite early successes,
German forces are forced to withdraw after a series of counteroffensives.
Siegfried Sasson publishes "Attack," his most noteworthy antiwar poem. Sassoon gains fame during the war not only for his courage
under fire but also for publishing his antiwar views in a pacifist newspaper.
The republican Sinn Féin Party dominates the elections in Ireland.
Women gain the vote in Great Britain.
The U.S. Congress amends the Espionage Act of 1917 by enacting the Sedition Act on May 16. The act is intended primarily to curb
the activities of socialists and pacifists by mandating stricter punishments for those who attempt to undermine the U.S. war effort.
Russian czar Nicholas II and his family are executed by communist leaders on July 17.
In August, the Allies attack during the Battle of Amiens, causing the Germans to lose all the territory gained in their spring
offensives. On August 14, Kaiser Wilhelm II authorizes the foreign minister to initiate peace negotiations through the Netherlands.
Bulgaria surrenders on September 29, the first of the Central Powers to surrender.
In October, the British capture Damascus, and the French take Beirut.
The Austro-Hungarian Empire is defeated on November 3 at the Battle of Vittorio Veneto. The 11-day battle is the last campaign on
the Italian-Austrian front, pushing the Austro-Hungarian Empire out of the war and eventually out of existence.
Emperor Charles I of Austria, heir of Franz Joseph, is forced to abdicate his throne, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire is dissolved.
Czechoslovakia and Hungary are proclaimed independent.
The armistice goes into effect on November 11 at 11 AM, the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.
In November, the National Constituent Assembly meets at Weimar, Germany and drafts a constitution for the first republic in
German history. The assembly leads to the creation of the Weimar Republic, led by Philipp Scheidemann. Kaiser Wilhelm II suffers
blame for the destruction Germany and abdicates his throne on November 9, living the rest of his life in exile.
Poland, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Ukraine declare independence in the wake of the destruction of the German and
Russian empires.
Armenia declares independence in the wake of the destruction of the Ottoman Empire.
Arabs gain independence from the Ottoman Empire, but Great Britain and France insist on a role in postwar development of the
Middle East, causing many Arabs to rebel against the British.
Manfred von Richthofen, known as the "Red Baron," publishes his autobiography recounting some of his exploits during the war,
becoming a celebrity throughout Europe and the United States. Richthofen was Germany's most successful air ace during World
War I.
On December 1, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (later named Yugoslavia) is officially established under the leadership
of the Serbian king Peter Karageorgevic.
1919
At a meeting in January, the Spartacus League renames itself the German Communist Party. Four days later, a communist
insurrection against Germany's Social-Democratic government erupts in Berlin. The rebels declare a general workers' strike and
physically take over several government buildings. The two leaders of the Spartacus Revolt, Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg,
are arrested and murdered by their jailers on January 15 on the pretense that they attempted to escape.
The Paris Peace Conference begins on January 18.
Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata is killed on April 10 by Mexican colonel Jesús Guajardo.
On April 13, British troops open fire on thousands of people gathered for a religious festival in the Jallianwala Bagh, a walled garden
in the city of Amritsar in Punjab, India, after a disobedience movement activist attempts to address the crowd. The Amritsar
Massacre begins a radicalization of India's nationalism and garners support for Mohandas Gandhi.
The Wafd Revolt begins in Egypt after Saad Zaghlul, the founder of the Wafd Party, and several of his colleagues are exiled by the
British for leading the Wafd nationalist independence movement.
Japan acquires Qingdao, in China, and the Marshall, Mariana, and Caroline Islands from Germany.
The May Fourth Movement is organized after protests in Tiananmen Square in Beijing regarding the Treaty of Versailles (1919),
which grants to Japan German-held territory that had traditionally been Chinese. The leaders of the movement issue a manifesto,
appealing to others to join the movement.
In May, a Greek army occupies the Smyrna area of Anatolia, resulting in conflicts with Turks and beginning the Turko-Greek War.
The Treaty of Versailles is signed on June 28, the fifth anniversary of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, formally
ending World War I and creating the League of Nations. The treaty is noted for its harsh treatment of Germany, forcing Germany to
assume responsibility for starting the war, demanding war reparations, and banning the country from possessing a military.
British, French, and U.S. troops withdraw from Russia as the Russian Red Army, led by Leon Trotsky, defeat the Russian White
Army, ending the Russian Civil War.
Afghanistan gains independence from Great Britain after the Third Afghan War.
The French create the colony of Upper Volta (present-day Burkina Faso).
The Chicago Race Riot of 1919, in which 15 whites and 23 blacks are killed, begins on July 27 after a 17-year-old African American
unknowingly crosses the segregated boundary of a city beach. The Chicago police require the help of the Illinois militia to end six
days of rioting.
After returning from the Paris Peace Conference, John Maynard Keynes writes "The Economic Consequences of the Peace." The
article condemns the Treaty of Versailles for levying excessive reparation demands against Germany that virtually guarantee the
continued economic defeat of the country. Keynes also suggests that the British government should play a far more active role in
managing its economy, a view that later meets with great acceptance during the Great Depression and during the aftermath of
World War II.
Benito Mussolini founds his Fascist Party and begins its quest for political conquest in Italy.
The National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazi Party) emerges in southern Germany.
1920
The Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution goes into effect on January 16, beginning the period of Prohibition in the United
States.
The Nazi Party adopts its Twenty-Five Point Program, a list of guidelines for the party, in Munich on February 24.
The Harlem Renaissance begins, a time of cultural renewal among African Americans, concurrent with the Jazz Age.
Great Britain annexes Kenya, and Kenya's African population begins resistance to British rule.
