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Nazi Germany Invaded Poland
Germany begins to invade Poland, and in return Britain and France declare war on Germany. This is considered the start of WWII. -
Sitzkrieg
Sitzkrieg, or phony war, was a phase at the start of WWII when there really wasn't any war on the Western Front. The only active military operation was a French invasion of Germany. -
France Fell to Germany
Germany invaded France and the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands) and successfully took them in just six weeks. As a result France was divided and put under German and Italian military occupation. -
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain was fought entirely in the air. German air forces bombed Britain while the British Royal Air Force defended England. Germans were not able to defeat their defenses, resulting in a British victory. -
Destroyers-for-Bases Deal
The U.S. made a deal with Britain that would give them 50 U.S. navy destroyers in return for use of various British land possessions where they could build bases. This was also kind of a workaround in supporting Britain because the U.S. was supposed to be neutral. -
America First Committee Launched
The America First Committee was a pressure group against entering WWII. It also opposed aid to the Allies and wanted the U.S. to remain completely neutral. -
Congress Instituted the Draft
This was the U.S.'s first peacetime draft. The Selective Training and Service Act forced all men from 21-35 to register for the draft to train 1.2 million troops in just one year, without the U.S. being involved in the war. Isolationists were outraged. -
Four Freedoms
The four freedoms were FDR's fundamental freedoms that he wanted to guarantee to everyone all over the world: the freedom of speech and expression, the freedom to worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear. FDR wanted America to support other nations committed to defending these. -
Lend-Lease
The Lend-Lease act provided allied nations with food, oil, and other materiel (weaponry and ships/planes) without requiring compensation in return. -
USS Kearny Attacked
A US navy destroyer was torpedoed by a German U-boat before US entry to war. Eleven Americans died, provoking public outrage. -
Reuben James Sank
The Reuben James was a US destroyer that was sunk by a torpedo attack by a German U-boat. 100 people died and once again it made the American public turn against Germany even more as the US drew closer to entering the war. -
Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor
Japanese aircrafts bombed the US fleet in the Pacific at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. People were surprised and angry and it prompted the US to declare war on Japan, entering them into the war. -
Battle of Bataan
Japan tried to invade the Philippines to take it for themselves. American and Filipino forces fought back, but eventually surrendered, resulting in the Bataan Death March. -
Bataan Death March
60,000-80,000 Americans and Filipinos taken by the Japanese as prisoners as war were forced to march some 60-70 miles to prison camps. Thousands died en route. -
Island Hopping Campaign Begins
Island Hopping or Leapfrogging was a strategy employed by the US and the allies meant to avoid heavily fortified locations in order to get close enough to take important locations and have a mainland invasion. -
Battle of Coral Sea
The Battle of Coral Sea was an air-sea battle between the US/Australia and Japan. It was a strategic allied victory because Japan was crippled by its loss of planes. -
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway was a naval battle between the US and Japan. The US won decisively, and Japan was severely weakened, allowing American to become more offensive as a turning point in the war. -
Battle of El Alamein
The Battle of El Alamein was the culmination of the British and German/Italian fighting in the North Africa/the Mediterranean. The allies won an important victory, giving them control of the area. -
Manhattan Project Began
The Manhattan Project was the American effort to create an atomic bomb during WWII in response to Germany's similar efforts. It was eventually successful and allowed for the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. -
Casablanca Conference
The Casablanca Conference was a meeting between Allied leaders to plan military strategy for the next phase of war. They proposed
unconditional surrender from the Axis powers. -
Battle of Stalingrad
In the Battle of Stalingrad, Germany and the Axis powers fought the Soviet Union for control of the city Stalingrad. The USSR successfully defended it, halting the German advance westward. It was a very bloody battle but it turned the tide in the allies' favor as one of Germany's greatest defeats. -
Tehran Conference
The Tehran Conference was a meeting between the leaders of the "Big Three" countries of the allies: FDR (US), Winston Churchill (UK), and Joseph Stalin (USSR). The major outcome was the opening of a second front against Germany. -
D-Day
D-Day, also known as the Battle of Normandy, was when British, American, and Canadian troops landed on the beaches of Normandy, France. They were victorious and it allowed the Allies to liberate France from German control. -
MacArthur Returned to the Philippines
After the Japanese took the Philippines in 1942, MacArthur had been forced to flee. However, in 1944 he returned and led the campaign to liberate the Philippines. -
FDR Elected to a 4th Term
FDR won the 1944 election against Republican Thomas Dewey for a fourth term as president. Many Americans felt that he needed to remain in office to finish the war and not have a change in leadership. -
Battle of the Bulge
Germany tried to split the Allied army in Europe by a surprise thrust, taking them off-guard. However, the Allies won and ended the German counteroffensive. -
Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference was another meeting between the Big Three leaders of the Allies. They agreed on Germany's unconditional surrender and began to plan for after the war. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
In order to secure a base near the Japanese coast, US marines landed on and fought for the island of Iwo Jima against Japanese forces. The US eventually won. -
Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa was another invasion in the Pacific fought by the US and Japan with naval support from the allies. Okinawa was a key island to invading the Japanese mainland, and the US victory helped enable the US to do so. -
FDR Died/Harry Truman Became President
FDR passed away while the war was still going due to a cerebral hemorrhage. Harry Truman, his vice president, assumed office in his place and would remain there for the remainder of the war and also dealt with much of the post-war policymaking. -
VE Day
VE Day was the date of victory in Europe in WWII. The Allies formally accepted Germany's unconditional surrender on this date. -
Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference was the last meeting between the Big Three Allied leaders. They largely made decisions regarding Germany and postwar Europe but also demanded unconditional surrender from Japan. -
Little Boy Dropped on Hiroshima
In order to get Japan to unconditionally surrender, the US dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, killing tens of thousands and wiping out most of the city. -
Fat Man Dropped on Nagasaki
Three days after the Hiroshima bombing, another atomic bomb (an even more powerful one) was dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki by the US. These led to the Japanese surrender. -
VJ Day
On VJ Day, or victory over Japan day, was the day when Japan formally surrendered the US/allies under the terms of unconditional surrender. -
Nuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg Trials were a series of 13 trials to bring to justice Nazi war criminals. It was a step towards an international court. -
Japanese War Crime Trials
The Japanese War Crime Trials were another set of military trials to commit Japanese military/government officials of war crimes in WWII.
