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Nazi Germany Invaded Poland
One week after the signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, Germany invaded Poland and other countries were soon to follow, thus beginning the 2nd world war. -
Sitzkrieg
Also known as the Phoney War,this was an 8 month long period in the beginning of the war when there was no military action taken on the Western Front. -
France Fell to Germany
France fell to Germany after it was invaded on this day. Belgium and the Netherlands also fell to Germany at this time. -
Battle of Britain
The first major campaign to be fought entirely by air forces. -
Destroyers-for-Bases Deal
An agreement to the transfer of the warships to the Royal Navy. In exchange, the US was granted land in various British possessions for the establishment of naval or air bases. -
America First Committee Launched
This committee pressured the U.S. to not enter WWII. -
Congress Instituted the Draft
Congress passed the Burke-Wadsworth Act instituting the draft for men between the ages of 21-36. -
Four Freedoms
FDR proposed four fundamental freedoms that people "everywhere in the world" ought to enjoy: Freedom of speech, Freedom of worship, Freedom from want, Freedom from fear. -
Lend-Lease Act
A program under which the United States supplied Free France, the United Kingdom, the Republic of China, and later the USSR and other Allied nations with food, oil, and materiel between 1941 and August 1945. -
USS Kearny Attacked
The ship was docked at Reykjavík, in U.S.-occupied Iceland, when a torpedo fired by Germany struck Kearny on the starboard side. -
Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor
There was a surprise attack by the Japanese navy and the event eventually led to the U.S. entering the war. -
Bataan Death March
American and Fillipino POWs were forced to walk to their new camp and about 10,000 died on the way. The event was later accused of being a Japanese war crime. -
Battle of Coral Sea
A major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II between the Imperial Japanese Navy and naval and air forces from the United States and Australia. -
Battle of Midway
The U.S. defeated the Japanese Imperial Navy and the damage was irreparable. It was a crucial battle to WWII -
Battle of Bataan
The American and Fillipino forces fought hard to hold Bataan against the Japanese, but ended up having to surrender. -
Battle of El Alamein
The battle was a major battle of the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, fought on the northern coast of Egypt between Axis forces and the Allied powers. -
Island Hopping Campaign Begins
The U.S. landed on the islands of Guadalcanal, Tulagi, and Florida in the southern Solomon Islands, with the objective of denying their use by the Japanese to threaten the supply and communication routes between the US, Australia, and New Zealand. -
Battle of Stalingrad
This was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad. -
Casablanca Conference
The conference was held to plan the Allied European strategy for the next phase of World War II. -
Tehran Conference
A strategy meeting of Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill. It was the first of the World War II conferences of the "Big Three" Allied leaders. -
FDR Elected to a 4th Term
While in declining health, FDR won a 4th election, the most any canidate has ever won. There is now a limit on terms. -
D-Day
An effort to liberate mainland Europe from Nazi Germany resulted in a serious death toll. -
Reuben James Sank
During the ship's first eastbound voyage, nine German bombers attacked its convoy off Algeria. -
MacArthur Returned to the Philippines
MacArthur returned to the Philippines in order to fight against the Japanese. -
Battle of the Bulge
A major German offensive campaign launched through the densely forested Ardennes region of Wallonia in Belgium, France, and Luxembourg on the Western Front toward the end of World War II in Europe. -
Yalta Conference
The conference was the World War II meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union for the purpose of discussing Europe's post-war reorganization. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
A major battle in which the U.S. Marines landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II. -
Battle of Okinawa
This was a series of battles fought in the Ryukyu Islands, centered on the island of Okinawa, and included the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War during World War II. -
FDR Died / Harry Truman Became President
He was president during the final months of World War II, making the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. -
VE Day
Victory in Europe Day. This day marked the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces.[1] It thus marked the end of World War II in Europe. -
Manhattan Project Began
The project was a research and development project that produced the first nuclear weapons during World War II. -
Potsdam conference
The goals of the conference included the establishment of post-war order, peace treaty issues, and countering the effects of the war. -
Little Boy Dropped on Hiroshima
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) dropped an atomic bomb on the city, near the end of World War II. -
Fat Man Dropped on Nagasaki
Three days after "LIttle Boy" was dropped, the U.S. dropped another atomic bomb on Nagasaki. -
VJ Day
Victory over Japan Day. The day on which Japan surrendered in World War II, in effect ending the war. -
Japanese War Crime Trials
Japanese military and other leaderswere tried for committing war crimes during WWII. -
Nuremberg Trials
A series of military tribunals, held by the Allied forces after World War II, which were most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of Nazi Germany who planned, carried out, or otherwise participated in The Holocaust and other war crimes.