The League of Nations becomes organized in Geneva, Switzerland.
The League of Nations begins a series of mandates, dividing the former colonies of Germany and the Ottoman Empire under the
control of the different Allied Powers. The countries under the mandates are divided into different classes, depending on their level
of political and economic development.
Breaking the Allies' promise of postwar independence in exchange for alliance, the League of Nations grants France a mandate over
Syria and Lebanon.
In March, Faisal I convenes a national congress that proclaims him king of Syria—which was to include the entire region of Palestine
and Lebanon. Arab nationalists begin harassing French forces in Syria.
Great Britain acquires a mandate over Mesopotamia, renaming it Iraq and Palestine.
The Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution goes into effect on August 18, recognizing women's right to vote at the national
level.
The U.S. Senate refuses to ratify the Treaty of Versailles and declines to join the League of Nations in an effort to reestablish U.S.
isolationism.
Two Italian immigrants, Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, are arrested for an armed robbery in which two men had been killed
in Braintree, Massachusetts. Both men, who had been active in the anarchist political movement, denied any guilt in the affair. The
Sacco and Vanzetti trial becomes an international cause célèbre and brings the fairness and objectivity of the U.S. justice system
into serious question.
Margaret Sanger publishes Woman and the New Race in the United States, bringing issues involving women's reproductive health
to the public's attention.
1921
Hyperinflation begins in Germany.
Adolf Hitler becomes chairman of Nazi Party.
Thuku's Revolt occurs in Kenya when Harry Thuku, the leader of the East African Association, is arrested and charged with sedition
for inciting people to violent protest. His arrest is met by intense and widespread protest.
Vladimir Lenin introduces the New Economic Policy in Russia to reconstruct some of the basic characteristics of capitalism with
changes in the role of the Russian government.
Mauritania becomes a separate colony of French West Africa.
The Rif War in Spanish Morocco begins in July. The war pits the Berber "rebels" of the Rif Mountains, led by Abd al-Krim, against
Spanish military forces.
In August, Great Britain approves a monarchy in Iraq and proclaims Faisal I king of Iraq under the supervision of a British high
commissioner. Shiite Muslims of the Euphrates River area and Kurds from the north rebel in a separatist movement.
The Washington Conference convenes in Washington, D.C. The conference is an international diplomatic meeting called by the
United States to limit the naval arms race and work out security agreements in the Pacific.
Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador form the Federation of Central America.
Sun Yat-sen heads a new regime based in Canton, China.
On December 6, after continued nationalist fervor and violence, the British accept the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921, establishing what
will become the Irish Free State in southern Ireland.
1922
The Washington Conference Treaty is signed on February 8. The treaty resolves several issues regarding foreign spheres of
influence in China, agreeing to the Open Door policy and limiting the build up of naval armaments.
Great Britain concedes Egypt's independence on February 28. However, Great Britain reserves the right to protect the strategic
Suez Canal and provide military defense to Egypt.
On April 14, Irish Republican Army forces under Rory O'Connor seize the Four Courts in the middle of the Irish capital of Dublin. The
Irish Civil War erupts on June 28 between the faction, led by Michael Collins, that accepts the terms of the Anglo-Irish Treaty of
1921 and the faction, led by Eamon de Valera, that believes that nothing short of a fully independent republic covering the entire
island is acceptable. The Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 gives most of Ireland, excluding the north, independence from British rule.
On July 24, the League of Nations issues the Palestinian Mandate, recognizing the ancient connection between Jews and the area
that was then the country of Palestine. The mandate opens the way for negotiations to actually establish such a Jewish state.
Niger becomes a colony within French Africa.
In September, the Turks defeat the Greeks at Bursa and Smyrna, ending the Turko-Greek War.
Mohandas Gandhi is arrested in India for civil disobedience and sentenced to prison.
The United States restores self-government to the Dominican Republic.
Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral becomes the first Latin American to win the Nobel Prize for literature with the poem "I Am Not Alone."
On October 28, Benito Mussolini's Blackshirts march on Rome and surround the city. King Victor Emmanuel III proclaims Mussolini
prime minister and asks him to form a new government.
With the victory of Red Army forces under Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky, the new Soviet Union is formally established in
December, joining Russia and Ukraine.
1923
In January, 40,000 French soldiers occupy the Ruhr Valley in Germany in an effort to secure reparations payments from Germany.
The Ruhr Valley Occupation is condemned by most of the Allies and further damages Franco-German relations.
The Treaty of Lausanne is signed on July 24 in Lausanne, Switzerland. The treaty officially ends the Turko-Greek War and reiterates
the loss of most of Turkey's Ottoman Empire territory but keeps Turkey intact.
On October 2, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's forces occupy Constantinople in Turkey. On October 29, the Grand National Assembly
under Atatürk's leadership proclaims the Turkish republic, with its capital at Ankara.
Sun Yat-sen, head of the Chinese Nationalist Party (Guomindang), becomes president of China and publishes Fundamentals of
National Reconstruction, a political statement announcing his program for China's reform and modernization.
Miguel Primo de Rivera becomes dictator of Spain after a coup d'état against King Alfonso XIII.
A devastating earthquake hits Yokohama and Tokyo, Japan.
Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party followers unsuccessfully attempt to take over the government of the German state of Bavaria in the
beer hall putsch of November 8.
1924
Following the death of Vladimir Lenin on January 21, Joseph Stalin, Lev Kamenev, and Grigory Zinoviev assume leadership of the
Soviet Union.
