Editing Timeline of events preceding World War II

{{short description|None}}
{{WWII timeline}}
{{More citations needed|date=June 2023}}
{{TopicTOC-World War II}}

This '''timeline of events preceding World War II''' covers the events (mostly during the [[interwar period]] [1918–1939] after [[World War I]]) that affected or led to [[World War II]].

<div class="toc">
'''1910s''': [[#1910|1910]]{{·}}[[#1918|1918]]{{·}}[[#1919|1919]]<br/>
'''1920s''': [[#1920|1920]]{{·}}[[#1920|1921]]{{·}}[[#1922|1922]]{{·}} [[#1923|1923]]{{·}}[[#1924|1924]]{{·}}[[#1925|1925]]{{·}}[[#1926|1926]] {{·}}[[#1927|1927]]{{·}}[[#1928|1928]]{{·}}[[#1929|1929]] <br/>
'''1930s''': [[#1930|1930]]{{·}}[[#1931|1931]]{{·}}[[#1932|1932]]{{·}} [[#1933|1933]]{{·}}[[#1934|1934]]{{·}}[[#1935|1935]]{{·}}[[#1936|1936]] {{·}}[[#1937|1937]]{{·}}[[#1938|1938]]{{·}}[[#1939|1939]] <br/>
</div>

''Leaders of major participating countries''
<gallery heights=160 width=120px>
Mussolini biografia.jpg|[[Benito Mussolini]]<br>{{flagcountry|Kingdom of Italy}}<br>1922–1945
Adolf Hitler Berghof-1936.jpg|[[Adolf Hitler]]<br>{{flagcountry|Nazi Germany}}<br>1933–1945
Hirohito in dress uniform.jpg|[[Hirohito]]<br>{{flagcountry|Empire of Japan}}<br>1926–1989
Stalin Image.jpg|[[Joseph Stalin]]<br>{{Flag|Soviet Union|1936}}<br>1924–1953
King George VI LOC matpc.14736 (cleaned).jpg|[[George VI]]<br>{{flagcountry|United Kingdom}}<br>1936–1952
Chiang Kai-shek（蔣中正）.jpg|[[Chiang Kai-shek]]<br>{{flagcountry|Republic of China (1912–49)}}<br>1928–1975
FDR in 1933.jpg|[[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]<br>{{flagdeco|United States|1912}} [[United States]]<br>1933–1945
</gallery>

==1895==
October 8
:[[Rōnin|Japanese agents]] [[Assassination of Empress Myeongseong|assassinate]] [[Empress Myeongseong|Queen Min of Korea]], removing a major obstacle to [[Japan–Korea Treaty of 1910|Japan's eventual conquest of Korea in the 1900s]], ultimately facilitating Japan's invasion of Manchuria in 1931.<ref name=sterling>{{cite news|url=http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=9196|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080613202437/http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=9196|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 13, 2008|access-date=June 13, 2008|first=Sterling|author-link=Sterling Seagrave|last=Seagrave|title=post Feb 5 2007, 03:15 pm|date=February 5, 2007|publisher=The Education Forum|quote=Americans think of WW2 in Asia as having begun with Pearl Harbor, the British with the fall of Singapore, and so forth. The Chinese would correct this by identifying the Marco Polo Bridge incident as the start, or the Japanese seizure of Manchuria earlier. It really began in 1895 with Japan's assassination of Korea's Queen Min, and invasion of Korea, resulting in its absorption into Japan, followed quickly by Japan's seizure of southern Manchuria, etc. – establishing that Japan was at war from 1895–1945. Prior to 1895, Japan had only briefly invaded Korea during the Shogunate, long before the Meiji Restoration, and the invasion failed.}}</ref>

== 1905 ==
September 5
:The [[Treaty of Portsmouth]] formally ends the [[Russo-Japanese War]], and concedes the Empire of Japan extraterritorial rights over the [[South Manchuria Railway Zone]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Young |first=Louise |title=Japan's total empire: Manchuria and the culture of wartime imperialism |date=1999 |publisher=Univ. of Calif. Press |isbn=978-0-520-21934-2 |edition=1st  pbk. |series=Twentieth century Japan |location=Berkeley}}</ref>

==1910==
August 22–29
:[[Japan–Korea Treaty of 1910|Japan annexes Korea]], further paving the way for the [[Japanese invasion of Manchuria|invasion of Manchuria]] in 1931.<ref name=sterling/>

== 1917 ==
November 7 [<nowiki/>[[Old Style and New Style dates|O.S.]] October 25]
: The [[October Revolution]] occurs in Russia where members of the [[Bolshevik Party]] led by [[Vladimir Lenin]] seize power in the Russian capital of [[Saint Petersburg|Petrograd (Saint Petersburg)]] replacing the republican form of government that was earlier established in March after the previous imperial government was overthrown. This event will start the [[Russian Civil War]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nov 7, 1917 CE: October Revolution |url=https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/october-revolution/ |access-date=May 24, 2024 |website=National Geographic}}</ref>

==1918==
October 28–31
: The [[Aster Revolution]] occurs establishing the [[First Hungarian Republic]].

October 28
: The [[German Revolution]] begins. It is sparked after the Imperial German Navy orders to send the [[High Seas Fleet]] to confront the British navy in a last stand attempt. Despite being planned that the mission would only be revealed when at sea, a rumor spreads that a combat mission is approaching and the sailors end up starting a [[Kiel mutiny|mutiny]] as they feel it is a suicidal move. This mutiny ends up spreading to ports throughout the country.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gerwarth |first=Robert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uyrtDwAAQBAJ |title=1918: The German Revolution |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2020 |isbn=9780199546473 |chapter=4: The sailors' mutiny |via=Google Books}}</ref>

November 11
: The [[Armistice with Germany]] marks the end of World War I. German troops are given 72 hours to evacuate occupied territories<ref>{{Cite web |title=Armistice |url=https://www.theworldwar.org/learn/about-wwi/armistice |access-date=July 23, 2023 |website=The National WWI Museum and Memorial}}</ref> and Allied troops subsequently move in and [[Occupation of the Rhineland|occupy the German Rhineland]]. <ref> https://fasos-research.nl/occupationstudies/new-research-perspectives-on-the-allied-occupation-of-the-rhineland-after-the-first-world-war/#:~:text=The%20occupation%20started%20in%20December,French%20army%20in%20the%20Rhineland. </ref>

November 13
: The [[Hungarian–Romanian War]] begins.

December 27
: Start of the [[Greater Poland uprising (1918–1919)|Greater Poland Uprising]] against German rule.

