Japan invades Manchuria 1931 Japan Event Date Aggressor Country Notes Japan invades Manchuria 1931 Japan League of Nations condemned aggression but nothing more Italy Invades Ethiopia 1935 Italy Finally captured Ethiopia after failure in 1896 Hitler breaks Treaty of Versailles 1936 Germany Built up German military, sent troops into “demilitarized” Rhineland Spain Collapses into Civil War 1936-39 Spain Rise of Francisco Franco who becomes dictator; turmoil began as early as 1931; Ger helped Franco seize power Second Sino-Japanese War 1937 Western powers did not retaliate or stop Japan Neutrality Acts passed 1935-39 US Congress Forbade the selling of arms to any country at war; attempt to stay out of European war

Part of Anschluss; violated treaty of Versailles Event Date Aggressor Country Notes Austria Annexed 1938 Germany Part of Anschluss; violated treaty of Versailles Munich Conference Sept. 1938 Brit, France, etc Brit./France Chose APPEASEMENT Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis 1939 It, Ger, Jap Become the Axis Powers Germany seized Czechoslovakia March 1939 Hitler broke promise to not take any more land Nazi-Soviet Pact Aug. 1939 Germany-Soviet Hitler and Stalin promised not to attack each other; allowed Hitler to focus on Europe Invasion of Poland Sept. 1, 1939 Germany invaded Poland- forced Britain and France to declare war on Germany