On May 26, the U.S. Congress passes the Immigration Act to limit the high volume of immigration, flowing since the mid-19th
century. The law establishes a quota system for immigration that highly favors northern Europeans over all others, setting the
standard for U.S. immigration policy until the 1960s. The law damages relations between the United States and Japan.
On August 16, Germany accepts the Dawes Plan, a schedule of war reparation payments.
In an attempt to secure himself as Vladimir Lenin's successor, Joseph Stalin delivers his speech on "Trotskyism or Leninism" on
November 19, criticizing Leon Trotsky's views on communism.
Slavery is abolished in Ethiopia.
France enters the Rif War in alliance with Spain.
Albania and Greece become republics.
Abd al-Aziz Ibn Saud captures Mecca, reviving the Saudi state.
Mongolians ally with Soviet troops to overthrow Chinese rule and establish the Mongol People's Republic as a satellite state of the
Soviet Union.
1925
Andre Breton issues the Surrealist Manifesto, an explanation of surrealism in art.
Teacher John T. Scopes is tried in Tennessee for assigning readings from a prohibited textbook. The Scopes trial becomes a high
profile challenge to free speech and the theory of evolution.
Paul von Hindenburg is elected president of Germany on April 26.
F. Scott Fitzgerald publishes The Great Gatsby, his masterpiece work about the Jazz Age of the 1920s.
Nationalist unrest in Syria and Lebanon force France to yield power.
The Locarno Agreement is signed on December 1. The agreement is a mutual guarantee by Germany, France, Belgium, Great
Britain, and Italy to maintain peace in Western Europe.
Ahmed Zogu claims power in Albania and soon declares himself King Zog.
Reza Khan becomes shah of Iran, beginning the Pahlavi dynasty.
1926
In March, Mao Zedong writes "Analysis of the Classes in Chinese Society," introducing Marxist principles to the Chinese people.
The Chinese Nationalist Party splits between the communists and the right wing, and the capital is moved to Hankow.
From midnight on May 3 until May 12, Great Britain endures the General Strike of 1926, during which workers of the many unions
belonging to the Trades Union Congress walk off their jobs.
Jozef Pilsudski stages a coup d'état on May 12 and takes control of Poland.
In June, a united front of the Guomindang and the Chinese Communist Party, led by Chiang Kai-shek and aided by Russian military
advisers, begins a march north from the province of Guangdong, known as the Northern Expedition, to end the rule of warlords and
unify China.
The first cases of the Teapot Dome scandal are brought to court in the United States.
Italy establishes a protectorate over Albania, helping King Zog to begin modernizing his nation and increasing Italy's military and
financial influence in the country.
The League of Nations gains responsibility to suppress slavery.
French and Spanish troops defeat the rebels at Ajadir, Morocco, ending the Rif War. Abd al-Krim surrenders, and France exiles him
to Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean.
A military coup installs a fascist presidential system in Lithuania headed by Augustine Voldemars.
A military coup overthrows the Portuguese republican government.
A communist-inspired revolt breaks out in the Dutch East Indies.
Lebanon is established as an independent republic.
1927
After the radical wing of the Chinese Nationalist Party brakes with Chiang Kai-shek, his forces murder labor unionists and
communists during the Shanghai Massacre on April 12, starting the Chinese Civil War.
On May 20, Charles Lindbergh begins his one-man, nonstop flight over the Atlantic Ocean from New York to Paris, France.
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk gives his Turkish youth speech to gain support for his reforms to modernize Turkey.
Chinese Communist troops and peasants mutiny in August but are defeated by Guomindang soldiers. Zhu De and Mao Zedong, the
communist leaders, flee to the mountains of western Jiangxi Province with their followers.
Chiang Kai-shek resigns his leadership of the Guomindang in order to promote unity, and the Nationalist government is reunited at
Nanjing.
Nicola Sacco and Bartolemeo Vanzetti are executed in the United States on August 23, 1927.
Britain recognizes the independence of Iraq.
Joseph Stalin expels Leon Trotsky from the Soviet Central Committee and eventually from the Communist Party.
1928
Chiang Kai-shek is recalled to lead the Chinese Nationalist Party, restoring the Guomindang government and continuing the
Northern Expedition. Chiang captures Beijing and reunites China.
Bolivians entering the Chaco Boreal clash with Paraguayans, leading to military action marking the beginning of the Chaco War.
Representatives of all the great world powers sign the Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928) on August 27. The pact, named for U.S. secretary
of state Frank B. Kellogg and French foreign minister Aristide Briand, is an attempt to outlaw war.
The Nationalist (Guomindang) government gains authority in China.
Transjordan becomes self-governing under Emir Abdullah ibn Hussein.
The Chinese Communist Red Army is created in Hunan by Mao Zedong.
Hirohito is crowned emperor of Japan.
1929
Erich Maria Remarque publishes All Quiet on the Western Front.
Joseph Stalin exiles Leon Trotsky from the Soviet Union.
Joseph Stalin ends the New Economic Policy and orders the collectivization of agriculture, beginning the first five-year plan.
Antanas Smetona becomes the fascist president of Lithuania.
The first major revolt during British colonial rule in Africa organized and led by women, the Nigerian Women's Protest is precipitated
by economic and political concerns.
The Lateran Treaty is signed after negotiations between the Vatican and Benito Mussolini's fascist government. The treaty makes
Vatican City an independent state with the pope as its absolute ruler and declares the boundaries of the Vatican to be fixed.
King Alexander of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes abrogates the constitution, forms a dictatorship, and renames the
country the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
The stock market crashes on October 29, 1929, devastating the U.S. economy and wiping out the fortunes and life savings of many
investors.
The Great Depression begins, sending the world economy into crisis.
Arabs attack Jewish settlements near Jerusalem.
