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Natalia
Author
(823)
1895–1938
95
1939
72
1940
93
1941
118
1942
125
1943
98
1944
128
1945
94
1895
October
08
Key event
The assassination of Queen Min
At dawn on 8 October 1895 Japanese assassins broke into a Seoul palace and murdered Queen Min, wife of Gojong and Japan's chief opponent in Korea.
1917
November
07
Key event
The October Revolution
On 7 November 1917 Lenin's Bolsheviks took Petrograd almost unopposed and toppled the Provisional Government. The road to civil war and the USSR began.
1918
October
28
The Aster Revolution
On 28 October 1918 police fired on demonstrators at the Chain Bridge in Budapest. Three days later Mihály Károlyi took power in Hungary.
November
11
Key event
The Armistice of 11 November 1918
Early on 11 November 1918, in Foch’s carriage in the Forest of Compiègne, Germany signed an armistice with the Entente. At 11 a.m. the guns fell silent.
December
27
The Greater Poland Uprising begins
On 27 December 1918, a day after Paderewski arrived, shots rang out by the Hotel Bazar in Poznań. By night Poles held the station, post office and some forts.
1919
January
04
The Spartacist uprising
On 4 January 1919 Ebert sacked Berlin's police chief. The Freikorps crushed the ensuing rising in a week; Liebknecht and Luxemburg were killed on 15 January.
31
The Battle of George Square
On 31 January 1919 Glasgow police broke up a rally of strikers seeking a 40-hour week. The sheriff read the Riot Act and called in troops, who came overnight.
March
02
The founding of the Comintern
On 2 March 1919 communists from many countries met in the Kremlin. On 4 March they founded the Third International to build a world republic of soviets.
May
15
The Greek landing at Smyrna
On 15 May 1919 Greek troops landed at Smyrna with the consent of the powers. The shooting and killing of Turks that day inflamed Turkish resistance.
June
21
The scuttling of the German fleet at Scapa Flow
On 21 June 1919, on Admiral Ludwig von Reuter's orders, crews scuttled 52 interned German warships at Scapa Flow rather than hand them to the victors.
August
03
The Romanians enter Budapest
On 3 August 1919 General Rusescu’s Romanian cavalry rode into Budapest, followed by the main force on 4 August. The Hungarian–Romanian War was over.
08
The end of the Hungarian People's Republic
On 8 August 1919 István Friedrich, who had toppled Peidl two days earlier, signed as premier of the Hungarian Republic – no longer the People’s Republic.
September
12
D'Annunzio seizes Fiume
On 12 September 1919 the poet Gabriele D'Annunzio led mutinous soldiers and volunteers into Fiume and proclaimed its union with Italy in defiance of Rome.
1920
January
21
The end of the Paris Peace Conference
On 21 January 1920 the peace conference's council met for the last time with Clemenceau. Day-to-day business passed to the Conference of Ambassadors.
March
15
The Ruhr uprising
On 15 March 1920 workers at Wetter routed a Freikorps unit. A strike against the Kapp Putsch became an uprising, bloodily crushed in early April.
August
10
The Treaty of Sèvres
On 10 August 1920 the Sultan's government signed a peace at Sèvres carving up the Ottoman Empire. Mustafa Kemal's movement overturned it by force.
November
02
Roosevelt loses the vice-presidential race
On 2 November 1920 the Democrats James Cox and Franklin D. Roosevelt lost to Harding and Coolidge. The election became a verdict on Wilson's policies.
December
24
Bloody Christmas in Fiume
On Christmas Eve 1920 the Italian army attacked D'Annunzio's legionaries, who rejected the Treaty of Rapallo. After five days of fighting he gave up power.
1921
March
07
The Kronstadt rebellion
On 7 March 1921 the Red Army began its assault on Kronstadt, whose sailors demanded free soviets without the Bolsheviks. The revolt was crushed on 18 March.
18
The Peace of Riga
On 18 March 1921 Poland made peace with Soviet Russia and Soviet Ukraine at Riga, ending the war and fixing the eastern border the USSR broke in 1939.
August
25
The US separate peace treaties with Germany and Austria
On 24 and 25 August 1921 the US made separate peace with Austria and Germany, taking the victor's rights from the Paris treaties without the League of Nations.
November
09
The founding of the National Fascist Party
On 9 November 1921 a congress at Rome's Teatro Augusteo turned the Fasci di combattimento into the National Fascist Party, with Mussolini as its leader.
1922
March
01
Secret German–Soviet military cooperation begins
In spring 1922 the first Reichswehr officers travelled to Soviet Russia, opening a partnership in which Germany evaded the Versailles bans deep inside Russia.
