-
Declaration of War
WW2 started when Great Britain and France declared war on Germany after Germany invaded Poland after Germany was warned not to. -
Attack on Pearl Harbour
Japan attacked Pearl Harbour twice because they wanted to expand througout the Pacific. U.S navy was almost warned but the telegram to warn them was sent slowly, so they were caught off guard. -
Period: to
Battle of the Atlantic (Most efficient years)
German U-Boats were sinking unprotected U.S ships, and Allie's merchant ships for the first two years. Then Allies got the upper hand by using convoys and sonar systems. -
Period: to
Battle of the Coral Sea
Until this point the Japanese were taking over the Pacific, and winning every battle. Then the USA and Australia stopped Japan from invading. In fact Japan won they battle, but the ongoing invasion was stopped, the US started to use the strategy of Island Hopping, so they could weaken the Japanese. -
Period: to
Battle of Midway
A Japanese code about an attack was intercepted by Admiral Chester Nimitz, so the US launched a surprise attack on the Japanese on an island called Midway. -
Period: to
Battle of Stalingrad
Germans violated pact with Soviet Union and attacked them. Hitler wanted to capture Soviet oil fields. Germans almost won and controlled the city. Turning point in WW2. -
Normandy Invasion (D-Day)
Soviet Union was pushing into Poland and Allies in Italy. Attack on Germany by the Allies -
Period: to
Battle of the Bulge
German tanks broke American lines in Belgium, while Germany was trying to capture Antwerp. Germans won in the beginning, but Americans took over. -
Period: to
Postdam
Truman, Churchill, and Stalin met in Germany to draw up a blueprint to eliminate the Nazi regime and to disarm Germany. -
Period: to
U.S. Occupation of Japan
Like the Nuremberg trials, there were several trials held for Japanese war criminals. 7 of the 28 leaders were found guilty and were sentenced to death. The US occupied Japan for 6 years under General Douglas MacArthur, where there was a new constitution implemented which allowed women to vote and free elections, they also introduced a free market economy. -
Period: to
Nuremburg Trials
An international court that tried Nazi officials, over 23 nations tried Nazi war criminals in Nuremberg, Germany. Of the 22 who were tried ,12 were sentenced to death, 200 other officials were found guilty but weren't penalized by death. -
Period: to
Yalta Conference
Leaders such as Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill met in Yalta to discuss what would happen after the war. The United Nations were created at the conference. -
Period: to
Iwo Jima
An island in the Pacific that was a key factor for the US win against Japan, 27,000 Japanese held Iwo Jima. -
Period: to
Battle of Okinawa
It was Japan's last defensive stronghold, and the US was successful in taking it. 110,000 Japanese troops died, mostly because of Kamikaze attacks which were suicide plane crashes into US ships. -
Death of FDR
FDR died in office at the beginning of his 4th term. The United States went through a mourning period. The new presidnet Harry S. Truman who was Vice President took over as President of the United States. -
Hitler Dies
Hitler and Eva Braun committed suicide with a gun and cyanide, the bodies burned and that was the end of Adolf Hitler. -
V-E Day
General Eisenhower surrendered by the Third Reich. It stands for: Victory in Europe Day. 1st part of WW2 was over. -
Hiroshima (Manhattan Project)
It was the launch and first use of an atomic weapon in the histoory of the world. The USA launched the atomic bomb "Little Boy" on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, and in 43 seconds it collapsed. -
Nagasaki (Manhattan Project)
It was the second atomic bomb that was launched by the USA on the city of Nagasaki, Japan after the Japanese refused to surrender. It leveled half the city. -
Period: to
V-J Day
Japan first offers an unconditional surrender, and then a month later they formally surrendered. V-J Day stands for Victory in Japan Day.