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Mao Zedong Heads Long March
Mao Zedong and the Communist Party evaded the pursuit of the Nationalist Party, or Kuomintang in 1934 during the Long March, proving that China was weak due to much internal conflict. When Japan finally invaded China, the Chinese were no match for the Japanese armies and their technology. So, the Nationalist Party with Jiang Jieshi retreated while the Chinese guerillas led by Mao Zedong stayed and fought in the conquered area. -
Germany invades Poland; France and Great Britain declare war on Germany
After both France and Great Britain chose to seek appeasement with Germany again and again, they finally declared war after Germany decided to invade Poland in 1939. But, due to the late military response, Poland fell to the Germans and Hitler annexed western Poland. The Germans used a new strategy in this invasion called blitzkrieg, or lightning war, in which fast moving airplanes and tanks invaded as quickly as possible in order to use the element of surprise on the enemy. -
Japan attacks Pearl Harbor
When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, it became famous as "a date which will live in infamy" as said by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Although, up until that point, the U.S. had tried to stay neutral during the war and had only secretly helped the British, but the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor immediately incited them into action, causing the U.S. to join the Allies. Ultimately, it was not an attack from the Germans but from the Japanese that brought the U.S. into the war. -
Germany Surrenders
The Battle of the Bulge left Germany surrounded by Allied forces, causing Hitler to desperately decide to counterattack in the west, through a weak U.S. front. Although the strategy was clever, ultimately, the U.S. was able to push Germany back, establishing the Germans' defeat in both the war and the Battle of the Bulge. Hitler and his wife committed suicide and the war in Europe quickly drew to a close, as the Germans stated their unconditional surrender to the Allies. -
Allies uses atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Although the war in Europe may have ended, Japan still remained in the war. So, in order to end the war as quickly as possible, the U.S. decided to use their first nuclear bomb on Hiroshima, created in the top-secret Manhattan Project. The U.S. then asked the Japanese to surrender or another bomb would be dropped on Nagasaki but no response came. So, true to their word, the U.S. dropped their bomb, Fat Man, on Nagasaki, leading to Japan's surrender. -
United Nations Formed
The United Nations was formed and tried to help all nations part of World War II recover both politically and economically. There was still the problem of war crimes left to deal with and so, an International Military Tribunal representing 23 nations put Nazi war criminals on trial in the famous Nuremberg Trials. These criminals were rightly accused of committing crimes against humanity through the Holocaust and overall murder of about 11 million people.
