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Non-Agression Pact
Germany signed a pact with the Soviet Union. This guarenteed that the two countries would not attack one another. This protected Germany from having to fight a two-front war in the soon-to-come World War II. The Soviet Union was awarded land, including parts of Poland and the Baltic States. The pact was broken when Germany attacked the Soviet Union in 1941. -
Invasion of Poland
Marking the beginning of World War II, Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent invaded Poland. Using the technique of the blitzkrieg, they brought Poland down in a little more than one month. German froces attacked from the north, south, and west. The success of the invasion ended the Second Polish Republic , though Poland never surrendered. The campaign ended with Germany and the Soviet Union dividing and annexing Poland. -
Miracle of Dunkirk
More than 300,000 troops were evacuated from Dunkirk and beaches surrounding it. The troops were rescued by Allied soldiers. The troops were cut off by the German army in the Battle of Dunkirk. The troops were desperately needed back on the home shores to help defend against a Nazi invasion. This is why the Miracle of Dunkirk is so important to the Allies winning the war. -
Operation Sea Lion
Nazi Germany planned to invade the United Kingdom during World War II following the Fall of France. The only way this plan would have had success would have been if they had supremacy over the air and naval bases over the English Channel. But, Germany never had these at any stage during the Battle of Britain. This plan was then postponed indefinitely, It was never carried out. -
Lend-Lease Act
Wanting to stop being neutral in the war, the United States made this Act. They made it to supply the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, China, Free France, and other Allied nations with material between 1941 and 1945. The terms of the agreement provided that the material was to be used until time for their return or destruction. This step of planning helped turn the United States form isolationism to interventionism. This helped engage the United States into fighting in the war. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
An attack by the Japanese, the bombing of a harbor on Hawaii occured. It was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy. The attack was intended as to prevent the US Pacific Fleet from interfering with military actions that the Empire of Japan was planning. The attack came as a profound shock to the American people and led directly to the American entry to World War II. If this had not happened, the United States might have stayed in isolation. -
Bataan Death March
American prisoners of war were forced to to march 55 miles. There were 750,000 prisoners to begin with: 7,000 died. The march was characterized by wide-ranging physical abuse and murder. It resulted in very high fatalities inflicted upon prisoners and civilians by the Japanese Army, and was later judged to be a Japanese War Crime. This was used to arouse fury in the United States. -
Battle of Midway
The plan was handicapped by faulty Japanese assumptions of the American reaction. Also, American codebreakers were able to determine the date and location of the attack. This enabled the United States Navy to set up an ambush of their own. This battle got the United States back on their feet and helped them take the league through World War II. -
Battle of Midway
Being the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II, the US decisively defeated an Imperial Japanese Navy attack against Midway Atoll. This inflicted irreparable damage on the Japanese fleet. Just like the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese sought to eliminate the United States as a strategic power in the Pacific. The Japanese plan was to lure the United States' aircraft carriers into a trap. They also intended to occupy Midway to extend their defensive perimeter. Th -
Battle of the Bulge
This was a major German offensive launched through the forested Ardennes mountains region on the Western Front. The name was given because of the way the Allied front line bulged inward on news maps. Germany's goal was to split the British and American Allied line in half. In the end he wanted to encircle and destroy four Allied armies, forcing them to negotiate a peace treaty in the Axis Powers' favor. Fortunately, the Allies gained victory and the Germans gained failure. -
Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
This was two events representing the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date. The United States wanted complete surrender of Japan threatening Japan with complete and utter destruction. The Japanese government ignored this, so the United States deployed two nuclear bombs developed by the Manhattan Project. Six days after the bombing of both cities, Japan announced its surrender to the Allies. Ending World War II, these bombings were key to peace.