November
01
The abolition of the Ottoman sultanate
On 1 November 1922 the Grand National Assembly in Ankara abolished the sultanate. The Ottoman dynasty lost power and Mehmed VI fled aboard a British warship.
1923
January
26
The First United Front in China
On 26 January 1923 Sun Yat-sen and the Soviet envoy Adolph Joffe issued a joint statement in Shanghai, opening the way to a Kuomintang–communist alliance.
June
14
Hyperinflation in Germany
On 14 June 1923 the dollar in Berlin passed 100,000 marks for the first time. By autumn it cost trillions, and German savings had been wiped out.
September
27
The end of the Corfu incident
On 27 September 1923 the Italians left Corfu. A day earlier the Conference of Ambassadors awarded them 50 million lire from Greece, its guilt unproven.
October
23
The Hamburg uprising
On 23 October 1923 communists in Hamburg attacked police stations. It was meant to be the “German October”; it ended in defeat after two days.
29
The proclamation of the Turkish Republic
On 29 October 1923 the Grand National Assembly in Ankara declared Turkey a republic and elected Mustafa Kemal as its first president.
1924
February
01
Britain recognises the USSR
On 1 February 1924 the first Labour government recognised the Soviet Union de jure. Britain was the first victorious great power to break Moscow's isolation.
April
01
Hitler sentenced
On 1 April 1924 a Munich court gave Hitler five years’ fortress confinement for the putsch, the minimum. Ludendorff was acquitted; Hitler was out by December.
June
10
The murder of Giacomo Matteotti
On 10 June 1924 a Fascist squad abducted and killed the Socialist Giacomo Matteotti in Rome. Mussolini ended the ensuing crisis by setting up a dictatorship.
August
18
The French withdrawal begins
On 18 August 1924, two days after the London Conference, the French left Offenburg and Appenweier in Baden. They evacuated the Ruhr gradually, by August 1925.
1925
April
04
The founding of the SS
On 4 April 1925 an eight-man guard for Hitler was formed in Munich. That autumn it became the Schutzstaffel (SS); under Himmler, an apparatus of terror.
December
01
Key event
The Locarno Treaties
On 1 December 1925 the Locarno agreements were signed in London. Germany recognised its borders with France and Belgium, but not with Poland or Czechoslovakia.
1926
April
24
The Treaty of Berlin (1926)
On 24 April 1926 Germany and the USSR signed a treaty of friendship and neutrality. After Locarno, Berlin assured Moscow it was keeping to the Rapallo policy.
December
25
The death of Emperor Taishō
On 25 December 1926 the gravely ill Emperor Yoshihito died at Hayama. The regent Hirohito took the throne and Japan entered the Shōwa era, which brought war.
1927
November
12
Trotsky expelled from the party
In November 1927, after opposition marches on the revolution's 10th anniversary, Trotsky and Zinoviev were expelled. Stalin had won the fight to succeed Lenin.
December
14
The Anglo-Iraqi treaty
On 14 December 1927 in London Britain recognised Iraq as independent and promised to back its entry to the League of Nations in 1932. Yet the mandate went on.
1928
May
28
The founding of the Chinese Red Army
In spring 1928 the forces of Zhu De and Mao Zedong joined up in the Jinggang Mountains, and the CCP leadership decided to call its troops the Red Army.
June
04
The assassination of Zhang Zuolin
On 4 June 1928 Kwantung Army officers blew up Zhang Zuolin's train near Mukden. The ruler of Manchuria died, and his son went over to the Nanjing government.
August
27
The Kellogg–Briand Pact
On 27 August 1928 fifteen states signed a treaty in Paris renouncing war as an instrument of national policy. It provided for no sanctions of any kind.
1929
February
09
The Litvinov Protocol
On 9 February 1929 in Moscow the USSR, Poland, Romania, Latvia and Estonia signed the Litvinov Protocol, bringing the Kellogg–Briand Pact into force early.
11
The Lateran Treaty
On 11 February 1929 Mussolini and Cardinal Gasparri signed the Lateran Treaty, ending Italy's quarrel with the papacy and creating the Vatican City State.
August
31
The Young Plan
On 31 August 1929 the Young Plan was adopted at The Hague. Reparations ran until 1988, and the Allies promised to leave the Rhineland by 30 June 1930.
October
29
Key event
The Wall Street Crash
On 29 October 1929, Black Tuesday, the New York stock market had the worst day of the crash. The Great Depression began, and it helped Hitler come to power.
1930
April
22
The London Naval Treaty
On 22 April 1930 five powers signed a naval treaty in London. It limited cruisers, destroyers and submarines, and set off a crisis in Japan.