==1919==
January 4–15
:The [[Spartacist uprising]] takes place and is crushed by the German government.
January 18
:Opening of the [[Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920)|Paris Peace Conference]] to negotiate peace treaties between the belligerents of World War I.
January 31
:[[Battle of George Square]] takes place in Glasgow: the British Army is called in by the city authorities to quell a riot during a strike for a 40 hour work week.
{{clear}}
[[File:William Orpen – The Signing of Peace in the Hall of Mirrors, Versailles 1919, Ausschnitt.jpg|thumb|upright=2.3|Detail from [[William Orpen]]'s painting ''The Signing of Peace in the Hall of Mirrors, Versailles, 28th June 1919'', showing the signing of the peace treaty by the German Minister of Transport Dr [[Johannes Bell]], opposite to the representatives of the winning powers.]]
February
:The [[Polish–Soviet War]] begins with border clashes between the two states.
February 13
:Japan issues the [[Racial Equality Proposal]] during the Paris Peace Conference. The proposal would abolish racial discrimination but it founders on opposition from the United States, Australia and New Zealand.
March 2
:Foundation of the Third International, or [[Communist International|Comintern]], in Moscow. Comintern's stated aim is to create a global Soviet republic.
March 12
:The Austrian Constituent National Assembly demands Austria's [[Anschluss|integration to Germany]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mason |first=Kevin |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/210597562.pdf |title=Building an Unwanted Nation: The Anglo-American Partnership and Austrian proponents of a Separate Nationhood, 1918–1934 |publisher=[[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]] |year=2007 |type=Dissertation}}</ref>
March 21
:Proclamation of the communist [[Hungarian Soviet Republic]]. 
May 15
:The [[Turkish War of Independence]] begins as Greek troops land in Smyrna.
June 21
: A majority of the German fleet is [[Scuttling of the German fleet at Scapa Flow|scuttled]] at [[Scapa Flow]] in Scotland. The ships had been interned there under the terms of the 1918 Armistice while negotiations were occurring over the ships fate. The Germans feared that either the British would seize the ships or Germany would reject the Versailles Treaty and resume the war effort altogether with the ships likely being used against Germany in this case. 
June 28
:Germany and the [[Allies of World War I|Allied powers]] sign the [[Treaty of Versailles]] after six months of negotiations. The German armed forces are limited in size to 100,000 personnel and Germany is ordered to pay [[World War I reparations|large reparations for war damages]]. The United States signed the treaty but did not [[ratify]] it, later making a separate peace treaty with Germany.
July
:An unknown corporal named [[Adolf Hitler]] infiltrates the [[German Workers' Party]] (the precursor of the [[Nazi Party]]) at the behest of the German [[Reichswehr]].
August 1
:Fall of the short-lived Hungarian Soviet Republic. The [[First Hungarian Republic|Hungarian People's Republic]] is reestablished.
August 3
: The Hungarian–Romanian War ends.
August 8
: The Hungarian People's Republic is [[Hungarian Republic (1919–1920)|dissolved]].
September 10
:[[German-Austria]] signs the [[Treaty of Saint-Germain]]. The peace treaty with the Allies regulates the borders of Austria, forbids union with Germany, and requires German-Austria to change its name to Austria. The United States did not ratify the treaty and later makes a separate peace treaty with Austria.
September 12
: [[Gabriele D'Annunzio]] leads a force of Italian nationalist irregulars [[Italian Regency of Carnaro|in the seizure of the disputed city]] of [[Fiume]] (Rijeka).
November 27
:Bulgaria signs the [[Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine]]. The peace treaty gives Thrace back to Greece which was gained by them through the [[First Balkan War]] during 1913, while the Bulgarian army is reduced to 20,000 men and Bulgaria is ordered to pay war reparations.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Minkov |first=Stefan Marinov |title=Neuilly-sur-Seine, Treaty of |url=https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/neuilly-sur-seine_treaty_of |access-date=July 28, 2023 |website=International Encyclopedia of the First World War}}</ref>

==1920==
:End of the western [[Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War]] with withdrawal of the last allied troops in Russia. ([[Japanese intervention in Siberia|Japan continues its intervention]] until 1922.)
January 21
:The Paris Peace Conference comes to an end with the inaugural General Assembly of the [[League of Nations]]. Although one of the victors of World War I, the United States never joins the League.
February 24
: The [[National Socialist German Workers' Party]] (better known as the Nazi Party) is founded in Munich.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shirer |first=William Lawrence |title=The rise and fall of the Third Reich: a history of Nazi Germany |date=1998 |publisher=Arrow Books |isbn=978-0-09-942176-4 |location=London}}</ref>
March
[[Image:Wolfgang Kapp.jpeg|thumb|right|upright|Wolfgang Kapp, the leader of the Putsch]]
:The failed right-wing [[Kapp Putsch]] takes place against the German government. The German military remains passive and the putsch is defeated by a general strike.
:The German [[Ruhr Uprising]], spurred by the general strike against the Kapp Putsch, is crushed by the German military

June 4
:Hungary signs the [[Treaty of Trianon]] with the Allied powers. The treaty regulated the status of an independent Hungarian state and defined its borders. The United States did not ratify the treaty and later makes a separate peace treaty with Hungary.
[[File:Treaty of Sèvres 1920.svg|thumb|A map showing the partition of the Ottoman Empire as a result of the [[Treaty of Sèvres]].]]
August 10
:The Ottoman Empire signs the [[Treaty of Sèvres]] with the Allied powers (except the US, which never declared war on Turkey). The treaty [[Partitioning of the Ottoman Empire|partitions the Ottoman Empire]] and the Turkish armed forces are reduced in size. Greece did not accept the borders as drawn up in the treaty and did not sign it. The Treaty of Sèvres was annulled in the course of the Turkish War of Independence and the parties signed and ratified the superseding [[Treaty of Lausanne]] in 1923.

October
:[[Żeligowski's Mutiny]], a Polish force led by General [[Lucjan Żeligowski]], capture [[Vilnius]], officially without support from the Polish state.

November 2
:[[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] is defeated for the office of [[Vice President of the United States]] by [[Massachusetts Governor]] [[Calvin Coolidge]].

November 15
:The [[Free City of Danzig]] is established in accordance with the Treaty of Versailles, as a contentious compromise between the generally nationalist German majority in the city, and Poland's right to [[Fourteen Points|free and secure access to the sea]].

December 24
: [[Bloody Christmas (1920)|Bloody Christmas]]: Italy occupies Fiume after five days of resistance from Gabriele D'Annunzio's legionnaires.

==1921==
Spring
:Start of the [[Russian famine of 1921–1922]] due to the combined effects of economic disturbance from the Russian Revolution, the Russian Civil War, and the government policy of [[war communism]]. 
March 7–17
:Red Army mutineers and Russian civilians seize the strategic city of [[Kronstadt]] in the [[Kronstadt rebellion]], demanding expanded civilian rights and an end to the Bolshevik monopoly on Soviet politics. After several days and several thousand casualties, the rebellion is crushed by Bolshevik forces from neighboring [[Petrograd]].
[[File:Rzeczpospolita 1922.png|thumb|Borders established during the Peace of Riga.]]
March 18
:The [[Polish–Soviet War]] ends with the [[Peace of Riga]].
April 24
:The Fiuman electorate approves the idea of a [[Free State of Fiume]].
August 25
:The [[U.S.–German Peace Treaty (1921)|U.S.–German Peace Treaty]] and the [[U.S.–Austrian Peace Treaty (1921)|U.S.–Austrian Peace Treaty]] are signed, marking the formal end of the state of war between the two states and the United States instead of the Treaty of Versailles and the Treaty of Saint-Germain that were not ratified by the United States.
August 29
:The [[U.S.–Hungarian Peace Treaty]] is signed, marking the formal end of the state of war between the two states instead of the Treaty of Trianon that was not ratified by the United States.
October 5
:Foundation of the [[Sturmabteilung]] (SA), the paramilitary wing of the German Nazi Party.
November 9
:Foundation of the Italian [[National Fascist Party]] by [[Benito Mussolini]] during the Third Fascist Congress in Rome.

==1922==
February 6
:The [[Washington Naval Conference]] ends with the signing of the [[Washington Naval Treaty]] by the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, France, and Italy. The signing parties agree to limit the size of their naval forces.
March
:The first German officers travel to the Soviet Union for the purposes of [[Germany–Soviet Union relations, 1918–1941|military cooperation between Germany and the Soviet Union]].
April 16
:Germany and the Soviet Union sign the [[Treaty of Rapallo (1922)|Treaty of Rapallo]], re-establishing diplomatic relations, renouncing financial claims on each other, and pledging future economic cooperation.
October
:The [[Russian Civil War]] (ongoing since 7 November 1917) ends in [[Bolshevik]] victory with the defeat of the last [[White Army|White forces]] in Siberia.
October 11
:[[Armistice of Mudanya]] is signed in the Turkish War of Independence.
October 29
:[[Fascist]] leader [[Benito Mussolini]] is appointed prime minister of Italy by king [[Victor Emmanuel III]] following the [[March on Rome]].
November 1
:The [[Grand National Assembly of Turkey]] [[Abolition of the Ottoman sultanate|abolishes the Ottoman Sultanate]].

