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Germany invades Poland; beginning of WWII
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Military draft reinstated in the United States
Burke-Wadsworth Act is passed by Congress -
Operation Barbarossa; Nazi code-name for the invasion of the Soviet Union
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Siege of Leningrad begins
Germany invades the city of Leningrad. This becomes one of the longest and deadliest sieges of the war. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
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Bataan Death March
60 mile march through the Philippeans; 21,600+ Dead Filipino and American POWs total -
Battle of Midway begins; crucial naval battle for the US
US breaks the Japanese code and find out that the Japanese were tricking them to wipe out the rest of the Pacific fleet; results in the sinking of 4 Japanese aircraft carriers and 1 US carrier (USS Yorktown) -
Battle of Guadalcanal; 1st offensive battle for US in the Pacific
longest Pacific battle at 6 months and 2 days -
Battle of Stalingrad begins
Germany breaks non-agression pact with Soviet Union by invading the city of Stalingrad. -
Siege of Leningrad ends
Siege of Leningrad ends resulting in a Soviet victory. -
D-Day; Allies storm beaches in Normandy, France
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Battle of the Bulge begins; Germany's last offensive battle
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Yalta Conference; 2/4/45 - 2/11/45
Stalin FDR, and Churchill meet; intended mainly to discuss the re-establishment of the nations of war-torn Europe. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
A win for the allies resulting in gaining control of the airfields on the island. -
Battle of Okinawa begins
Bloodiest battle in the Pacific because the US was getting closer to the home-island of Japan -
Germany surenders; V-E day
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Bombing of Hiroshima, Japan
Little Boy, a uranium gun-type atomic bomb, is dropped by the Allies in Hiroshima. -
Bombing of Nagasaki, Japan
Fat Man, a plutonium implosion-type bomb, was dropped by the allies on Nagasaki. -
Japan surrenders in the Pacific; V-J Day
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Nuremberg Trials begin
24 high ranking Nazi officials are tried for war crimes and crimes against humanity; 12 of the 24 officials are executed
