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Japanese Invasion of China
The Marco Polo Bridge Incident was a battle between China and Japan and served as Japan's opening move in its undeclared war against China -
Germany invades Poland
The German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact had a secret protocol which divided Poland b/w the USSR and Nazi Germany, so the Germans invaded Poland virtually unopposed. -
Battle of Britain
Unsuccesful series of air raids by the Luftwaffe on Great Britain -
Tripartite Pact
Germany, Italy, and Japan pledged “to assist one another with all political, economic and military means if one of the Contracting Powers is attacked by a Power at present not involved in the European War or in the Chinese-Japanese conflict.” -
Lend-Lease Act
Act allowing the U.S. to provide military aid to Allied foreign nations during World War II. -
German Blitzkrieg on Soviet Union
Germans decide to attack USSR instead of Great Britiain which ends up turning the war in the favor of the Allied Powers -
Leningrad blockade
Germans-instigated prolonged seige of St. Petersburg where millions died of starvation, disease, bombardment, and cannibalism -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The Imperial Japanese Navy counducted a surprise military strike on the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii at 7:48AM (HAST) -
The Wannsee Conference
Meeting to determin the general agneda necessary for carrying out the desired final solution of the "Jewish Problem". -
Midway
The United States Navy crippled the Japanese fleet which proved to be the turning point in the Pacific Theatre -
D-Day
D-Day was the the first day of the Allied Normandy Invasion, a plan to liberated France -
Yalta Conference
The Americans, Soviets, and British agreed to demand Germany’s unconditional surrender and began plans for recovery. -
Iwo Jima/Okinawa
The Battle of Iwo Jima was fought between the Japanese army and the United States Marine Corps(victors). -
Adolf Hitler commits suicide
Der Fuhrer consumed a cyanide capsule and shot himself with a pistol. -
V-E Day
In Prague, Germans surrendered to the Soviets, endind the Eastern Theatre of WWII -
Potsdam Conference
Post-World War II Allied conference that discussed peace settlements but no peace treaties were written. -
Atomic bombing of Hiroshima
The Atomic bomb, Little Boy, was dopped by the 393rd Bombardment Squadron B-29 Enola Gay at 8:15 AM (JST) -
Atomic bombing of Nagasaki
The Atomic bomb, Fat Man, was dopped by the 393rd Bombardment Squadron B-29 Bockscar at Nagasaki at 11:01 AM (JST) -
V-J DAY
Japan surrendered unconditionally to the Allies, effectively ending World War II. -
Formation of the U.N.
Intergovernmental organization established by the Soviet Union, the UK, the US and China -
Truman Doctrine
President Harry S. Truman asks Congress to help Greece and Turkey forestall the spread of communism. -
The Marshall Plan
AKA the European Recovery Program successfully sparked economic recovery in Europe -
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was a Western Allliance whose purpose was to stop the spread of Communism. -
Mao Zedong & People’s Republic of China
Mao Zedong officially proclaimed the People’s Republic of China and names himself head of state. -
Korean War
North Korean People’s Army cross the 38th parallel and start the war. Thanks to President Truman, this war didn't become the progenitor of WWIII -
Stalin’s death & Khrushchev's Rise to Power
Joseph Stalin's 33 year-long reign ended on March 5, 1953 with his death which created a vacuum in Soviet leadership. A 5-year power struggled ensued, and by 1958, Khrushchev emerged victorious. -
The Warsaw Pact
The Soviet Union, Albania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria all sign the Warsaw Pact which called on the members to come to the defense of any member attacked by an outside force and it set up a unified military commanded by the Soviets -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was an armed conflict b/w North Vietnam and the Viet Cong(southern communists) & South Vietnam and the United States. -
Sputnik launched
The USSR launches Sputnik I at 10:29 p.m. and thereby initiating the Space Race -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
US-financed group Brigade 2506 conducted a failed invasion of Cuba on the SW coast by ~1,500 Cuban exiles opposed to Fidel Castro. -
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier that divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989 and came to symbolize the Iron Curtain. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The crisis was a confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union over Soviet missiles deployed in Cuba. -
Mikhail Gorbachev
Gorbachev was the final leader of the USSR and is known for perestroika and glasnost, programs that introduced changes in economic practice, internal affairs and international relations. -
Soviet Union falls
The dissolution of the Soviet Union occured via the resignation of Gorbachev and handing is powers over to Yeltsin and the replacing of the USSR flag over the Kremlin with the flag of the Russian Federation.