==1923==
:[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-R09876, Ruhrbesetzung.jpg|thumb|Two French soldiers and a German civilian in the Ruhr during its occupation by the French and Belgians, 1923.]]
January 11
:France and Belgium [[occupy the Ruhr]] in an effort to compel Germany to step up its payments of war reparations.
January 26
:The Nationalist [[Kuomintang]] party and the [[Chinese Communist Party]] form the [[First United Front]] to end [[Warlord Era|warlordism in China]].
June
:In the [[Hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic|great inflation of 1923]], the value of the [[Papiermark|German mark]] is destroyed. 
July 24
: The [[Treaty of Lausanne]], settling the boundaries of modern Turkey, is signed in Switzerland by Turkey and the [[Entente powers]]. It marks the end of the Turkish War of Independence and replaces the earlier Treaty of Sèvres
August 31
:The [[Corfu incident]]: Italy bombards and occupies the Greek island of [[Corfu]] seeking to pressure Greece to pay reparations for the murder of an Italian general in Greece.
September 27
:The Corfu incident ends; Italian troops withdraw after the [[Conference of Ambassadors]] rules in favor of Italian demands of reparations from Greece.
October 23–25
: The [[Hamburg Uprising]] occurs.
October 29
: Turkey officially becomes a Republic following the dissolution of the [[Ottoman Empire]].
November 8
: The [[Beer Hall Putsch]] takes place, in which [[Adolf Hitler]] unsuccessfully leads the Nazis in an attempt to overthrow the German government. It is crushed by police the next day.

==1924==
[[File:Lenin and stalin crop.jpg|thumb|upright|{{center|Lenin and Stalin}}]]
January 21
: Leader of the Soviet Union [[Vladimir Lenin]] dies, and [[Joseph Stalin]] begins purging rivals to clear the way for his dictatorship.
February 1
: The United Kingdom extends [[diplomatic recognition]] to the Soviet Union.
March 16
: Italy annexes the [[Free State of Fiume]].
April 1
: Adolf Hitler is sentenced to 5 years in prison for his participation in the [[Beer Hall Putsch]] (he serves only 8 months).
April 6
: Fascists win the [[1924 Italian general election]] with a 2/3 majority.
June 10
:  Italian Fascists kidnap and kill socialist leader [[Giacomo Matteotti]] in Rome.
August 16
: The [[Dawes Plan]] is accepted. It ends the Allied occupation of the Ruhr and sets a staggered plan for Germany's payment of war reparations.
August 18
: France begins withdrawing its troops from the Ruhr in Germany.

==1925==
January 20
:Signing of the [[Soviet–Japanese Basic Convention]] that normalizes relations between Japan and the Soviet Union.
April 4
:Foundation of the paramilitary Nazi party organization the [[Schutzstaffel]] (SS). Originally intended as a personal bodyguard unit for party leader Adolf Hitler, the SS would grow in size and importance. 
May 12
:Retired [[Field marshal]] [[Paul von Hindenburg]] is elected [[President of Germany]].
July 18
: [[Hitler]]'s autobiographical manifesto ''[[Mein Kampf]]'' is published.
December 1
:The [[Locarno Treaties]] are signed in London (they are ratified September 14, 1926). The treaties settle the borders of western Europe and normalize relations between Germany and the Allied powers of western Europe.

==1926==
January 3
: [[Theodoros Pangalos]] declares himself dictator of Greece. He would be elected president on April 4.
January 31
: British and Belgian troops leave [[Cologne]], Germany.
April 24
: The [[Treaty of Berlin (1926)|Treaty of Berlin]] is signed by Germany and the Soviet Union, which declares neutrality if either country is attacked within the next five years.
September 8
: Germany joins the [[League of Nations]].
December 25
: [[Emperor Taishō]] dies, and is succeeded by his son [[Hirohito]] as the [[Emperor of Japan]].

==1927==
April 12
:The [[Shanghai massacre]] of 5,000<ref>{{Cite book |last=Carter |first=Peter |title=Mao |date=1976 |publisher=Oxford Univ. Press |isbn=978-0-19-273140-1 |edition=1st |location=London}}</ref>-10,000<ref>{{Cite web |title=China rising : the revolutionary experience / Tom Ryan – Catalogue {{!}} National Library of Australia |url=https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/catalog/7054931 |access-date=2023-10-02 |website=catalogue.nla.gov.au |language=en}}</ref> communists, perpetrated by the Kuomintang, marks the end of the [[First United Front]] and the beginning of the [[Chinese Civil War]], which evolved into a proxy war between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany until 1936.
May 20
: [[Saudi Arabia]] and the United Kingdom sign the [[Treaty of Jeddah (1927)|Treaty of Jeddah]].
June 7
: [[Peter Voikov]], Soviet ambassador to Warsaw, is assassinated by a [[White movement]] activist.
November 12
: [[Leon Trotsky]] is expelled from the Soviet Communist Party, leaving [[Joseph Stalin]] with undisputed control of the Soviet Union.
December 14
: [[Iraq]] gains independence from the United Kingdom.

==1928==
May 3
: The [[Jinan incident]] begins, a limited armed conflict between the [[Republic of China]] and Japan.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wei |first=Shuge |date=January 2014 |title=Beyond the Front Line: China's rivalry with Japan in the English-language press over the Jinan Incident, 1928 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24494186 |journal=[[Modern Asian Studies]] |volume=48 |issue=1 |pages=188–224 |doi=10.1017/S0026749X11000886 |jstor=24494186 |s2cid=145325236 |access-date=August 4, 2023 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>
May 28
: Foundation of the [[Chinese Red Army]].
June 4
: [[Huanggutun incident]]: Japanese agents assassinate the Chinese warlord [[Zhang Zuolin]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Huanggutun Incident |url=https://totallyhistory.com/huanggutun-incident/ |access-date=August 4, 2023 |website=TotallyHISTORY|date=26 April 2013 }}</ref>
August 2
: Italy and Ethiopia sign the [[Italo-Ethiopian Treaty of 1928|Italo-Ethiopian Treaty]], pledging cooperation and friendship.
August 27
: The [[Kellogg–Briand Pact]] is signed in Paris by the major powers of the world. The treaty outlaws aggressive warfare.
October 1
:The Soviet Union launches the [[First five-year plan (Soviet Union)|first five-year plan]], an economic effort to increase [[Industrialisation]].
November 6
: Herbert Hoover wins the [[1928 United States presidential election|1928 US president election]] defeating [[Al Smith]].

==1929==
February 9
: [[Litvinov Protocol]] is signed in Moscow by the Soviet Union, Poland, Estonia, Romania, and Latvia. The Pact outlaws aggressive warfare along the lines of the Kellogg-Briand Pact.
February 11
: Italy and the [[Holy See]] sign the [[Lateran Treaty]], normalizing relations between the Vatican and Italy.
March 28
: Japan withdraws troops from China, ending the [[Jinan incident]].
April 3
: Persia signs Litvinov's Pact.
June 7
: The [[Lateran Treaty]] is ratified, making the [[Vatican City]] a sovereign state.
July 24
: The [[Kellogg–Briand Pact]] goes into effect.
August 31
: The [[Young Plan]], which sets the total World War I reparations owed by Germany at US$26,350,000,000 to be paid over a period of 58½ years, is finalized. It replaces the earlier Dawes Plan.
October 29
: The [[Great Depression]] begins with the [[Wall Street crash]].

==1930==
April 22
: The United Kingdom, United States, France, Italy and Japan sign the [[London Naval Treaty]] regulating submarine warfare and limiting naval shipbuilding.
June 30
: France withdraws its remaining troops from the Rhineland ending the occupation of the Rhineland.
September 14
: [[1930 German federal election|German election]] results in the [[Nazi Party|Nazis]] becoming the second-largest party in the [[Reichstag (Weimar Republic)|Reichstag]].

