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Mao Zedong Leads Long March
Towards the end of the Chinese Civil War, it seemed that the Nationalists would win. In order to escape, the Communist military, led by Mao Zedong, walked 6,000 miles to Manchuria. Only 30,000 people made it. The Communists gained popularity due to the Long March because peasants felt they could relate to their struggle. -
Germany Invades Poland; France and Great Britain Declare War on Germany
In 1939, Hitler demanded that the Polish Corridor be returned to Germany. Later that year Hitler and Stalin signed a Nonaggression Pact in which they divided Poland between themselves. Hitler quickly moved ahead with his plans to conquer Poland, and he took them by surprise on September 1, 1939, using a tactic called 'blitzkrieg", or lightning war.
France and Great Britain declared war on Germany on September 3rd. However, Poland was annexed before they could do anything. -
Japan Attacks Pearl Harbor
The Japanese wanted to take over Europeans and American colonies in Southeast Asia. When they overran Vietname, Cambodia and Laos, Roosevelt cut off oil shipments to Japan. Despite this, Japan continued their conquests and hoped to catch the Allies by surprise. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto called for an attack on the US fleet in Hawaii because it resembled "a dagger pointed at [Japan's] throat". On December 7, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, sinking/damaging 19 ships, with 3,400 fatalities. -
United Nations Formed
In 1945, 50 countries sent representatives to San Francisco at the United Nations Conference on International Organization to draw up the United Nations Charter. The Charter was signed on June 26, 1945 by all 50 countries. Poland signed later and was the 51st country. The UN was officially formed in October when it was ratified by China, France, the Soviet Union, the UK and the US. -
Germany Surrenders
After the Battle of the Bulge the war in Europe came to an end. The In 1945, the Allies traveled across the Rhine River into Germany. 3 million Allied soldiers approached Berlin from the southwest and the other 6 million Soviet troops approached from the east. Hitler hid in an underground headquarters and later committed suicide. On May 7, 1945, General Eisenhower accepted the unconditional surrender of the Third Reich from the German military. It was officially signed on May 9th in Berlin. -
Allies Use Atomic Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
(August to September)