June
30
The end of the occupation of the Rhineland
On 30 June 1930 the last French troops left the Mainz zone. The occupation of the Rhineland ended five years before the date set at Versailles.
1931
May
19
The launch of the Deutschland
On 19 May 1931 the Deutschland, Germany's first large warship since Versailles, was launched at Kiel – 10,000 tons on paper, with unexpectedly heavy guns.
September
19
The Japanese invasion of Manchuria begins
On 19 September 1931 the Kwantung Army took Mukden and the railway towns. Tokyo said it did not want the fighting to spread, but the army ignored it.
1932
February
27
The end of the fighting in Manchuria
By late February 1932 the Kwantung Army held every major city in Manchuria. Regular Chinese resistance had collapsed, but a guerrilla war was just beginning.
April
10
Hindenburg re-elected
On 10 April 1932 Paul von Hindenburg won the run-off with 53 per cent of the vote. Hitler took almost 37 per cent; the president owed his victory to the left.
July
25
The Polish–Soviet non-aggression pact
On 25 July 1932 in Moscow Poland and the USSR signed a three-year non-aggression pact. The USSR broke it on 17 September 1939 by invading Poland.
November
04
The pacification of Manchukuo
In the autumn of 1932 the Kwantung Army mounted large operations against the Chinese volunteer armies. The “bandit suppression” in Manchukuo lasted until 1942.
December
03
Schleicher becomes chancellor
On 3 December 1932 Hindenburg made General Kurt von Schleicher chancellor. He hoped to split the NSDAP and win the unions, but lasted under two months.
1933
January
30
Key event
Hitler becomes chancellor
On 30 January 1933 Hindenburg made Hitler Reich Chancellor. Papen's conservatives believed they could “fence him in”. Within months he built a dictatorship.
March
04
Roosevelt's inauguration and the New Deal
On 4 March 1933 Roosevelt took office as US president, saying that the only thing to fear was fear itself. The Hundred Days of the New Deal began.
23
Key event
The Enabling Act
On 23 March 1933 the Reichstag voted 444 to 94 to let Hitler’s government pass laws bypassing parliament and the constitution. Only the SPD opposed it.
27
Japan leaves the League of Nations
On 27 March 1933 Japan gave notice that it was leaving the League of Nations, in retaliation for the adoption of a report that refused to recognise Manchukuo.
April
26
The founding of the Gestapo
On 26 April 1933 Göring set up the Prussian political police as a separate Secret State Police Office. Under Himmler and Heydrich it became a byword for terror.
May
15
The founding of the Luftwaffe
On 15 May 1933 the military air staffs passed to Göring’s ministry. The day is seen as the birth of the Luftwaffe, which Hitler revealed to the world in 1935.
June
21
The banning of parties in Germany
In June 1933 the SA began the Köpenick week of blood, the SPD was banned on 22 June, and by 5 July every other party had dissolved. Only the NSDAP remained.
September
02
The Italo-Soviet pact of friendship
On 2 September 1933 Fascist Italy and the USSR concluded a pact of friendship, non-aggression and neutrality in Rome. Both feared Hitler’s Germany.
October
19
Germany leaves the League of Nations
On 19 October 1933 Berlin formally gave notice of leaving the League of Nations. Hitler had announced it on 14 October, also quitting disarmament talks.
1934
January
26
The German–Polish declaration of non-aggression
On 26 January 1934 in Berlin Poland and Germany pledged not to settle disputes by force for ten years. Hitler repudiated the declaration in April 1939.
February
12
The Austrian Civil War
On 12 February 1934 in Linz the Social Democratic Schutzbund resisted the police. In four days the army and the Heimwehr crushed the rising; about 350 died.
June
30
Key event
The Night of the Long Knives
On 30 June 1934 Hitler had the SA leadership under Röhm murdered, along with old opponents such as Schleicher. At least 85–90 people were killed.
July
25
The July Putsch in Austria
On 25 July 1934 Austrian SS men stormed the Chancellery in Vienna and shot Dollfuss. The putsch failed, and Mussolini sent troops to the Brenner.
September
18
The USSR joins the League of Nations
On 18 September 1934 the League Assembly admitted the USSR and gave it a permanent Council seat. Moscow was betting on collective security against Hitler.
October
09
The Marseille assassination
On 9 October 1934 in Marseille a Macedonian gunman working with the Ustaše shot King Alexander I of Yugoslavia. Foreign Minister Louis Barthou also died.
December
05
The Walwal incident
On 5 December 1934 Ethiopian soldiers and Somalis in Italian service clashed at the Walwal wells in the Ogaden. Mussolini made it a pretext for war.