1930
In February, Ho Chi Minh introduces his Program for the Communists of Indochina, in Indochina at a conference of Vietnamese
communists held in Hong Kong.
On March 12, Mohandas Gandhi and 78 of his followers begin the Salt March, a 240-mile march to Dandi in protest of the doubling
of the salt tax by the British.
Ras Tafari Makonnen proclaims himself Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia.
Carol II returns to Romania and resumes throne.
Joseph Stalin introduces forced collectivization of farms in Russia.
Rafael Trujillo makes himself president of the Dominican Republic.
After losing the election, Getúlio Vargas begins a revolution and becomes president of Brazil.
1931
The Credit Anstalt failure contributes to a deepening of the Great Depression in Europe and hastens the rise of authoritarian power
in Austria.
Chiang Kai-shek begins a series of "extermination campaigns" to prevent further communist uprising.
Beginning with the Mukden Incident, Japan invades the sovereign nation of Manchuria and uses it for strategic purposes.
Al Capone is imprisoned in the United States after leading one of the nation's most notorious crime rings.
The Scottsboro case in the United States gains international attention as nine young African-American men are accused of rape.
They would have died in the electric chair without the international notoriety their case attracted.
King Alfonso XIII flees Spain after the fall of Gen. Primo de Rivera, and a republic is declared.
The Statute of Westminster is enacted by the British Parliament on December 11, granting independence to Canada, Australia, New
Zealand, South Africa, Northern Ireland, and Newfoundland. All of those countries are required to pledge allegiance to the British
Crown, establishing the British Commonwealth of Nations.
1932
The League of Nations calls the World Disarmament Conference to meet at its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland in February.
On the evening of March 1, the 20-month-old son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh is kidnapped from the upstairs nursery of the
family's estate in Hopewell, New Jersey.
Japan attacks Shanghai.
Benito Mussolini writes "What is Fascism" for an Italian encyclopedia.
Paraguay launches a major offensive against Bolivia in Chaco Boreal.
A revolution in Thailand introduces a constitutional government, replacing the absolute monarch.
Eamon De Valera becomes prime minister of the Irish Free State.
António de Oliveira Salazar becomes prime minister of Portugal and introduces a fascist-style constitution.
The French complete their conquest of Morocco.
The United Kingdom bans the Indian National Congress.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is formally established.
Japan declares Manchuria the independent state of Manchukuo.
Franklin D. Roosevelt is elected president of the United States.
1933
Franklin D. Roosevelt introduces the New Deal in the United States in an attempt to revive the nation from the Great Depression.
The Concordat of 1933 is signed on July 20 at Vatican City in Rome. The agreement between the Catholic Church and the Nazi
Party government grants the Church some concessions regarding Catholic schools and the clergy in Germany in exchange for
recognition that all German Catholics have to swear allegiance first and foremost to the German state rather than the pope.
The League of Nations issues its report on the Japanese invasion of Manchuria.
President Paul von Hindenburg appoints Adolf Hitler chancellor of Germany.
The German Reichstag enacts the Nazi Decrees of 1933, suspending civil liberties, giving Hitler unlimited power, and outlawing all
other political parties other than the Nazi Party.
The Nazi Party endorses the first of the Nuremberg Laws at a rally in Nuremberg. The laws place severe restrictions on German
Jews in an attempt to identify and separate them from what the Nazis see as the racially pure Aryan German race.
Engelbert Dollfuss makes himself dictator of Austria.
Nazis establish a concentration camp at Dachau.
Fulgencio Batista leads a military coup d'état in Cuba.
1934
The Long March begins in China as Mao Zedong leads his Chinese Communist Party in an attempt to escape the Chinese
Nationalist Party armies of Chiang Kai-shek.
Puyi becomes the Japanese puppet emperor of Manchukuo.
The Paraguayan military, led by José Félix Estigarribia, recaptures Fort Boqueron and most of the Chaco.
U.S. troops withdraw from Haiti.
On June 30, more than 200 people whom Adolf Hitler views as a threat are assassinated in what is known as the Night of the Long
Knives, another step in the consolidation of Hitler and the Nazi Party's power in Germany.
Hitler combines the offices of chancellor and president to become Der Fuhrer (uncontested leader) of Germany.
Austrian chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss is murdered in a Nazi coup d'état on July 25. The coup fails to overthrow the government of
Austria, however.
Italian and Ethiopian troops clash near Ethiopia's border with Italian Somaliland.
Dictatorships are established in Latvia and Estonia.
Fascists take over Bulgaria.
The Turkish Grand National Assembly gives Mustafa Kemal the name Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, meaning father of the Turks.
1935
In January, France gives Italy permission to take over Ethiopia in exchange for Italy's opposition to Adolf Hitler.
Benito Mussolini formally creates the Italian colony of Libya.
The Ethiopian invasion by Italy on October 3 is one of the first acts of aggression by the fascist powers during the 1930s.
At the request of Egyptian emperor Haile Selassie, the League of Nations implements a weak program of economic sanctions
against Italy.
The semi-independent Philippine Commonwealth is established.
The United Kingdom separates Burma and Aden from India and introduces a central legislature in Delhi.
The Soviet Union issues its official explanation of the Great Purge.
The United States and five other South American countries arrange a truce between Bolivia and Paraguay on June 12, ending the
Chaco War.
The Social Security Act is approved by the U.S. Congress of August 14 as part of the New Deal.
Additional anti-Jewish Nuremberg Laws are passed in Germany.
Germany denounces the disarmament clauses of the Treaty of Versailles.
1936
Edward VIII becomes king of England on January 20 after the death of King George V.
