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Munich Peace Conference
- A settlement reached by Germany, Great Britain, France and Italy that permitted German annexation of the Sudetenland in western Czechoslovakia.
- Became a byword for the futility of appeasing expansionist totalitarian states, although it did buy time for Allies to increase their military preparedness.
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NAZI-Soviet Pact
- 10 year nonaggression pact in which each signatory promised not to attack the other.
- Soviet army occupied and annexed eastern Poland.
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German Invasion of Poland
- Polish army was defeated within weeks of invasion.
- Britain and France, standing by their guarantee of Poland's border, declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939.
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Miracle of Dunkirk
- A total of 700 small and mostly civilian boats were used to pick up stranded soldiers from shallow waters near the beach.
- A single vessel, a paddle steamer named "The Medway Queen" made a total of 7 round trips to Dunkirk, successfully rescuing more than 7,000 soldiers.
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Battle of Britain
- Was from July 16, 1940 to October 31, 1940.
- It got its name before it started when Churchill predicted, “The Battle of France is over. I expect the Battle of Britain is about to begin.”
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Atlantic Charter
- United States and Britain agreed not to seek territorial gains from the war.
- Atlantic Charter stated that people should have the right to choose their own form of government.
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Pearl Harbor Attacked
- Japanese attacked without warning.
- The American people were united in their determination to go to war.
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Battle of Midway
- June 4 - 7, 1942
- Initial strikes by Midway-based planes weren't successful, American carrier-based planes turned the tide.
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Battle of Stalingrad
- Invaders fought their way into Stalingrad against fierce resistance.
- By late September Germans could raise the swastika flag.
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Operation Torch
- Military forces of the U.S. and the U.K. launched an amphibious operation against Algeria and Morocco.
- American strategic thinking in early 1942 aimed at defeating Nazi Germany.
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Soft Underbelly Campaign
- Series of Allied beach landings and land battles from Sicily and southern Italy up Italian mainland toward Nazi Germany.
- Allied advance through Italy produced some of the most bitter, costly fighting of war.
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D-Day invasion of Normandy, France
- 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on 5 beaches along 50-mile stretch of heavily fortified coast of France’s Normandy region.
- By late August 1944, all of northern France had been liberated.
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Battle of the Bulge
- Adolf Hitler launched an audacious counterattack against Allied forces in southern Belgium and Luxemburg.
- A lack of resources and fierce American resistance eventually halted the German advance.
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Yalta Conference
- February 4 -11, 1945.
- 2nd wartime meeting of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin and U.S. President FDR.
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Iwo Jima
- Iwo Jima was defended by roughly 23,000 Japanese army and navy troops.
- Marines wiped out the defending forces after a month of fighting.
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Okinawa
- Involved 287,000 troops of the U.S. 10th Army against 130,000 soldiers of the Japanese 32nd Army.
- By the end of the 82 day campaign, Japan had lost more than 77,000 soldiers and the Allies had suffered more than 65,000 casualties including 14,000 dead.
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FDR dies in office
- Left Vice President Harry S. Truman in charge of a country still fighting WWII.
- The president suddenly complained of a terrific pain in the back of his head and collapsed unconscious.
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V-E (Victory in Europe) Day
- Great Britain and the U.S. celebrate Victory in Europe Day.
- Rejoicing in the defeat of the Nazi war machine.
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Potsdam Conference
- The last of the World War II meetings held by the “Big Three” heads of state.
- The leaders arrived at various agreements on German economy, punishment for war criminals, land boundaries and reparations.
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Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
- August 6-9, 1945
- The explosion wiped out 90% of the city and immediately killed 80,000 people; tens of thousands more would later die of radiation exposure.
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Japan surrenders (V-J Day)
- Emperor Hirohito urged his people to accept surrender.
- “This is the day we have been waiting for since Pearl Harbor..." - Pres. Harry S. Truman.