1935
January
13
The Saar plebiscite
On 13 January 1935 over 90 per cent of Saar voters chose a return to Germany. On 1 March the territory rejoined the Reich as Hitler's first acquisition.
September
15
Key event
The Nuremberg Laws
On 15 September 1935 the Reichstag, meeting at the Nazi rally in Nuremberg, passed laws that stripped Jews of civil rights and banned their marriage to Germans.
November
14
The British general election of 1935
On 14 November 1935 Baldwin's National Government won the election, pledging loyalty to the League and limited rearmament. It was the last election until 1945.
1936
February
26
The 26 February incident
On 26 February 1936 young officers killed three statesmen in Tokyo and seized the city centre. The Emperor ordered the revolt crushed; it ended on 29 February.
March
25
The Second London Naval Treaty
On 25 March 1936 the US, Britain and France signed the Second London Treaty. Without Japan and Italy, it limited only the size of warships, not of fleets.
July
18
Key event
The outbreak of the Spanish Civil War
On 17–18 July 1936 generals rose against the Republic. The coup succeeded in Morocco and parts of Spain but failed in Madrid and Barcelona. Spain split in two.
August
19
The first Moscow trial
On 19–24 August 1936 Zinoviev, Kamenev and 14 others were tried in Moscow for conspiring with Trotsky and murdering Kirov. All were shot.
November
03
Roosevelt re-elected
On 3 November 1936 Roosevelt defeated Alf Landon, carrying 46 of the 48 states and 523 of 531 electoral votes. Americans backed the New Deal.
15
The Condor Legion goes into action
In November 1936 Hitler sent Hugo Sperrle's Condor Legion to Spain. By the middle of the month its aircraft were already fighting over besieged Madrid.
December
11
The abdication of Edward VIII
On 11 December 1936 Edward VIII gave up the throne to marry the divorced American Wallis Simpson. His brother Albert became king as George VI.
23
Italian troops land at Cádiz
On 23 December 1936 about 3,000 Italian Blackshirts came ashore at Cádiz, the first wave of a corps soon named the Corpo Truppe Volontarie.
1937
February
21
The ban on volunteers for Spain
On the night of 20–21 February 1937 a ban on volunteers for Spain, agreed by the Non-Intervention Committee in London, came into force. No one enforced it.
May
07
Condor Legion fighters in Spain
In the spring of 1937 the Condor Legion’s fighter group brought the Messerschmitt Bf 109 into combat in Spain, and its pilots developed new air-combat tactics.
July
07
Key event
The Marco Polo Bridge incident
On the night of 7–8 July 1937 shots near the Marco Polo Bridge outside Beijing sparked a Sino-Japanese clash that grew into an eight-year war.
August
13
The Battle of Shanghai begins
On 13 August 1937 fighting broke out in Shanghai between the Chinese army and Japanese naval infantry. The war spread from northern China to its heart.
November
05
The secret meeting at the Reich Chancellery
On 5 November 1937 Hitler set out to the Wehrmacht chiefs and Neurath a plan to win “living space” by force, starting with Austria and Czechoslovakia.
26
The end of the Battle of Shanghai
On 26 November 1937 the Chinese abandoned the Wuxi–Jiangyin line. The Battle of Shanghai ended in defeat for China, and the Japanese moved on Nanjing.
December
11
Italy leaves the League of Nations
On 11 December 1937 the Fascist Grand Council decided Italy would leave the League of Nations; Mussolini announced it from a balcony. The cause was Ethiopia.
13
Key event
The Nanjing massacre
On 13 December 1937 the Japanese took Nanjing, China's capital. For weeks they murdered prisoners and civilians, raped women, looted and burned the city.
1938
March
13
Key event
The Anschluss
On 13 March 1938 Seyss-Inquart's government and Hitler in Linz proclaimed Austria's union with the Reich. The day before, German troops crossed unopposed.
May
19
The fall of Xuzhou
On 19 May 1938 the Japanese entered the abandoned city of Xuzhou. They took a key railway junction, but the main Chinese forces escaped encirclement.
August
11
The end of the fighting at Lake Khasan
On 11 August 1938 a ceasefire took effect at Lake Khasan. The USSR regained the disputed hills at great cost; Japan judged them not worth fighting for.
September
30
Key event
The Munich Agreement
On 29–30 September 1938 Hitler, Chamberlain, Daladier and Mussolini signed in Munich an agreement giving Germany the Sudetenland. Prague was not consulted.
November
09
Key event
Kristallnacht
On 9–10 November 1938 the Nazis burned synagogues across the Reich, wrecked thousands of shops, killed hundreds of Jews and sent 30,000 men to camps.