Germany and Italy create the Rome-Berlin Axis Alliance, the first agreement leading to the formation of the Axis powers in 1940.
Benito Mussolini hopes the agreement will force the British and French into acquiescing to his expansion plans into Africa.
Léon Blum becomes the first socialist prime minister of France on June 4.
The Spanish Civil War begins in July between the government of the Second Republic and insurgent army officers who want to
overthrow it.
Jawaharlal Nehru becomes leader of the Indian National Congress in India.
Great Britain sends troops to Palestine to impose order on warring Jews and Arabs.
The first of the Great Purge show trials is held in Russia in August. Bolshevik Party members who participated in the Russian
Revolution of 1917 are tried for treason and executed.
Anastasio Somoza García makes himself dictator of Nicaragua.
All British troops withdraw from Egypt as the country becomes independent of Great Britain under King Farouk I.
Italians capture Addis Ababa in May and annex Ethiopia.
In November, Franklin D. Roosevelt is reelected president of the United States.
On November 25, Japan and Germany sign the Anti-Comintern Pact, a mutual agreement between the two countries to resist the
spread of communism. The agreement is also a mutual defense treaty against any possible aggression from the Soviet Union.
Ioannis Metaxax becomes dictator in Greece.
German troops occupy the Rhineland.
British king Edward VIII abdicates on December 10 after deciding to marry divorcée Wallis Simpson. George VI becomes king of
England.
1937
Italy and Germany aid nationalist troops in Spain.
The Japanese Army opens offensive operations against China after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident.
The German Condor Legion conducts the Guernica bombing on April 26. The bombing, during the Spanish Civil War, is one first
saturated bombings of a civilian population in the history of warfare.
Japan invades China in July, beginning the Sino-Japanese War of 1937-1945. Many historians consider the invasion the first battle
of World War II.
After beginning another campaign to exterminate communists in China, the Chinese Nationalist Party negotiates a truce with the
communists, led by Zhou Enlai, in order to fight the Japanese.
On May 6, the Hindenburg explosion at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey kills 22 crewmembers and 13 passengers.
The Japanese murder and rape thousands of Chinese civilians during the Rape of Nanjing in December, one of the worse atrocities
committed by the Japanese during the Sino-Japanese War of 1937-1945.
France suppresses a nationalist uprising in Morocco.
Joseph Stalin begins a purge of the Soviet armed forces.
In November, Italy signs the Anti-Comintern Pact, making it the basis for the Axis alliance of World War II.
The Irish Free State of southern Ireland becomes Eire.
1938
In March, Adolf Hitler threatens to annex the Sudetenland portion of Czechoslovakia.
Nikolai Bukharin, a leader of the Russian Revolution of 1917, is condemned on March 13 and subsequently executed. Bukharin
played an influential role in the creation of the Soviet Union under Vladimir Lenin but falls victim to Joseph Stalin's Great Purge of
the 1930s.
Hitler facilitates the Anschluss, the unification of Germany and Austria. The Treaty of Versailles prohibited the Anschluss.
Bolivia and Paraguay sign the Treaty of Buenos Aires on July 21, ending the Chaco War and giving Paraguay most of the Chaco
region.
Nuclear fission is discovered in Germany.
The Kristallnacht on November 9-10, known as the "night of broken glass," is a sudden and widespread assault on Jews and their
property. It is the first widespread use of massive force against Jews by the Nazi regime in Germany.
Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Edouard Daladier, and Neville Chamberlain meet during the Munich Conference on September 29.
The subsequent Munich Pact allows the Nazis to annex the Sudetenland as long as they leave the rest of Czechoslovakia alone.
The conference is noted for the appeasement of Germany and Chamberlain's promise to Great Britain that the agreement would
bring "peace for our time."
1939
Zionist leaders and representatives of the Palestinian Arabs and the Arab states convene in London on February 7.
Benito Mussolini reinforces Italy's military and political ties to Germany by signing the Pact of Steel with Adolf Hitler.
In response to the German threat, Poland reaches an agreement with the United Kingdom and France, calling for the two countries
to give Poland military aid if attacked.
Soviet and Mongolian troops defeat the Japanese at Nomonhan after the Japanese encroach on Soviet territory by expanding
northward in China.
Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin sign the Nazi-Soviet nonaggression pact, dividing Poland between Germany and the Soviet Union
and securing a temporary peace for the Soviets. The pact also places the Baltic states in the Soviet sphere of influence.
On August 2, Albert Einstein writes a letter to U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt warning him of the possibility that the Germans
could develop nuclear weapons.
A Nazi force delivers a sudden and rapid invasion of Poland on September 1. The attack represents the first military engagement in
the European theater during World War II.
On September 3, 1939, British prime minister Neville Chamberlain and French prime minister Edouard Daladier separately
announce a state of war with Germany, thus opening World War II.
Great Britain and France attempt to blockade Germany in the hopes it will end the war. The inactive early stage of the war in Europe
becomes known as the Phony War.
Faisal I dies on September 8, and his son Ghazi becomes boy-king of Iraq.
Italy invades Albania.
Polish president Wladyslaw Raczkiewicz names Wladyslaw Sikorski commander of the Polish Armed Forces in France.
Nationalist forces capture Barcelona and Madrid, ending the Spanish Civil War.
The U.S. government increases funding for nuclear fission research. Most of the early work is done at Columbia University in
Manhattan, leading to the title Manhattan Project.
The U.S. Congress issues the Neutrality Act on November 4, permitting trade in arms and supplies to all belligerent powers without
distinction of aggressor and victim. The United States provides Great Britain with far more weapons and supplies than any other
nation.
