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Japan's invasion of China
Japan started a full-fledged invasion of China, coming from Manchuria. This invasion was very short as China put up little resistance. Soon enough, CHina fell under Japan's contrrol. -
Germany invades Poland
Germnay invaded Poland as a "defensive action", according to Hitler. This invasion, however, led to France and Great Britain declaring war on Germany. Thus, World War II began. -
Battle of Britain
The defense of Great Britain from the German air invasion that was successful at repelling the Germans and took around two months. -
Tripartite Pact
The Tripartite pact was an agreement signed by Italy, Germany and Japan to agree to become allies. -
Lend-Lease Act
This act was signed by FDR and allowed the United States to aid those fighting the Axis nations. -
German Blitzkrieg on Soviet Union
This was a wartime tactic used by the Germans that consisted of short expeditions that disorganizes enemy troops. When used on the Soviet Union, the Germans were able to get to Moscow within six months. -
Leningrad Blockade
A historic siege on Leningrad (now known as St. Petersburg) by the German Army in their attacks toward the Soviet Union. -
Bombing of Pearl Harbor
This was a Japanese air attack on the U.S naval base. This attack led to the entering of the United States into the war on the side of the Allies. -
Wannsee Conference
The Wannsee Conference was a meeting of Nazi officials that took place in Berlin to discuss the "Final Solution" of the Jewish question. -
Battle of Midway
A naval/air battle that neutralized the Japanese threat towards the United States, post-Pearl harbor. -
D-Day
The Allied forces began to invade northern France from the beaches of Normandy. -
Yalta Conference
This was a meeting between Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill, and FDR as WWII was declining. -
Iwo Jima/Okinawa
These battles were battles off of islands in the Pacific between the Jaoanese and the Americans. -
Hitler's suicide
Hitler, after learning that Berlin would soon be taken over, committed suicide by shooting himself and taking a cyanide capsule. -
VE Day
This day is celbrated amongst Europe as it was the day Nazi Germany fully surrendered to the Allies. -
Potsdam Conference
This conference was a meeting between Winston Churchill, prime minister of Britain, Joseph Stalin, leader of Russia, and Harry Truman, the U.S president. They met to confer with each other the terms for the post-war time. -
Atomic bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima
The United States chose to drop atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Nagasaki and hiroshima in an attempt to stop the war by majorly weakening the Japanese on their home turf. -
VJ Day
The day of which Japan stopped military actions and thus exited the war. -
The formation of the UN
An international organization developed as a replacement to the League of Nations to reduce the chance of another great conflict from happening. -
Truman Doctrine
This doctrine was created by Harry Truman and said that the United States will asssist democratic countries that are threatened by authoritarian forces. -
Marshall Plan
The United States approach to help rebuild Europe by sending them 17 billion dollars worth of funds. -
NATO
A military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty that tied together the countries involved into a complete defense against threatening outside parties. -
Mao Zedong and the People's Repulbic of China
Mao Zedong names himself head of state on this day. He instilled a communist government into China and weakened the friendly ties between China and the United States. -
Korean War
This conflict stemmed from the post-war division of Korea. The northern part of the divide turned Communist and the conflict started when the Koreans from the north invaded into South Korea. THus, being Communist, the North Koreans had the Soviet Union on their side. The South Koreans had the United States on their side. -
Stalin's Death; Khrushchev
Stalin died in 1953. At the next congress of the Communist Party, Khruschev spoke about the wrongdoings of Stalin. His speech expressed an air of truth and resounded with those who heard it. Khrushchev then went on to lead the Soviet Union -
Warsaw Pact
As a response to NATO, communist nations such as the Soviet Union, Poland, and East Germany formed a military alliance. -
Sputnik
A satellite sent by the Soviet Union into space. This was a major event because it was the first man-made satellite in space. -
Bay of Pigs
The Bayy of Pigs was an invasion on Cuba, by the U.S., because of Fidel Castro's rise of power and his ties with USSR. -
Berlin Wall
A wall that was built to seperate the Western Berlinians from the communist East Berlinians. This was sustained until almost the turn into the 21st century when the Soviet Union's communist influence lessened. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
This was a standoff between the Soviet Union and the United States over missiles placed by the Soviet Union in Cuba. The Soviet Union agreed to move them out of Cuba in exchange for the United States removal of missiles from Turkey and their promise to not invade Cuba. -
Vietnam War
This was a bloody war that was between communist North Vietnam and Southern Vietnam which had help from the United States. This conflict existed for a short period and ended when the United States withdrew and Vietnam became a communist state. -
Gorbachev
Gorbachev was the last leader of the Soviet Union. He often met with Ronald Reagan to reorientate the COmmunist Party. Soon he reduced the power of the Communist power over the government and disbanded the Soviet Union. -
The Fall of the Soviet Union
On this day, the Soviet States met and declared their leave of the Soviet Union. As a result, Gorbachev resigned from his post as leader and the Soviet Union dissolved.