==1931==
May 19
: Launching of the first [[Deutschland-class cruiser|''Deutschland''-class]] cruiser, ''[[German cruiser Deutschland|Deutschland]]''. The construction of the ship causes consternation abroad as it was expected that the restriction of 10,000 tons displacement for these ships would limit the [[Reichsmarine|German Navy]] to coastal defense vessels, not ships capable of warfare on the open sea. 
September 18
: [[Mukden incident]]: the Japanese military stage a false flag bombing against a Japanese-controlled railroad in the Chinese region of Manchuria, blaming Chinese dissidents for the attack, an incident that is considered important in the lead up to World War II.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mukden Incident |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Mukden-Incident |access-date=August 4, 2023 |website=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Perez |first=Louis G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vl7Auu2UVEsC |title=Japan at War: An Encyclopedia |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2013 |isbn=9781598847420 |page=254 |via=Google Books}}</ref>
September 19
: Using the Mukden Incident as a pretext, the [[Japanese invasion of Manchuria|Japanese invade Manchuria]] and create the [[Manchukuo]] [[puppet state]].

==1932==
: The [[Soviet famine of 1932–33]], known in Ukraine as the [[Holodomor]] begins, caused in part by the [[collectivization]] of agriculture of the [[First five-year plan (Soviet Union)|first five-year plan]].
January 7
: The [[Stimson Doctrine]] is proclaimed by [[United States Secretary of State]] [[Henry L. Stimson]] in response to Japan invading Manchuria. The Doctrine holds that the United States government will not recognize border changes that are made by force.
January 28
: [[January 28 incident]]: using a flare-up of anti-Japanese violence as a pretext, the Japanese attack Shanghai, China. Fighting ends on March 6, and on May 5 a ceasefire agreement is signed wherein Shanghai is made a demilitarized zone.
February 27
: Fighting between China and Japan in Manchuria ends with Japan in control of Manchuria.
March 1
: Japan creates the puppet state [[Manchukuo]] out of occupied Manchuria.
April 10
: [[Paul von Hindenburg]] is reelected [[President of Germany]], defeating Adolf Hitler in a run-off.
May 4
:The [[Soviet–Estonian Non-Aggression Pact]] is signed. It will enter into force on 18 August 1932 and will remain in force until 31 December 1945.
May 30
: [[Chancellor of Germany]] [[Heinrich Brüning]] resigns. President Hindenburg asks [[Franz von Papen]] to form a new government.
July 25
:[[Soviet–Polish Non-Aggression Pact]] is signed with it being initially effective for three years.
August 30
: [[Hermann Göring]] is elected chairman of the German Reichstag.
November 4
: Japan starts a [[counterinsurgency]] campaign in Manchukuo, known as the [[Pacification of Manchukuo]].
November 8
: [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] defeats [[Herbert Hoover]] in the [[1932 United States presidential election|1932 presidential election]]. 
November 21
: President Hindenburg begins talking to Hitler about forming a new government.
December 3
: Hindenburg names [[Kurt von Schleicher]] Chancellor of Germany.

==1933==
January 1
:[[Defense of the Great Wall]]: Japan attacks the fortified eastern end of the Great Wall of China in [[Rehe Province]] in Inner Mongolia.
January 30
: [[Hitler]] is appointed [[Chancellor of Germany]] by [[President Hindenburg]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 28, 2009 |title=This Day in History {{!}} 1933 {{!}} Adolf Hitler is named chancellor of Germany |url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/adolf-hitler-is-named-chancellor-of-germany |access-date=July 23, 2023 |website=History Channel}}</ref>
February 27
: Germany's parliament building the [[Reichstag fire|Reichstag is set on fire]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Kellerhoff |first=Sven Felix |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lt21EAAAQBAJ |title=The Reichstag Fire: The Case Against the Nazi Conspiracy |publisher=Pen and Sword |year=2023 |isbn=9781784389062 |via=Google Books}}</ref>
February 28
: Using the Reichstag fire as a pretext, the [[Reichstag Fire Decree]] is issued by President Paul von Hindenburg, nullifying many German civil liberties and paving the way for the Nazi seizure of power.<ref name=":1" />
March 4
: [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]] is [[First inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt|inaugurated]] as [[President of the United States]]. He launches the [[New Deal]] economic program, intended to counteract the effects of the Great Depression.
March 20
: Germany's first concentration camp, [[Dachau]], is completed.
March 23
: The Reichstag passes the [[Enabling Act of 1933|Enabling Act]], making Adolf Hitler dictator of Germany.<ref name=":1" />
March 25
: [[1933 anti-Nazi boycott]]
March 27
: Japan leaves the [[League of Nations]] over the League of Nations' [[Lytton Report]] that found that Manchuria belongs to China and that Manchukuo was not a truly independent state.
April 1
: Germans are told to [[Nazi boycott of Jewish businesses|boycott Jewish shops and businesses]].
April 26
: The [[Gestapo]] [[secret police]] is established in Germany.
May 1
:President Hindenburg and Chancellor Hitler appear before a crowd of 500,000 in Berlin as [[International Workers' Day]] is declared as "Day of National Labor" by the Nazi regime.<ref>[https://www.jmberlin.de/1933/en/05_01_paul-von-hindenburg-and-adolf-hitler-at-the-may-day-rally-in-the-berlin-lustgarten.php Paul von Hindenburg and Adolf Hitler at the May Day rally in the Berlin Lustgarten] www.jmberlin.de</ref><ref>[https://jacobin.com/2021/05/nazi-may-day-hitler-socialism The Nazis Stole May Day, But Socialists Took It Back] jacobin.com</ref>
May 2
: Hitler outlaws trade unions.
May 15 
: Official formation of the [[Luftwaffe]], the German air force built in secret in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. 
May 31
: The [[Tanggu Truce]] is signed between China and Japan, setting the ceasefire conditions between the two states after the Japanese occupation of Manchuria. China accedes to all Japanese demands, creating a large demilitarized zone inside Chinese territory.
June 21
: All non-Nazi parties are banned in Germany.
July 14
: The Nazi party becomes the official party of Germany.
August 25
: [[Haavara Agreement]]: The agreement was designed to help facilitate the emigration of German Jews to [[Mandatory Palestine|Palestine]].
September 2
: Italy and the USSR sign the [[Italo-Soviet Pact]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Néré |first=J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7bRYAQAAQBAJ |title=The Foreign Policy of France from 1914 to 1945 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781134555260 |volume=7 |chapter=11: The Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance |date=2013 |via=Google Books}}</ref>
September 12
: [[Leo Szilard]] conceives the idea of the [[nuclear chain reaction]].
October 19
: Germany leaves the League of Nations over objections to the [[Conference for the Reduction and Limitation of Armaments]].
November 16
: The [[United States]] extends [[diplomatic recognition]] to the [[Soviet Union]].
November 24
: Homeless, alcoholic, and unemployed sent to [[Nazi concentration camps]].

