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Congress Instituted the Draft
During the Civil War, the U.S. Congress passes a conscription act that produces the first wartime draft of U.S. citizens in American history. The U.S. enacted a military draft again during World War I, in 1940 to make the U.S. ready for its involvement in World War II, and during the Korean War. -
Nazi Germany Invaded Poland
WW2 in Europe begins with German tanks and planes beginning an invasion of Poland, Britain and France declaring war against Germany. -
Sitzkrieg
The Phony War was an eight-month period at the start of World War II, during which there was only one limited military land operation on the Western Front, when French troops invaded Germany's Saar district. -
Manhattan Project Began
A secret military project created in 1942 to produce the first US nuclear weapon. Fears that Nazi Germany would build and use a nuclear weapon during WW2 triggered the start of the Manhattan Project, which was originally based in Manhattan, New York. -
Battle of Britain
World War II, the successful defense of Great Britain against unremitting and destructive air raids conducted by the German air force (Luftwaffe) from July-September 1940, after the fall of France. -
France Fell to Germany
After Dunkirk, Germans advance into France. France unable to defend itself and army poorly trained, civilians flee to S. France. Luftwaffe- bombing civilians.Then Germans had taken Paris. Italy declared war on the side of Germany and invaded France from the south. 1940, France surrendered. -
Destroyers-for-Bases Deal
Through this deal, the United States transferred destroyers to the British Navy in exchange for leases for British naval and air bases. -
America First Committee Launched
The America First Committee was the foremost United States non-interventionist pressure group against the American entry into World War II. It was also characterized by anti-semitic and pro-fascist rhetoric. -
Lend-Lease
The lend-lease program provided for military aid to any country whose defense was vital to the security of the United States. The plan thus gave Roosevelt the power to lend arms to Britain with the understanding that, after the war, America would be paid back in kind. -
Four Freedoms
The four principles President Franklin D. Roosevelt considered to be essential for world peace: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. The president spoke of the four freedoms in a 1941 address in which he called on Americans to support those who were fighting in World War II. -
Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Territory. -
USS Kearny Attacked
Was a United States Navy warship during WW2. Was noted for being torpedoed by a German U-boat in October 1941, before the U.S. had entered the war. -
Reuben James Sank
Was the first United States Navy ship sunk by hostile action in the European theater of WW2 and the first named for Reuben James. -
Battle of Bataan
The Battle of Bataan represented the most intense phase of Imperial Japan's invasion of the Philippines during WW2. -
Bataan Death March
American soldiers were forced to march 60 miles to prison camps by their Japanese captors. It is called the Death March because so may of the prisoners died en route. -
Battle of Coral Sea
Naval battle between Japan and the US which halted the Japanese movement towards Australia, but resulted in heavy losses for the US. -
Battle of Midway
Was a turning point in the Pacific War. Before the Battle of the Coral Sea, the Imperial Navy of Japan had swept aside all of its enemies from the Pacific and Indian oceans.The Imperial Japanese Navy lost four aircraft carriers and the initiative in the Pacific during the Battle of Midway. -
Battle of El Alamein
British general Montgomery attacked El Alamein with help of American tanks. -
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was the most major confrontation of WW2 in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in Southern Russia. -
Casablanca Conference
Was held at the Anfa Hotel in Casablanca, French Morocco, to plan the Allied European strategy for the next phase of WW2. -
Tehran Conference
A meeting between U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin in Tehran, Iran. -
D-Day
Was the beginning of the end for not only the Germans but Hitler. D-Day forced the Germans to fight a two front war again just as they had in WWI. The Germans could not handle war on both sides of them. -
MacArthur Returned to the Philippines
After advancing island by island across the Pacific Ocean, U.S. General Douglas MacArthur wades ashore onto the Philippine island of Leyte, fulfilling his promise to return to the area he was forced to flee in 1942. -
Battle of the Bulge
Was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. It was launched through the densely forested Ardennes region of Wallonia in eastern Belgium, northeast France, and Luxembourg, towards the end of World War II. -
FDR Died/Truman became President
Was an American statesman who served as the 33rd President of the United States (1945–1953), taking the office upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. -
Island Hopping Campaign Begins
Also called "Leapfrogging." Was a military strategy used by the U.S. It is where forces only concentrate their resources, setting up military forces/ supplies, on strategically important islands. -
Little Boy Dropped on Hiroshima
Was the code name for the atomic bomb dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. -
Yalta Conference
Was the second wartime meeting of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. During the conference, the three leaders agreed to demand Germany's unconditional surrender and began plans for a post-war world. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
Was a major battle in which the United States Marine Corps landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. -
Battle of Okinawa
It was the largest amphibious landing in the Pacific theater of World War II. It also resulted in the largest casualties with over 100,000 Japanese casualties and 50,000 casualties for the Allies. -
VE Day
Was the public holiday celebrated to mark the formal acceptance by the Allies of WW2 of Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces. -
Potsdam Conference
Was the agreement between three of the Allies of WW2, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union. It concerned the military occupation and reconstruction of Germany, its borders, and the entire European Theatre of War territory. -
Fat Man Dropped on Nagasaki
Code name for the atomic bomb that was detonated over the Japanese city of Nagasaki by the U.S. It was the second of the only two nuclear weapons ever used in warfare. -
VJ Day
The day when Imperial Japan surrendered in World War II, in effect ending the war. -
Nuremberg Trials
Series of trials in 1945 conducted by an International Military Tribunal in which former Nazi leaders were charged with crimes against peace, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. -
Japanese War Crime Trials
Top Japanese war criminals were tried from 1946-48, 18 were sentenced to prison terms and 7 were hanged. -
FDR Elected to 4th Term
This was the first and only time a president has been inaugurated for a fourth term.