The Russo-Finnish War begins on November 30, 1939, an immediate result of the Nazi-Soviet nonaggression pact.
On December 14, the Soviet Union is expelled from the League of Nations because of its aggression against Finland. The RussoFinnish War also reveals numerous defects in the Soviet military system that are to become an important argument for Nazi Party
leaders in making the decision to implement Operation Barbarossa.
1940
German submarines attack neutral shipping in British waters.
The Russo-Finnish War ends on March 12, and the Soviet Union sets up a puppet government in Finland.
German troops occupy Denmark and invade Norway on April 9. Norway tries to resist the invasion, but the government flees to
England and creates a government in exile. Vidkun Quisling assumes the office of president and cooperates with the Nazis.
Great Britain occupies Iceland to use as a base for its North Atlantic operations and to prevent a German invasion of the island.
Germany launches a blitzkrieg attack on France through the Ardennes on May 10. The Battle of France ends the Phony War and
leads to renewed warfare in Europe. Germany conquers the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg on its way to defeating France.
The French Resistance is formed almost immediately after the Nazi invasion.
In May, Neville Chamberlain resigns, and Winston Churchill becomes prime minister of Great Britain.
During the final engagement of the Battle of France, 300,000 Allied troops are saved from German capture at Dunkirk from May 26
to June 3.
Churchill delivers his "Blood, Toil, Tears, and Sweat" speech in which he promises to lead Great Britain in the fight against Nazi
Germany during Britain's darkest days of the war.
On June 4, shortly after the evacuation at Dunkirk, Churchill delivers his "We Shall Never Surrender" speech to the House of
Commons in the British Parliament. Churchill knows that Great Britain will be the next country to face a Nazi invasion and commits
his government to mounting a formidable defense against Germany.
On June 18, Churchill delivers his "Their Finest Hour" speech to the British House of Commons, vowing to lead the British people in
a fight against the Nazis until the bitter end.
The Germans defeat French forces on June 21, and France surrenders to Germany in the Franco-German Armistice on June 22.
The Vichy French government is formed, a Nazi-controlled puppet government led by Philippe Pétain and Pierre Laval. The terms of
the armistice divide France into two zones. In the Occupied Zone, Vichy authorities are required to assist the German military in any
way possible. The Unoccupied Zone, however, is to be governed by the Vichy authorities without German interference.
The Free French Forces, led by Gen. Charles de Gaulle from exile in London, deem the Vichy government and the armistice as
illegitimate.
Wladyslaw Sikorski moves the Polish government-in-exile to London.
The Soviet Union occupies Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
A German U-boat sinks the Arandora Star on July 2, killing 800 German and Italian internees. The Arandora Star sinking leads to
vigorous protests against the British internment policy.
The Battle of Britain begins in August 1940 when Germany turns its attention to Great Britain after defeating France. The Luftwaffe
begins an incessant bombing attack on Great Britain in the hopes of defeating the British Royal Air Force and the British Royal
Navy.
Leon Trotsky is attacked in Mexico by a Stalinist agent on August 20, 1940 and dies the following day.
The British retaliate against Germany by bombing Berlin on August 24-29.
Italy declares war on France and Great Britain.
Italy invades Greece but is defeated in the Battle of Koritza.
Japan invades French Indochina and captures Saigon.
Italians capture British Somaliland.
Ion Antonescu becomes dictator of Romania.
In September, the Nazis concentrate their attacks on Great Britain to London, incurring high civilian casualty rates.
Franklin D. Roosevelt is elected president of the United States, starting his unprecedented third term.
The Luftwaffe begins an air blitzkrieg on Great Britain.
1941
In January 1941, German general Erwin Rommel receives promotion to lieutenant general and command of the Afrika Korps.
The U.S. Congress enacts the Lend-Lease Act on March 11. The act provides for the extension of credit, weapons, and supplies to
the British government, as Great Britain struggles against the aggression of Nazi Germany.
Germany invades Yugoslavia in April.
After Allied forces discover that Syrian airfields are being used by German forces. Great Britain and the Free French Forces invade
Syria and capture Damascus.
The British encourage an uprising against the Italians in Ethiopia. British forces capture Mogadishu, and Haile Selassie reenters
Addis Ababa on May 5, reestablishing his rule.
Aware that a German invasion of the Soviet Union is imminent, Nazi leader Rudolph Hess travels alone to Scotland on a peace
mission on May 10. Hess demands German autonomy in Europe in exchange for respect for the solidarity of the British Empire.
Adolf Hitler believes Hess is insane and quickly disowns him.
The Battle of Britain ends in May, by which time both Berlin and London are nearly destroyed and thousands of civilians are killed or
injured.
Germany invades Greece.
In May, Nazi paratroopers led by Kurt Student invade British-held Crete.
Operation Barbarossa begins on June 22, and Soviet foreign minister Viacheslav Molotov delivers his speech on the German
invasion of the Soviet Union.
Josip Broz Tito organizes Yugoslavian resistance in late June.
The United States and the United Kingdom announce the Atlantic Charter on August 14, articulating the shared goals of stopping
aggression and war around the world.
British and Soviet forces invade Iran in order to undermine the neutrality of Reza Khan and bring the country's resources and
transport infrastructure into the allied war effort. Reza Khan is deposed as shah of Iran, and his son, Shah Mohammad Reza
Pahlavi, assumes leadership on September 17.
Operation Crusader takes place from November 18 to December 8, one of the largest armored battles during the North African
campaign between the Afrika Korps under Erwin Rommel and the British Eighth Army.
On November 26, the U.S. government drafts a document outlining for the Japanese its policies in regard to the Far East and the
Pacific.