==1934==
[[File:Engelbert Dollfuss.png|thumb|upright|The unfortunate Engelbert Dollfuss]]
January 26
: Germany and Poland sign the 10 year [[German-Polish Non-Aggression Pact]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Higgins |first=David R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y3ndDwAAQBAJ&dq=Hitler+renounces+poland+non-aggression&pg=PA6 |title=German Soldier Vs Polish Soldier: Poland 1939 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=2020 |isbn=9781472841728 |page=6 |quote="...on 26 January 1934 Poland and Germany signed their own ten-year non-aggression agreement."}}</ref> From the German point of the view, the pact was intended to prevent Poland from intervening in an attempt to prevent the rearmament of Germany.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DOd_AgAAQBAJ |title=The Routledge Companion to Nazi Germany |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2007 |isbn=9781134393855 |page=1964 |via=Google Books}}</ref>
February 9
: [[Balkan Pact]], a military alliance is signed between Greece, Turkey, Romania and Yugoslavia.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Tomasevich |first1=Jozo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CX26EAAAQBAJ |title=Contemporary Yugoslavia: Twenty Years of Socialist Experiment |last2=Auty |first2=Phyllis |last3=Zaninovich |first3=M. George |last4=McClellan |first4=Woodford |last5=Macesich |first5=George |last6=Halpern |first6=Joel M. |publisher=University of California Press |orig-year=1969 |year= 2023 |location=Berkley and Los Angeles |page=46 |isbn=9780520331112 |via=Google Books}}</ref> The intention of signing this treaty was to counteract plans being made by Italy to acquire new territories along with Bulgaria's intention to try and reclaim lost territories.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rawson |first=Andrew |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xs9xEAAAQBAJ |title=Balkan Struggles: A Century of Civil War, Invasion, Communism and Genocide |publisher=Pen & Sword Military |year=2021 |isbn=9781526761477 |page=43 |via=Google Books}}</ref>
February 12–16
: The [[Austrian Civil War]] is fought, ending with [[Fatherland Front (Austria)|Austrofascist victory]].
March 20
: All German police forces come under the command of [[Heinrich Himmler]].
May 5
: Soviet–Polish Non-Aggression Pact is extended to December 31, 1945.
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1982-159-21A, Nürnberg, Reichsparteitag, Hitler und Röhm.jpg|thumb|right|upright|"Long knives" victim [[Ernst Röhm]] with [[Hitler]], August 1933]]
June 30
: [[Night of the Long Knives]] in Germany. Potential rivals to Hitler within the Nazi Party, including [[Sturmabteilung|SA]] leader [[Ernst Röhm]] and prominent anti-Nazi conservatives such as, former Chancellor [[Kurt von Schleicher]], are killed by the [[SS]] and the [[Gestapo]]. Following this event, the SA continues to exist but loses almost all its influence and is effectively superseded by the SS.
July 20
: The SS becomes an organization independent of the Nazi Party, reporting directly to [[Adolf Hitler]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ww2db.com/event/timeline/1934/ |title=1934 Timeline |publisher=WW2DB |access-date=2011-02-09}}</ref>
July 25
: Austrian Nazis assassinate [[Engelbert Dollfuss]] during the failed [[July Putsch]] against the Austrian government.
August 2
: Upon the death of [[President Hindenburg]], [[Hitler]] makes himself [[Führer]] of Germany, becoming Head of State as well as Chancellor.
August 8
: Members of the [[Wehrmacht]] begin swearing a [[Hitler oath|personal oath of loyalty to Hitler]] instead of to the German constitution.
September
: The Soviet Union joins the [[League of Nations]].
October 5
: Left-wing parties in the [[Second Spanish Republic]] start the [[Revolution of 1934]] against the right-wing government.
October 9
: King [[Alexander I of Yugoslavia]] and French foreign minister [[Louis Barthou]] are assassinated in Marseilles<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Graves|first=Matthew|date=2010-05-14|title=Memory and Forgetting on the National Periphery: Marseilles and the Regicide of 1934|journal=Portal: Journal of Multidisciplinary International Studies|volume=7|issue=1|doi=10.5130/portal.v7i1.1291|issn=1449-2490|doi-access=free}}</ref>  Alexander's political murder further destabilized the Balkans. Barthou and Alexander were working for peace in Europe, particularly between Germany and the USSR, as they prepared both France and Yugoslavia for war.<ref>{{Citation|last=Alexander|first=Martin S.|title=French grand strategy and defence preparations|date=2015|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-history-of-the-second-world-war/french-grand-strategy-and-defence-preparations/2FC87204E3161F9643B090A9A9BF81C0|work=The Cambridge History of the Second World War|volume =1: Fighting the War|pages=78–106|editor-last=Mawdsley|editor-first=Evan|series=The Cambridge History of the Second World War|place=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-139-85596-9|access-date=2021-06-15|editor2-last=Ferris|editor2-first=John}}</ref> Prince Peter II takes Alexander's place but because he is a minor a regency council would take control.
October 16
:Beginning of the [[Long March]] where the Chinese Red Army retreats to evade the pursuit of Kuomintang forces.
December 1
:[[Sergei Kirov]], head of the Leningrad Communist Party, is murdered by an unknown assailant, precipitating a wave of repression in the Soviet Union. 
December 5
: The [[Abyssinia Crisis]] begins with the Walwal incident, an armed clash between Italian and Ethiopian troops on the border of Ethiopia.
December 29
: Japan renounces the [[Washington Naval Treaty]] and the [[London Naval Treaty]].

==1935==
January 7
: The League of Nations approves the results of the [[1935 Saar status referendum|Saar plebiscite]], which allows Saar to be incorporated into German borders.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ww2db.com/event/timeline/1935/ |title=1935 Timeline |publisher=WW2DB |access-date=2011-02-09}}</ref>
June 18
: The [[Anglo-German Naval Agreement]] is signed by Germany and the United Kingdom. The agreement allows Germany to build a fleet that's 35% the tonnage of the British fleet. In this way, the British hope to limit German naval rearmament.
August 31
: The [[Neutrality Act of 1935]] is passed in the United States imposing a general embargo on trading in arms and war materials with all parties in a war and it also declared that American citizens traveling on ships of warring nations traveled at their own risk.
September 15
: The Reichstag passes the [[Nuremberg Laws]], institutionalizing discrimination against Jews and providing the legal framework for the systematic persecution of Jews in Germany.
October 3
: Italy invades Ethiopia, beginning the [[Second Italo-Ethiopian War]]. The League of Nations denounces Italy and calls for an oil embargo that fails.<ref>RAC Parker,  "Great Britain, France and the Ethiopian Crisis 1935–1936." ''English Historical Review'' 89.351 (1974): 293–332. {{jstor|565844}}</ref>

November 14 
: Final [[1935 United Kingdom general election|British General election]] until 1945. [[Stanley Baldwin]] replaces [[Ramsay MacDonald]] as Prime Minister.

