Weimar World

1920

• 14 March: Central Schleswig votes to rejoin Germany by 90%.
• 31 March: Adolf Hitler is deported to Austria for being a political spy within the Wehrmacht.
• 19 April: Germany and Soviet Russia agree to exchange war prisoners.
• 15 June: North Schleswig votes to rejoin Germany.
• 20 June: Gustav Stresemann becomes Foreign Minister of Germany.

1921

• 16 January: Briand becomes Prime Minister of France.
• 23 March: A plebiscite in Upper Silesia favours reunion with Germany.
• 3 May: Polish forces invade Upper Silesia.
• 4 May: Stresemann persuades Briand to force the Poles to leave.
• 1 July: Stresemann and Briand begin negotiations regarding Germany's payment of reparations.

1922

• 15 January: Stresemann secures loans to Germany, allowing the Reichsmark to be fixed to a gold standard.
• 16 April: The Treaty of Rapallo is signed between Germany and Soviet Russia. Both countries renounce financial and territorial claims against each other.
• 21 July: High inflation begins in Austria.
• 27 October: Mussolini establishes his Fascist dictatorship in Italy.

1923

• 11 January: Stresemann persuades Briand not to send troops into the Ruhr area,after a late reparation payment..
• 13 August: Stresemann becomes Chancellor of Germany.
• 19 November: A plebiscite in Eupen-Malmedy favours reunion with Germany.
• 26 December: After German demands, a plebiscite is held in Alsace-Lorraine.
• 27 December: When it becomes known that the referendum resulted in a stalemate, France threatens to invade unless Germany backs down.
• 28 December: Britain proposes a division of the region into Alsace (ceded to Germany) and Lorraine (ceded to France). Germany accepts.
• 29 December: France accepts.

1924

• 28 February: German President Ebert makes a state visit to Great Britain. This marks a period of reconciliation between the two countries.
• 1 December: The Locarno Treaty is signed between Germany and the Western countries. Germany accepts her western borders.

1925

• 14 January: Germany joins the League of Nations and becomes the fifth permanant Council member.
• 10 September: After heavy lobbying from Germany, a plebiscite is held in the Memel territory.

1926

• 24 April: Germany and the Soviet Union sign the Berlin Treaty, pledging neutrality in the event of an attack by a third party.

1927

• 9 November: Stresemann signs the Treaty of Munich with Czechoslovakia recognising the border between Germany and Czechoslovakia in return for concessions to the German minority in the Sudetenland, including recognition of German as an official language of Czechoslovakia and a minimum number of spots in the Czech cabinet for ethnic Germans.

1928

• 24 October: Chancellor Stresemann dies of a heart attack. Hindenburg declares one day of national mourning.

1929

• 10 December: The Wall Street stock market crashes and causes the Great Depression worldwide.

1930

• 17 March: Britain and Germany agree to a moratorium on reparations.

1931

• 13 September: The Reichsbank crisis occurs.
• 19 September: Japan launches an invasion of Manchuria.

1932

• 10 April: Hindenburg is elected President of Germany.

1933

• 7 August: Nationalist Party leader Goerdeler is elected Chancellor.

1934

• 21 March: The Austrian Civil War starts between Hitler's faction and Dolfuss' faction.
• 22 March: The Socialists join in and take over Vienna.
• 5 May: The League of Nations declares an arms embargo of both sides of the war.
• 7 May: Italy begins sending aid to the Hitler and Dolfuss factions.
• 9 May: The Soviet Union sends aid to the Socialists in Austria.
• 2 July: President Hindenburg dies. A national day of mourning is decreed by Goerdeler.

1935

• 13 January: The Saar region votes to rejoin Germany.
• 20 May: Under pressure from Great Britain and with worsening economic problems, France acquiesces to "limited" German rearmament. Afterward, the rapid ‘development’ of the Wehrmacht makes previous German covert rearming apparent, but the Great Powers turn a blind eye to this.
• 3 June: Germany presses for a plebiscite in Posen. Britain ignores Polish protests and accepts.
• 4 June: Posen votes to rejoin Germany by over 90%.
• 30 August: A token military force enters the Rhineland. The French government proclaims this as a great diplomatic victory, as the German force is not even strong enough to defend the Rhineland, posting no threat to France. The German government points to this as the full restoration of German sovereignty and the return of Germany as a full member of the international family of nations.
• 3 October: Italy invades Abyssnia.