On December 6, Franklin D. Roosevelt delivers his "Four Freedoms" speech to the U.S. Congress, reiterating U.S. commitment to
freedom around the world.
The Japanese government compiles a rebuttal document regarding its views of relations with the United States. The document,
known as the Fourteen Part Message, is delivered to the U.S. government on the morning of December 7. That same morning,
Japanese fighter pilots attack the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, provoking the United States to end its neutral stance in
World War II and join the Allies.
On December 8, Japan attacks Wake Island, Guam, and the Philippines. Roosevelt delivers his "infamy speech," and the United
States formally declares war on Japan.
Germany and Italy declare war on the United States on December 11. In response, the U.S. Congress immediately declares war on
Germany and Italy.
1942
At the Wannsee Conference on January 20, Nazi Party bureaucrats plan the "final solution" to the Jewish question. They decide to
evacuate Jews to concentration camps all over Europe, where they are exterminated in what becomes known as the Holocaust.
Japan takes Kuala Lumpar in Malaya and invades Burma and Java.
The British are defeated at the Battle of Singapore on February 8-15, one of the worst defeats for the British during World War II.
On February 19, U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Japanese Internment Order, Executive Order 9066, authorizing the
internment of more than 100,000 Japanese American citizens during World War II.
A series of meetings, known collectively as the Cripps Mission, takes place in Delhi, India from March 22 to April 12. The meetings
are an attempt by the British to rally Indian support for the defense of India against Japanese invasion, and Great Britain promises
India a new dominion under the United Kingdom in exchange for assistance.
The Nazi Party officially appoints Vidkun Quisling prime minister of Norway.
The British force Japan back from northeast India into Burma (present-day Myanmar).
U.S. and British troops land in Morocco and Algeria.
U.S. and Filipino armies are defeated on the Bataan Peninsula on April 9. The Japanese take over Bataan, Corregidor, and the
Philippines and subsequently lead 76,000 Allied prisoners on the Bataan Death March to prisoner-of-war camps.
U.S. general Jimmy Doolittle leads a bombing raid on Tokyo in April.
On May 8, the Battle of the Coral Sea becomes the first major naval battle in which the opposing fleets do not sight each other and
aircraft carry out all combat. Although the battle is a tactical Japanese victory, it is a strategic U.S. victory because the Japanese are
unable to complete their mission for the first time during the war. It also prevents a Japanese invasion of Australia.
In response to the Doolittle raid on Tokyo, Isoroku Yamamoto orders an attack on Midway Island. The Battle of Midway, starting on
June 3, is a turning point in the Pacific theater as Japan is put on the defensive.
Nazi Party official Reinhard Heydrich dies on June 4 after a car bomb, planted by the Czech resistance, injured him on May 27.
Adolf Hitler orders the village of Lidice, Czechoslavakia to be destroyed in reprisal.
The British are defeated at the Battle of Tobruk on June 20-21.
The German Sixth Army, under Gen. Friedrich von Paulus, and a panzer division begin the Battle of Stalingrad by attacking the city
on August 19.
Bernard Montgomery and Louis Mountbatten orchestrate an unsuccessful British and Canadian attack on the French port of Dieppe
on August 19.
The Nazis occupy Vichy France.
The U.S. government centralizes its nuclear fission research at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Gen. Leslie Groves of the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers heads the project and assigns J. Robert Oppenheimer to lead the work.
Japan takes over Hong Kong.
The first U.S. offensive of World War II, the Battle of Guadalcanal, begins when the First Marine Division under Gen. Alexander
Vandegrift captures the nearly completed Henderson Field airstrip on the island.
Mohandas Gandhi delivers a speech to the Indian National Congress supporting the British war effort against Nazi Germany.
British forces under Bernard Montgomery attack El Alamein in October. They capture Torbruk and halt German advances on Cairo.
The Battle of El Alamein marks the end of Axis success in North Africa and the beginning of a series of victories for the Allies. After
El Alamein, German field marshal Erwin Rommel is forced to retreat into Tunisia.
Chinese nationalists defeat the Japanese at the Battle of Changsha.
Allied troops land in Morocco and Algeria on November 8 during Operation Torch, the beginning of the North African Campaign.
Aleksander Vasilevskii begins a Russian counterattack at Stalingrad on November 19.
In November, Adm. William F. Halsey defeats the Japanese Navy in a series of engagements during the Battle of Guadalcanal.
In December, Enrico Fermi produces a controlled nuclear chain reaction using plutonium at the University of Chicago. Fermi's
findings prove that a nuclear weapon is possible.
1943
German general Friedrich von Paulus surrenders to the Soviets on January 30.
U.S. forces eliminate Japanese resistance on the island of Guadalcanal.
On May 12, the Afrika Korps is defeated by U.S. and British forces.
The Detroit riot of 1943 breaks out on June 20, a forerunner of the more widespread riots and uprisings of the 1960s.
The Battle of Kursk begins on July 5. The Battle of Kursk is the largest tank battle in history and is considered the decisive turning
point of the war on the Eastern Front. The German defeat marks the first time a German summer offensive is stopped. The Soviets
subsequently occupy Romania and Bulgaria but are unable to operate on the strategic offensive for the rest of the war.
The Allies begin the invasion of Sicily on July 10. The invasion lasts until August 17 and is the first Allied landing on European
territory.
In July, the Italian coup removes Benito Mussolini from the power he has held since 1922.
The Nazis occupy Rome and halt the Allies' advance.
The Allies begin to develop Operation Overlord plans, the first plans for an Allied invasion of Europe that come to be known as DDay.