==1936==
January 20
: [[George V]], King of the United Kingdom dies.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Watson|first=Francis|date=December 1986|title=The death of George V|url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11645856/|journal=History Today|volume=36|pages=21–30|issn=0018-2753|pmid=11645856}}</ref> [[Edward VIII|The Prince of Wales]] succeeds him as King Edward VIII. 
February 6
: Germany hosts the [[1936 Winter Olympics]] in [[Garmisch-Partenkirchen]], Bavaria.
February 26
: The [[February 26 incident]] occurs in Japan where a group of 1,400 officers and soldiers of the [[Imperial Way Faction|Imperial Way faction]] stage a military coup which lasts until February 29 when the government suppresses the rebellion.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kawamura |first=Noriko |title=Emperor Hirohito and the Pacific War |publisher=University of Washington Press |year=2015 |isbn=9780295806310 |pages=62–65}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=September 22, 2021 |title=The Road to Pearl Harbor: The Long Fuse |url=https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/road-to-pearl-harbor-the-long-fuse |access-date=October 9, 2023 |website=The National WWII Museum}}</ref>
March 7
: In violation of the [[Treaty of Versailles]], Germany [[Remilitarisation of the Rhineland|remilitarizes the Rhineland]].
: Following the Rhineland move Hitler met separately with French journalist [[Bertrand de Jouvenel]] and British analyst  [[Arnold J. Toynbee]] emphasizing his limited expansionist aim of building a greater German nation, and his desire for British understanding and cooperation.<ref>William H. McNeill, ''Arnold J. Toynbee: A Life'' (1989)  p.  172</ref>
:King Edward VIII, over the head of [[National Government (1935–1937)|the Baldwin Government]], orders the military to stand down in relation to the move. 
March 25
: The [[Second London Naval Treaty]] is signed by the United Kingdom, United States, and France. Italy and Japan each declined to sign this treaty.
May 5
:Italian troops [[March of the Iron Will|march into the Ethiopian capital]], Addis Ababa, marking the end of the Second Italo–Abyssinian War.
June 3
:Luftwaffe Chief of Staff General [[Walther Wever (general)|Walther Wever]] loses his life in an air crash, ending any hope for the Luftwaffe to ever have a [[strategic bombing]] force similar to the Allies. 
[[File:Republican troops during the July 1936 uprising in Barcelona.jpg|thumb|Fighting during the initial beginning of the Spanish Civil War, July 1936.]]
July 18
: The [[Spanish coup of July 1936]] by Nationalist forces marks the beginning of the [[Spanish Civil War]].  The coup initially begins in [[Spanish Morocco]] when a garrison of Spanish Foreign Legion soldiers rebel. This rebellion later spreads across the whole country.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wilson |first=Sande John |url=https://scholarworks.umt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3463&context=etd |title=German intervention in the Spanish Civil War, 1936–1939 |publisher=University of Montana |year=1967 |pages=6 & 7 |access-date=July 27, 2023 |via=ScholarWorks @ University of Montana}}</ref>
August 1
: Germany hosts the [[1936 Summer Olympics]] in Berlin.
August 19
: Commencement of the first [[Moscow show trials]] against [[Old Bolshevik]] Party leaders and top officials of the Soviet secret police.
October
:The [[Great Purge]] commences in the Soviet Union with widespread repression of suspected opponents of the regime. The purge leads to the imprisonment and death of many military officers, weakening the Soviet Armed Forces ahead of World War II.
October 18
:[[Göring]] is made head of the German [[Four Year Plan]], an effort to make Germany self-sufficient through [[autarky]] and increase armaments.
November 3
:Franklin D. Roosevelt wins [[1936 United States presidential election|reelection]] defeating [[Alf Landon]].
November 14
: [[Suiyuan campaign]] begins as Japanese-backed Mongolian troops attack the Chinese garrison at Hongort.
November 15
: The aerial German [[Condor Legion]] goes into action for the first time in the Spanish Civil War in support of the Nationalist side.
November 25
: The [[Anti-Comintern Pact]] is signed by Japan and Germany. The signing parties agree to go to war with the Soviet Union if one of the signatories is attacked by the Soviet Union.
December 1
: [[Hitler]] makes it mandatory for all males between the ages 10–18 to join the [[Hitler Youth]].
December 12
: Kuomintang marshal [[Zhang Xueliang]] kidnaps Chinese leader [[Chiang Kai-shek]] in order to compel the Kuomintang to make a truce with the Chinese Communist party for the purpose of fighting the invading Japanese. 
:Edward VIII is forced to abdicate due to his marriage to [[Wallis Simpson]] and is succeeded by Albert, Duke of York, who assumes the name King [[George VI]]
December 23
:The first 3,000 men of the Italian expeditionary force (later named [[Corpo Truppe Volontarie]]) lands in Cadiz in support of the Nationalist side in the Spanish Civil War.
December 24
:The [[Second United Front]] is formed between the Chinese Communist party and the Kuomintang, temporarily suspending the Chinese Civil War for the sake of fighting the Japanese.

==1937==
January 20
:[[Franklin D. Roosevelt|President Roosevelt]] begins his second term. 
February 21
:The [[Non-Intervention Committee]] of the [[League of Nations]] prohibits foreign intervention or involvement in the Spanish Civil War.
26 April
: [[Bombing of Guernica]] by the German [[Condor Legion]] and the Italian [[Aviazione Legionaria]] at the behest of Franco's Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War. The bombing claims many civilian lives and draws widespread condemnation internationally. 
May 7
:The Condor Legion Fighter Group is deployed in Spain and begins to aid the Falangists.
May 28
:[[Neville Chamberlain]] becomes [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Neville Chamberlain |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Neville-Chamberlain |access-date=September 3, 2023 |website=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref>
June 21
:[[Léon Blum]]'s coalition government collapses.
July 7
: The [[Marco Polo Bridge incident]] occurs, beginning the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]]. Some scholars consider this to be the start of [[World War II]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Liberation in China and the Pacific |url=https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/liberation-china-and-pacific |access-date=2023-09-08 |website=The National WWII Museum |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Marco Polo Bridge Incident |url=https://totallyhistory.com/marco-polo-bridge-incident/ |access-date=September 9, 2023 |website=TotallyHistory|date=3 June 2013 }}</ref> Japanese forces were doing military exercises near the Marco Polo Bridge;<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Marco Polo Bridge Incident |url=https://totallyhistory.com/marco-polo-bridge-incident/ |access-date=January 1, 2024 |website=TotallyHistory|date=3 June 2013 }}</ref> which begun on July 6<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Crowley |first=James B. |date=May 1963 |title=A Reconsideration of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2050187 |journal=The Journal of Asian Studies |volume=22 |issue=3 |pages=277–291 |doi=10.2307/2050187 |jstor=2050187 |quote=Because these exercises had been in progress since June 6... |url-access=subscription }}</ref> which the Chinese objected to but let occur. The Chinese requested that locals be informed of exercises occurring at night which the Japanese promised but did not end up doing this.<ref name=":4" /> During that night Captain Shimizu reported one of his soldiers, Private Shimura as being missing as he was not present during a rollcall but later reappeared 20 minutes later. However Shimizu postponed reporting Shimura's return by 4 hours for unknown reasons.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Whitehurst |first=G. William |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2fcQEAAAQBAJ |title=The China Incident: Igniting the Second Sino-Japanese War |date=2020 |publisher=McFarland, Inc. |isbn=9781476641355 |pages=1–3 |type=eBook |via=Google Books}}</ref> The Japanese demanded they be granted access to search for the missing soldier in Chinese territory but the Chinese refused this request. Whether it was the Japanese or Chinese forces that fired first is unclear.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Fuchs |first1=Eckhardt |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pZlBDwAAQBAJ |title=A New Modern History of East Asia |last2=Saaler |first2=Sven |last3=Kasahara |first3=Tokushi |year=2017 |publisher=Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, V&R unipress |isbn=9783737007085 |page=232 |via=Google Books}}</ref>
August 8
: Japanese forces [[Battle of Beiping–Tianjin|occupy the city of Beijing]].
August 13
: Second Sino-Japanese War: [[Battle of Shanghai]] commences.
October 5
:[[Franklin D. Roosevelt|President Roosevelt]] gives the [[Quarantine Speech]] outlining a move away from neutrality and towards "quarantining" all aggressors.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Glass |first=Andrew |date=October 5, 2018 |title=FDR calls for 'quarantine' of aggressor nations, Oct. 5, 1937 |work=[[Politico]] |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/05/fdr-quarantine-aggressor-nations-1937-855522 |access-date=July 23, 2023}}</ref>
October 13
:Germany notifies Belgium that its sovereignty will be guaranteed as long as Belgium refrains from taking part in military action against Germany.
November 5
:Adolf Hitler holds a [[Hossbach Memorandum|secret meeting in the Reich Chancellery]] and discusses the need for "[[lebensraum]]." 
November 6
:Italy joins the [[Anti-Comintern Pact]].
November 26
: Second Sino-Japanese War: [[Battle of Shanghai]] ends in Japanese victory as Chinese forces evacuate the city. 
December 1
: Second Sino-Japanese War: [[Battle of Nanjing]] commences as Japanese forces attack the city. 
December 8
: Japan established the puppet state of [[Mengjiang]] in the Inner Mongolia region of the [[Republic of China]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ww2db.com/event/timeline/1937/ |title=1937 Timeline |publisher=WW2DB |access-date=2011-02-09}}</ref>
December 11
: Italy leaves the League of Nations.
December 12
: The [[USS Panay incident|USS ''Panay'' incident]] occurs, where Japanese aircraft attacked the American gunboat ''Panay'' which was carrying American evacuees and escorting four Standard Oil Barges. 3 people end up being killed in the attack while 11 are wounded; which leads to a diplomatic crisis between the US and Japan.<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 9, 2010 |title=USS Panay sunk by Japanese |url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/uss-panay-sunk-by-japanese |access-date=August 3, 2023 |website=History.com}}</ref>
December 13
: Second Sino-Japanese War: start of the [[Rape of Nanjing]] following Japanese victory in the [[Battle of Nanjing]].

