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Period: to
WWII
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Rape of Nanking
Japan invades China and sparks one of the the 20th Centuries most horrific genocides: the Rape of Nanking. Over 300,000 are killed (half the capital city population) in only six weeks. -
Germany Invades Poland
After stark miltary buildup, massive land grabs, and ongoing threats Germany invaded Poland starting the beginning of World War II. -
Pearl Harbor Bombed
The Japanese Navy surprised the United States Pacific Fleet on Sunday morning sparking the US entry into World War II. -
British forces overwhelm the "Fox"
Allied forces under British command defeat Erwin Rommell's forces in the Egyptian desert to give a foot hold to the Allies in North Africa. -
Battle of Midway
One of the first US victories and the first Japanese defeat, the US Navy surprises the Japanese at the Midway Islands and begins a string of victories. -
Marine Victory on Guadalcanal
After an arduous battle in the Solomon Islands, the US Marines scored a major victory stopping the Japanese island hopping. -
Invastion of Sicily
Allied forces begin a movement to choke of the Axis Powers in Italy by invading Mussolini's peninsula nation. -
Allied Invasion of France
In an effort to push Hitler out of Western Europe, and opening a second front, Allied Forces under Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower invade Normandy, France. -
Battle of the Bulge
US troops, surrounded entirely by German forces, refuse to surrender to the enemy. Saying it would be "Nuts!", American forces fight on and defeat Hitler's troops. -
Germany Surrenders!
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Atomic Bomb Dropped on Hiroshima
The world's first view of the nuclear age as a US bomber, the Enola Gay, drops a bomb on Hiroshima. -
Japan Surrenders (Formally)