The Allies launch the Italian Peninsular campaign in September after their successful invasion of Sicily and the Italian coup against
Mussolini.
In November, the Allies recognize Josip Broz Tito as the legitimate head of Yugoslavia.
The Tehran Conference is held between November 28 and December 1. The first meeting held between major Allied leaders during
World War II leads to little political agreement and no solutions but discusses war policy and the future division of Europe by the
Allies. The Allies agree on an invasion of Europe from the west.
Syria and Lebanon gain independence from France.
1944
The Allies launch the Battle of Anzio, known as Operation Shingle, on January 22. The massive U.S. and British amphibious assault
on German troops in Italy is one of the largest and most troubled Allied attacks during the course of the war. The Allies break
through Monte Cassino and enter Rome.
The Soviet Union captures Crimea, Minsk, and Brest-Litovsk.
On June 6, 150,000 Allied soldiers storm the beaches of Normandy, France in what is known as D-Day, an early phase of the
largest amphibious military operation in history. U.S. general Dwight D. Eisenhower orchestrates the attack.
In June, Iceland votes to become a republic and establishes independence from Denmark.
The Bretton Woods Conference, which took place in New Hampshire in July, establishes the Bretton Woods Agreement, a financial
agreement between 45 countries to ensure worldwide financial stability after World War II.
During the summer, the U.S. Navy directs its island-hopping land attacks with marine and army troops and moves closer to
mainland Japan by taking Guam and Saipan in the Mariana Islands. U.S. forces begin to retake the Philippines.
Hideki Tojo resigns as prime minister of Japan.
In July, a group of Nazi Party officers make a failed attempt on Adolf Hitler's life.
France promises its African colonies independence after the war.
The United States begins the large-scale bombing of Japan.
Polish resistance attempts an uprising in Warsaw.
Germany launches the V1 and V2 rockets against Great Britain and selected European cities.
On September 17, the allies launch an assault, starting the Battle of Arnhem. The battle is a stunning defeat to the western Allies,
who believe that the war is nearly won.
In November, Franklin D. Roosevelt is reelected for a fourth term as president of the United States.
On December 16, Germany launches a counteroffensive against advancing Allied troops on the Belgian-German border. The 10-day
battle, known as the Battle of the Bulge, results in a major defeat for the German Army, opening the door for an invasion of
Germany.
1945
The leaders of Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States meet to decide the fate of postwar Germany and resolve
various other issues at the Yalta Conference from February 4 to 11. The compromises fail to completely satisfy any of the
participants but lead to the Allied occupation of Germany, the establishment of the United Nations, and the rise of the iron curtain.
The Allies conduct the Dresden bombing during February 13-15, one of the most devastating aerial bombings of a city in world
history. The controversial area bombing of Dresden killed between 35,000 and 135,000 civilians and destroyed about nine square
miles of Dresden's inner city.
On February 19, 30,000 marines headed by U.S. admiral Raymond A. Spruance and U.S. general Holland A. Smith land at Iwo
Jima. The U.S. forces win the Battle of Iwo Jima by mid-March and take control of the island that is located only 750 miles south of
Tokyo.
The Battle of Okinawa begins in March, the largest and final confrontation between the United States and Japan during World W ar
II.
The Arab League is formally established on March 22, and Cairo is chosen for its headquarters.
The Soviets invade Czechoslovakia and Hungary.
The Soviets take Vienna and rendezvous with U.S. forces at the Elbe River.
On April 12, Franklin D. Roosevelt dies, and Harry Truman becomes president of the United States.
The founding United Nations conference convenes on April 25 in San Francisco, California. The conference lasts until June 26 and
leads to the formation of the United Nations Charter.
Karl Renner is picked by Joseph Stalin on April 27 to lead the provisional government of Austria.
After the German defenses in Italy collapse, Benito Mussolini and his mistress attempt to flee but are caught and executed by Italian
partisans on April 28.
Adolf Hitler kills himself on April 30.
The remaining German forces surrender unconditionally to the Allies on May 8, and the Allies occupy Germany and Austria.
On June 22, U.S. forces win the Battle of Okinawa. The tenacity of the Japanese forces convinces Truman to drop the atomic bomb
rather than invade the Japanese mainland.
Burma (present-day Myanmar) is liberated.
Truman, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin meet in the Potsdam Conference from July 17 to August 2, the final wartime
conference between the Allies. Churchill is replaced on July 28 by newly elected prime minister Clement Attlee, and the Potsdam
Conference Agreement leads to the cold war spheres of influence and the division of Germany.
On August 6, American B-29 bomber the Enola Gay drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. The Hiroshima bombing brings
World War II to an end and signifies the dawn of the nuclear age.
On August 8, representatives from Great Britain, France, the United States, and the Soviet Union sign the London Agreement,
establishing the International Military Tribunal to try those suspected of war crimes during World War II. The agreement leads to the
Nuremberg Trials of 1945-1946.
On August 9, the Nagasaki bombing destroys the city and kills tens of thousands of people.
The International Military Tribunal for the Far East is established to prosecute and punish war criminals in Asia.
The independent republics of Syria and Lebanon are established.
The United States establishes a military government in Japan.
Josip Broz Tito declares the People's Republic of Yugoslavia.
The first of the Nuremberg Trials are held in November.
Following the Japanese surrender, Ho Chi Minh declares the creation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam on September 2, with
himself as president. Ho appeals to U.S. president Harry Truman for support, and the Viet Minh party begins negotiations with
France, which fail and ultimately lead to the Indochina War.
Cambodia declares independence from France.
The Chinese Nationalist Party and the Chinese Communist Party fight for control of Manchuria.