1936

• 30 May: Italy completes its conquest of Abyssnia.
• 2 June: Italy leaves the League of Nations.
• 10 June: The Spanish Civil War starts.
• 1 September: "Red" Vienna falls to an attack from Dolfuss' forces but is attacked by Hitler's forces.
• 20 September: Fed up with the chaos in Austria and civil war in Spain, Germany is encouraged to intervene. German troops stream over the border and are regarded as saviours by the war-weary Austrians.
• 21 September: To reassure Britain and France and to cement growing relations, Germany and Czechoslovakia sign a treaty of mutual defence.
• 21 October: Hitler commits suicide in his hideout in the Alps. The fighting subsides as the last ofthe factions surrender.
• 22 October: Dolfuss retires from politics.
• 9 November: Italy acquiesces to German occupation of Austria and a vote on a political union.

1937

• 14 February: The Austrians overwhelmingly vote for unification with Germany.
• 12 April: Italy and Hungary sign a pact of mutual defence, called the Rome-Budapest Axis by Mussolini.
• 24 July: Germany proposes a referendum in Danzig and the Polish Corridor. Poland refuses.
• 20 August: The Polish President accepts the proposal of a referendum but demands that it happens by mid-September.
• 15 September: The plebicites in the Polish Corridor and Danzig our held and favour reunification with Germany.
• 16 September: When the results become known, Poland claims that Germany rigged it and begin to move troops into the Polish Corridor as a "stabilising measure."
• 17 September: Germany launches an aerial invasion of the Polish Corridor. Paratroopers land with in Polish lines and send them in fleeing in confusion. Troops from Germany take advantage of the situation and punch through to East Prussia.
• 18 September: Czech troops starts mobilising and launch an invasion of Galicia.
• 25 September: German and Czech troops take up defensive positions.
• 26 September: Britain and France meet with Germany to discuss the Polish Crisis. In return for allowing Germany to keep the captured territory, Germany must accept the rest of her eastern borders with Poland. The Polish government is forces to accept what is referred to as "the selling-out of Poland."

1938

• 15 January: Poland joins the Axis.
• 1 May: Germany, Finland, Czechoslovakia, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia announce a European Alliance to defend against fascism and communism. Britain quietly gives assurances of support for the group.

1939

• 9 February: Bulgaria joins the Axis Pact of Steel.
• 17 April: Italy invades Albania.
• 23 June: The Spanish Civil War comes to an end as Franco's forces have reached Madrid. Spain is declared a fascist country.
• 1 October: Italy, Bulgaria and Hungary launch an invasion of Yugoslavia. German forces mobilise in Austria but France and Britain demand that the Axis meet for mediation.
• 4 November: The Trieste Conference results in Italy and her allies being forced to accept some token concessions.
• 9 December: Yuooslavia requests admission to the European Alliance. After heavy lobbying from Germany, the Alliance accepts them.

1940

• 1 September: After negotiations for Romania to join the Axis in return for land concessions, Hungary and Bulgaria launch an invasion of Romania.
• 25 December: Romanian civilians celebrate as the last of the Bulgarian and Hungarian forces retreat.

1941

• 20 January: Romania joins the European Alliance.
• 1 June: As relations with Japan remain strained and Europe seems more risky with the European Alliance and the Axis Pact of Steel, the Soviet Union begins a build-up on the Soviet-Manchurian border.
• 9 August: The Second Russo-Japanese War begins.
• 12 August: The Battle of Vladivostock. The Japanese Navy pound the Russian fleet into oblivion and proceed to shell the Russian port and naval base to pieces.
• 18 August: Japan begins an invasion of Sakhalin Island.

