The events leading up to the outbreak of the war and the subsoquent American entry into it are of an importance and :^aterest sogreat that it is difficult to exaggerate. The chronicle of the inexorable march of aggression after 1931 and the failure of efforts to curbit illuminate the problems of a secure peace in. the future as no mereformal argument or debate could ever- do. On the other hand, eventssince December 7, 1941, present a picture of increasingly -cooperativeeffort on the part of those governments which look toward a civilizedworld at the war's conclusion.As a whole, the chronology was conceived as a working outline ofthe period and events covered. It obviously cannot pretend to becomplete or historically definitive. Such completeness and authoritativeness must await the opening of government archives in theindefinite future. Nor should it be considered in whole or in part torepresent the official views of the United States Government. Theinclusion of any item or statement cited to ally source other than anofficial American publication does not imply endorsement or approvalof such itein or statement by the Government of the United States orby any official thereof.As chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House ofRepresentatives, I am more than, pleased that the Committce onPrinting and the Congress as a whole has seen fit to approve the publication of this chronology. The work itself is a product of the Legislative Reference Service. The chronology prior to December 7, 1941,was the work of Miss Marie Klooz and Miss Evelyn Wiley, under thegeneral direction of Mr. Richard A. Humphrey. Mr. Humphrey,assisted by Miss Evelyn Wiley, prepared the subsequent chronology.The index was the work of Ir. A. 0. Sarkissian. The assistance ofGen. Wtalter D. Smith and Capt. Merlyn Cook, U. S. N., in therecommendations of military events for inclusion is gratefullyacknowledged.