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Gorbachev
Gorbachev was the last leader of the Soviet Union who served from 1985 until 1991. He wanted to democratize the country's political systen and decentralize its economy, leading to the downfall of communism and the end of the Soviet Union. -
Japan's Invasion of China
Japan invades China after bombing the Manchurian Railroad (Mukden Incident). -
Germany Invades Poland
Known as the September Campaign was the invasion ordered by Hitler to unit all the German-speaking peoples together and expand Germany and marked the beginning of World War II, despite Germany's agreement between the Soviet Union in the Non-Agression Pact agreeing not to attack one another, but can attack Polant if they split Poland. -
Battle of Britain
France had already surrendered, so Great Britain was left to fight against Germany. Great Britain held off the attacks suprisingly well despite being outnumberd, to Hitler's astonishment, and he called off the attacks in May 1941.
Great Britain used:
Radar - detect speed and direction of German planes
Engima Machine - smuggled - decoded secret messages of the Germans -
Tripartite Pact (Berlin Pact)
Germany, Italy, and Japan become allies with the signing of the Tripartite Pact in Berlin on September 27, 1940. -
Lend-Lease Act
Roosevelt proposed the act in 1940 stating that the U.S. aids countries that are fighting agressors. 1st time U.S. participated in the war.
Roosevelt created the Japanese Internment Camps for Japanese-Americans who were considered a potential threat (1942) -
German Blitzkrieg on the Soviet Union
Blitzkrieg: "lightning war" - A type of warefare in which troops in vehicles and airplanes make suprise strikes.
Known as Operation Barbarossa - It was a suprise attack and Germany easily enters Germany - As the Soviets retreated, they set their land on fire - German's initially won, but a counter-attack occured and the Soviets were able to push back the Germans. -
Leningrad Blockade
900-day siege in the ciry of Leningrad (St. Petersburg) in the Soviet Union. The blockade killed over 1 million lives and cut off contact with the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union won when they counter-attacked in 1943 and drove back the Germans, ending the seige. -
Mao Zedong declares China as the Republic of China
The communist leader, Mao Zedong declares China as the Republic of China on 1 October 1941. -
The Bombing of Pearl Harbor
The U.S. knew that the Japanese were planning to attack the Japanese countries after they had intercepted their secret code. they helped China and cut off their oil shipments with them while Japan invaded Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos. The Japanese retaliated with their attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. As a result, the U.S. officially entered the war. -
Soviet Union Falls
The Soviet Union falls under Gorbachev because he wanted to democratize the country's political system and decentralize its economy. -
Wansee Conference
Meeting between Nazi officials in Berlin to plan the "Final Solution" or the extermination of the Jews -
Battle of Midway
Japan sent a huge force towards Midway Island, an American air base. The U.S. knew the Japanese were coming after they broke Japan's secret code. The U.S. was ready and won with 332 Japanese planes destroyed. This victory was a turning point in the war for the Allies. -
D-Day
The British and the Americans invade Normandy, France. Allies attack by air and sea. This victory liberated millions of people from Nazi rule and by 1944, all of Northern France had been liberated. -
Yalta Conference
Meet in the Crimea (Ukraine)
The meeting between the of British prime minister Winston Churchill, Soviet Joseph Stalin, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt to plan how to defeat Germany and how to split up the land among themselves.
Soviet Union wanted Poland to become communist and there was a secret agreement that the Soviet union could take Manchuria after Japan was defeated. -
Iwo Jima/ Okinawa Battle
The battle in which the United States captured Japan's island of Iwo Jima to provide a place to attack the Japanese main islands. -
Hitler's Suicide
Hitler commits suicide and Germany surrenders on May 7, 1945. -
VE Day
Official surrender of Germany -
Potsdam Conference
Jospeh Stalin, Winston Churchill, and President HarryTruman meet in Potsdam, Germany to discuss and negotiate terms for the end of the war. -
Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The United States drops atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima to get Japan to surrender and end the war.
Hiroshima - little boy - Aug. 6, 1945
Nagasaki - fat boy - Aug. 9, 1945 -
V-J Day
The day that japan ceased fighting in World War II and formally surrendered to the Allies.
Japan surrenderd to Macarthur. He put criminals on trial, demilitarized Japan, and Japan became a constitutional monarchy. Japan and the U.S, become allies. -
Formation of the UN
The UN was created in order to promote international cooperation and served as a replacement for the League of Nations. -
Truman Doctorine
US President Truman suggests that the US should give aid to the Greece and Turkey and countries that are threatened by the Soviet forces or Communism. -
Marshall Plan
The plan stating that the U.S. aids Europe with 17 billion dollars as economic support to help rebuild European economies after World War II -
NATO
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Formed in Washington, D.C. with 12 nations to defend against any agression from the Soviet Union with Europe -
Korean War
The war that began initially between North and South Korea, but the UN supported South Korea and China aided North Korea -
Stalin's Death
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Warsaw Pact
The millitary alliance between communist nations which includes Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the Soviet Union. -
Vietnam War
between Viet Cong and North Vietnam over reunification of Vietnam and determining whether Vietnam should manage under communist rule or not -
Sputnik
The first artificial earth satellite launched on October 4, 1957 by the Soviet Union in order to observe and understand the earth better using radio signals from the Sputnik to connect with radio operators on earth. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The unsucessful invasion of Cuba by Cuban exiles and financed by the U.S. as an attempt to overthrow the communist government and Fidel Castro. -
Berlin Wall
The barrior that divided West Berlin from east Germany from 1961 - 1989 and was created by the democratic Republic. It prevented east Germans from running to West Berlin. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
When the U.S. confronts the Soviet Union for 13 days in order to get the nuclear missiles that the Soviet Union had placed in Cuba. -
Khrushchev's Death