1942

• 9 March: Soviet forces march towards Harbin in Manchuria.
• 17 March: Harbin falls to the Soviets.
• 15 May: A ceasefire between China and Japan allows the latter to move troops to face the Soviets.
• 6 June: An Japanese air campaign wipes out the majority of the Soviet air force.
• 12 July: Japan withdraws from Manchuria and set up a vigorous defensive line protecting the Korean peninsula.
• 15 July: Soviet forces arrive at the Japanese lines and, unable to outflank it, attempt to punch straight through but are repulsed.
• 17 July: The United States steps in and brokers a peace. Korea and Sakhalin Island remain in Japanese hands. Manchuria is returned to China.

1943

• 1 May: Alarmed at the aggressiveness of the Soviet Union during the war and impressed at the demonstrations of the German fighter jet, Sweden and Norway join the European Alliance.
• 28 October: The Axis attempt an invasion of Greece. Italy and Bulgaria don't get very far.
• 20 November: Britain begins supplying Greece with supplies and weapons.
• 21 November: Greece launches a counter-offensive regaining much of the captured territory.
• 1 December: Faced with French disinterst in an confrontation with Italy, Britain turns to Germany and the European Alliance. They send a joint demand for the Axis to withdraw or risk war.
• 2 December: The armed forces of the European Alliance begin mobilising. The Axis hold an emergency conference in Rome.
• 3 December: The Axis begin withdrawing from Greece. Germany invites Greece and Turkey to join the European Alliance. Britain joins the EA.

1944

• 7 February: Turkey joins the European Alliance. With borders with both communist and fascists, they consider this their best option.
• 21 February: Greece joins the European Alliance. With their pre-Greek Crisis neutrality stad shot to bits by the invasion, they feel joing the EA is the safest course of action.
• 8 December: Denmark joins the European Alliance, completing the EA's control of the Baltic.

1945

• 2 March: Italian forces cross into Tunisia from Libya. Mussolini demands an apology from the French government.
• 9 March: Mussolini starts a massive military build-up in Libya.
• 4 April: Italian forces cross into Tunisia and smash through the French defences.
• 5 April: French troops withdraw north.
• 19 April: Italy starts an air campaign against the air fields of southern France and the island of Corsica.
• 22 May: Germany promises to stay neutral in the conflict.
• 10 July: The Italian air force starts bombing French cities.
• 11 July: France responds by bombing Italian cities.
• 3 August: French troops group in Equatorial Guinea and begin marching upwards to Libya.
• 19 August: The Italians find themsleves surrounded by French troops coming up into Libya and French troops pouring down into the Mediterranean.
• 9 October: Mussolini is forced to resign.
• 25 October: Italy surrenders to France.

1946

• 29 January: The British-mediated Treaty of Nice is signed. The French recovered French Somaliland and kept Libya and Sardinia. Albania was granted its independence. Abyssinia also regained its independence once more and was given Eritrea as a sea access, both as a reward for the Abyssinian insurrection that tied down Italian troops and to placate the UK, who did not wish to see the French presence grow in East Africa. Similarly, Italian Somaliland stayed in the hands of the Italians due to British worries about French encroachment in East Africa and their preference to have a now weak Italy in control of that area than a strong France. The Franco-Italian border was demilitarized. The Italian army was reduced to 200,000 men and prohibited from having chemical weapons or armored vehicles. Also the two newest remaining battleships, the Littorio and the Vittorio Veneto were taken by the French as war booty while the Italian navy had to discard their submarine fleet and was prohibited from building more battleships, aircraft carriers or ships with guns bigger than 12”. Italy’s bid to be a major power was over. Another result of this treaty was the effective end of the Axis alliance, as the Italians were forced to repudiate all previous security agreements.
• 26 August: The Phillipine Islands are awarded full independence by the United States.

1947

• 20 April: Gemany tests the first atomic bomb.

1948

• 12 March: A coup against the fascist government in Hungary occurs and is funded by the German government. A constitutional monarchy is established. In return for German support, the monarch renounces any claims to former Hapsburg land outside Hungary.
• 5 October: Japan is allowed back into the League of Nations.

1949