==1938==
[[File:Le Mémorial aux juifs assassinés dEurope (Berlin) (2704805986).jpg|thumb|Aftermath of ''Kristallnacht'', the Night of Broken Glass (9–10 November 1938)]]
January 26
: The [[Allison incident]] occurs further straining relations between Japan and the United States.
March 6
: Japanese troops reach the Yellow River in China.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=http://ww2db.com/event/timeline/1938/ |title=1938 Timeline |publisher=WW2DB |access-date=2011-02-09}}</ref>
March 13
: The [[Anschluss]]: Germany annexes [[Federal State of Austria|Austria]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lemkin |first=Raphael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ChhmqYeVS80C |title=Axis Rule in Occupied Europe: Laws of Occupation, Analysis of Government, Proposals for Redress |publisher=Lawbook Exchange |orig-year=1944 |year=2005 |page=64 |chapter= IV: Nationality |isbn=9781584775768 }}</ref>
March 24
: Second Sino-Japanese War: [[Battle of Taierzhuang]] commences. The battle ends with Chinese victory on 7 April after intense house-to-house fighting inside the city of Taierzhuang.
: Second Sino-Japanese War: [[Battle of Xuzhou]] begins, and ends in Japanese victory on May 1 as Chinese troops break out from the encircled city. 
July 6–16
: [[Évian Conference]]: The United States and the United Kingdom refuse to accept any more Jewish refugees.
July 29
: The [[Soviet–Japanese border conflicts]] begin with the [[Battle of Lake Khasan]].
August
: Soviet Union wins the Battle of Lake Khasan against Japan.
September 27
: U.S. President Roosevelt sends a letter to German Führer [[Adolf Hitler]] seeking peace.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=15544 |title=Letter to Adolf Hitler Seeking Peace, September 27, 1938 |publisher=The American Presidency Project |access-date=2014-03-21}}</ref>
September 30
: The [[Munich Agreement]] is signed by Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Italy. The agreement allows Germany to annex the Czechoslovak [[Sudetenland]] area in exchange for peace in an attempt to [[appease]] Hitler.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Lemkin |first1=Raphael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ChhmqYeVS80C&q=munich%20agreement |title=Axis Rule in Occupied Europe Laws of Occupation, Analysis of Government, Proposals for Redress |last2=Power |first2=Samantha |publisher=Lawbook Exchange |year=2005 |isbn=9781584775768 |page=131 |via=Google Books}}</ref> Related: {{Slink|Polish–Czechoslovak border conflicts|Annexations by Poland in 1938}}.
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-R69173, Münchener Abkommen, Staatschefs.jpg|thumb|From left to right: [[Neville Chamberlain|Chamberlain]], [[Daladier]], [[Hitler]], [[Mussolini]], and [[Galeazzo Ciano|Ciano]] pictured before signing the Munich Agreement, which gave the Sudetenland to Germany.]]
October 5
:Germany invalidates the passports of all its Jewish citizens who are reissued passports with the letter "J" stamped in red. This change was made after requests by Sweden and Switzerland who wanted a way of easily denying Jews entry into their countries.[https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/J-passen][https://www.levandehistoria.se/fakta-om-forintelsen/judeforfoljelserna-under-1930-talet/ett-j-i-alla-tyska-judars-pass]
November 7
:Polish-German Jew [[Herschel Grynszpan]] shoots the German consular aide [[Ernst vom Rath]] in Paris.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Pauley|first=Bruce E.|date=July 1991|title=The Day the Holocaust Began: The Odyssey of Herschel Grynszpan|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03612759.1991.9949500|journal=History: Reviews of New Books|volume=20|issue=1|pages=37–38|doi=10.1080/03612759.1991.9949500|issn=0361-2759|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
November 9
: The Nazis use von Rath's death as the pretext for the [[Kristallnacht]] [[Pogrom]] in Germany; thousands of Jewish shops and synagogues are smashed, looted, burned, and destroyed throughout the country.<ref name=":0" />

==1939==
[[File:1939-07-31.svg|thumb|upright=1.35|The world powers in 1939, before the start of World War II.]]
January 25
:A [[uranium]] atom is split for the first time at Columbia University in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ww2db.com/event/timeline/1939/ |title=1939 Timeline |publisher=WW2DB |access-date=2011-02-09}}</ref>
January 27
: [[Hitler]] orders [[Plan Z]], a 5-year naval expansion programme intended to provide for a huge German fleet capable of defeating the British [[Royal Navy]] by 1944. The ''[[Kriegsmarine]]'' is given the first priority on the allotment of German economic resources. This is the first and only time the ''Kriegsmarine'' is given the first priority in the history of the Third Reich.
March 14
:The [[Slovak Republic (1939–1945)|Slovak Republic]], a pro-German puppet state, is established.
March 15
: Germany [[Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–1945)|occupies and annexes]] [[Bohemia]] and [[Moravia-Silesia]] in violation of the Munich Agreement. The Czechs do not attempt to put up any organized resistance, having lost their main defensive line with the annexation of the Sudetenland.
: Germany establishes the [[Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia]]. The [[Second Czechoslovak Republic]] is dissolved.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rawson |first=Andrew |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wk8IEAAAQBAJ |title=Poland's Struggle: Before, During and After the Second World War |publisher=Pen & Sword Books |year=2019 |isbn=9781526743930 |via=Google Books}}</ref>
: Hungary invades the recently created [[Carpatho-Ukraine]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Liber |first=George |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yNgQDAAAQBAJ |title=Total Wars and the Making of Modern Ukraine, 1914–1954 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=2016 |isbn=9781442627086 |page=202 |via=Google Books}}</ref>

March 20
: German Foreign Minister [[Joachim von Ribbentrop]] delivers [[1939 German ultimatum to Lithuania|an oral ultimatum to Lithuania]], demanding that it cede the [[Klaipėda Region]] (German name ''Memel'') to Germany.
March 21
: [[Hitler]] demands the return of the [[Free City of Danzig]] to Germany.
March 23
: [[German–Romanian Treaty for the Development of Economic Relations between the Two Countries]] is signed.
: Germany annexes the Klaipėda Region.
: Germany and Slovakia sign the ''Schutzzonenvertrag zwischen Deutschland und Slowakei'' (Treaty on the protective relationship between Germany and the Slovak State), creating the [[German Zone of Protection in Slovakia]].
: The [[Slovak–Hungarian War]] begins.
March 25

: [[King Zog]] of [[Albanian Kingdom (1928–1939)|Albania]] refuses Italy's ultimatum demanding to hand over control of the country.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Rawson |first=Andrew |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xs9xEAAAQBAJ |title=Balkan Struggles: A Century of Civil War, Invasion, Communism and Genocide |publisher=Pen & Sword Military |year=2021 |isbn=9781526761477 |page=46 |via=Google Books}}</ref>

March 31
: The United Kingdom and France offer a guarantee of Polish independence.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Higgins |first=David R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y3ndDwAAQBAJ&dq=Hitler+renounces+poland+non-aggression&pg=PA6 |title=German Soldier Vs Polish Soldier: Poland 1939 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=2020 |isbn=9781472841728 |page=6 |quote=British and French efforts to avoid another European war quickly disintegrated, and on 31 March Poland secured agreements with both countries for their military intervention should Germany invade. |via=Google Books}}</ref>
: The Slovak–Hungarian War ends.
April 1
: The [[Spanish Civil War]] ends in Nationalist victory. Spain becomes a dictatorship with [[Francisco Franco]] as the head of the new government serving until his death in 1975.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Palombo |first=Megan |url=https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/bitstream/handle/2152/29656/Megan_Palombo_Thesis.pdf?sequence=2 |title=Art and Mass Communication as Political Activism During the Spanish Civil War  |publisher=[[University of Texas at Austin]] |year=2015 |page=13 |type=Thesis}}</ref>
April 3
: [[Hitler]] orders the German military to start planning for [[Fall Weiss (1939)|Fall Weiss]] (Case White), the codename for the attack on Poland, planned to be launched on August 25, 1939.
April 4
: Hungary and Slovakia sign the Budapest Treaty, handing over a strip of eastern Slovak territory to Hungary.
April 7–12
: In response to refusing their ultimatum,  [[Italian invasion of Albania|Italy invades Albania]] with little military resistance in the way. Albania is later annexed and made part of Italy through a [[Kingdom of Albania in personal union with Italy (1939–1943)|personal union of the Italian and Albanian crown]].<ref name=":3" />
April 14
: U.S. President Roosevelt sends letter to German Chancellor [[Hitler]] and Italian Prime Minister [[Mussolini]] seeking peace.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=15741 |title=Message to Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. April 14, 1939. |publisher=The American Presidency Project |access-date=2014-03-21}}</ref>
April 18
: The Soviet Union proposes a tripartite alliance with the United Kingdom and France. It is rejected.<ref name="carley">{{cite journal |first=Michael Jabara |last=Carley |title=End of the 'Low, Dishonest Decade': Failure of the Anglo–Franco–Soviet Alliance in 1939 |journal=Europe-Asia Studies |volume=45 |issue=2 |year=1993 |pages=303–341 |doi=10.1080/09668139308412091 }}</ref>
April 28
: In a speech before the ''Reichstag''{{Citation needed|date=July 2023}}, [[Hitler]] renounces the [[Anglo-German Naval Agreement]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Anglo-German Naval Agreement |url=https://totallyhistory.com/the-anglo-german-naval-agreement/ |access-date=July 23, 2023 |website=TotallyHistory|date=26 May 2013 }}</ref>
April 29
: Hitler renounces the [[German–Polish declaration of non-aggression]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Higgins |first=David R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y3ndDwAAQBAJ&dq=Hitler+renounces+poland+non-aggression&pg=PA6 |title=German Soldier Vs Polish Soldier: Poland 1939 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=2020 |isbn=9781472841728 |pages=6 |quote="On 29 April Hitler ominously renounces Germany's non-aggression pact with Poland."}}</ref>[[File:Japanese soldiers creeping in front of wrecked Soviet tanks.jpg|thumb|Japanese infantry at the [[Battle of Khalkin Gol]] near two wrecked Soviet armored cars, July 1939.]]
May 9
: Spain leaves the League of Nations.
May 11
: [[Soviet–Japanese border conflicts]]: The [[Battle of Khalkhin Gol]] begins with Japan and [[Manchukuo]] against the Soviet Union and Mongolia. The battle ends in Soviet victory on September 16, influencing the Japanese not to seek further conflict with the Soviets, but to turn towards the Pacific holdings of the Euro-American powers instead.
May 17
: Sweden, Norway, and Finland reject Germany's offer of non-aggression pacts.
May 22
: The [[Pact of Steel]], known formally <!--i.e. full name NOT previously--> as the "Pact of Friendship and Alliance between Germany and Italy", is signed by [[Kingdom of Italy|Fascist Italy]] and [[Nazi Germany]]. The Pact declares further cooperation between the two powers, but in a secret supplement the Pact is detailed as a military alliance.
May 31
: Denmark and Germany sign a non-aggression pact which is later broken when [[German invasion of Denmark (1940)|Germany invades Denmark the following year]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Judgement : The Invasion of Denmark and Norway |url=https://avalon.law.yale.edu/imt/juddenma.asp |access-date=September 3, 2023 |website=Yale Law School Lillian Goldman Law Library: The Avalon Project  Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy}}</ref>
June 7
: The [[German–Estonian Non-Aggression Pact|German–Estonian]] and the [[German–Latvian Non-Aggression Pact|German–Latvian]] non-aggression pacts are concluded. They will remain in force for ten years. 
June 14
: The [[Tientsin incident]] occurs, in which the Japanese blockade the British concession in the North China Treaty Port of Tientsin, now called [[Tianjin]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Scully |first=Jon Christopher |url=https://etheses.bham.ac.uk/id/eprint/4148/1/Scully13MPhil.pdf |title=From Alliance to Enmity: Anglo–Japanese Relations From, 1930 to 1939 |publisher=[[University of Birmingham]] |year=2011 |type=Thesis}}</ref>
July 10
: Prime Minister [[Neville Chamberlain]] reaffirms support for Poland and makes it clear that Britain did not view [[Free City of Danzig]] as being an internal German-Polish affair and would intervene on behalf of Poland if hostilities broke out between the two countries.
August 2
: The [[Einstein–Szilard letter]] is sent to [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|President Roosevelt]]. Written by [[Leo Szilard]] and signed by [[Albert Einstein]], it warned of the danger that Germany might develop [[atomic bombs]]. This letter prompted action by Roosevelt and eventually resulted in the [[Manhattan Project]].
August 23
: The [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact]] is signed between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, with secret provisions for the division of Eastern Europe – joint [[occupation of Poland]] and Soviet [[occupation of the Baltic States|occupation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania]], [[Winter War|Finland]] and [[Occupation of the Baltic states|Bessarabia]]. This protocol removes the threat of Soviet intervention during the German invasion of Poland.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Rawson |first=Andrew |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wk8IEAAAQBAJ |title=Poland's Struggle: Before, During and After the Second World War |publisher=Pen & Sword Books |year=2019 |isbn=9781526743930 |chapter= |via=Google Books}}</ref>
August 25
: In response to a message from Mussolini that Italy will not honor the Pact of Steel if Germany attacks Poland, Hitler delays the launch of the invasion by five days to provide more time to secure British and French neutrality.<ref name=":2" />
August 28
: [[Tarnów train station bombing]]: A German agent named Antoni Guzy leaves a bomb inside two suitcases at the Tarnów train station in Poland that later explodes killing 24 people. It was one of several incidents carried by Germany in Poland during the summer of 1939 to justify invasion.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Moorhouse |first=Roger |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SqGsDwAAQBAJ |title=Poland 1939: The Outbreak of World War II |publisher=Basic Books |year=2020 |isbn=9780465095414 |chapter= Prologue – An Unremarkable Man |type=E-book |via=Google Books}}</ref>
August 30
: Nazi Germany issues an ultimatum to Poland concerning the [[Polish Corridor]] and the [[Free City of Danzig]].<ref name=":2" />
: [[Gleiwitz incident]]:  Germany stages a false flag attack on the German radio station Sender Gleiwitz to manufacture a pretext for war with Poland.<ref name=":2" />
September 1
: Without response to its ultimatum, [[Invasion of Poland|Germany invades Poland]], starting [[World War II]] (the [[Soviet invasion of Poland|Soviet Union invades Poland]] on September 17).<ref name=":2" />

==See also==
* [[International relations (1919–1939)]]
* [[Causes of World War II]]
* [[Timeline of World War I]]
* [[List of timelines of World War II]]
* [[Events preceding World War II in Europe]]
* [[Events preceding World War II in Asia]]

==Notes and references==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Thorne, Christopher G. ''The Approach of War, 1938–1939'' (1969) [https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/bbm%3A978-1-349-15234-6%2F1.pdf  chronological table 1938–1939 pp 205–210]

==External links==
* [http://avalon.law.yale.edu/subject_menus/ylbkmenu.asp French Yellow Book]
* [http://avalon.law.yale.edu/subject_menus/nazsov.asp Nazi-Soviet relations 1939–1941] 
* [http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/nsr/nsr-preface.html Nazi-Soviet relations 1939–1941 (complete)]
* [http://avalon.law.yale.edu/subject_menus/blbkmenu.asp British War Bluebook]

{{World War II}}

[[Category:20th-century timelines]]
[[Category:Chronology of World War II|Events preceding World War II]]
[[Category:History of international relations]]
[[Category:Interwar period|*]]
[[Category:Modern history timelines]]

[[de:Chronologie Zweiter Weltkrieg#Vorgeschichte]]