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Mikhail Gorbachev
Gorbachev was a Soviet statesman who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. He won a nobel prize for peace in 1990. -
Japan's invasion of China
Japan became so eager in taking China's resources that it took over Manchuria. Japan started to encroach China's territory. A military conflict between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan began the Second Shino-Japanese War. Britain, U.S., France, and Germany helped China fend off Japanese encroachment. However, neither the Japanese succeeded to take over China nor could China fend off the Japanese. -
Germany invades Poland
German attacks Poland in order to conquer Poland and regain lsot territory. This event ignited World War II. -
The Battle of Britain
On July 10, British shipping centers and South Wales' dockyard was underattack by German bombers. The German's objective was to target Britain's military suppliers such as the aircraft factories and ground infastructures. However, the Germans failed to accomplish this objective. -
Tripartite Pact
Germany, Italy, and Japan formed an agreement to become allies by signing the Tripartite Pact in Berlin; they became known as the Axis powers. -
Lend-Lease Act
An act purposed that allowed U.S. military aid for the British, Russians, and Chinese. The U.S. wanted to help in the war, yet they wanted to stay away from as much conflict as possible. -
Leningrad Blockade
Operation Barbarossa was Hitler's plan to invade Russia. Germany sieged the city of Leningrad which lasted 900 days and caused approx. 1 million civilian casualties. -
German Blitzkrieg on Soviet Union
Hitler's military tactic, blitzkrieg, was used on the Soviet Union in which he launches military campains to bring quick victories through unexpected attacks. However, his attacks on Moscow and Stalingrad failed. -
Bombing of Pearl Harbor
Japan sent Japanese fighter planes to attack the American naval base at Pearl Harbor. Japan destroyed 20 american naval vessels, 200 planes, and killed 2000 American soldiers and sailors. This caused the United States to join WWII -
The Formation of the United Nations
Secretary of State Cordell Hull and British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden formulated a declaration at the Quebec Conference between 26 nations participating in the war against the Axis Powers. They all pleged to use their full resources to defeat the Axis and not make seperate peace treaties. -
The Wannsee Conference
A convention in which Reinhard Heydrich formulated with fifteen other Nazi bureaucrats to figure out a way to eliminate the entire Jewish population; this idea was known as the "Final Solution." Their final descision was to use concentration camps in order to annihilate the jews. -
Battle of Midway
Japanese fleet decided to attack the U.S. again hoping that it would demoralize them and give Pacific dominance to Japan. However, U.S. fleet and airforce defeated Japanese forces. -
D-Day
The Normandy Invasion also known as Operation Overlord, American, British, and Canadian forces invaded the shores of Normandy and defeated the Germans. This put an end to Nazi Reich. -
The Yalta Conference
The second meeting of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The leaders required Germany to surrender and to set up their three countries in the conquered nation. -
Iwo Jima/Okinawa
The United stats attacked Iwo Jima and Okinawa for a base near the Japanese coast. Japanese held defensive positions with hidden bunkers, artillery, and underground channels that protected Japanese soldiers from U.S. planes and ships. It was a ratio of approx. 20,000 Japanese soldiers vs 110,000 American soldiers. -
Hitler's Suicide
Adolf HItler killed himself inside an underground bunker. He consumes a cyanide capsule, then shoots himself in the head. -
Victory in Europe Day
A celebration in Europe was declared when Germany surrendered, and Great Britain and the United States was victorious. -
Postdam Conference
A WWII meeting held by American President Harry S. Truman, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin. This conference covered Germany's punishment for war, land boundaries, military restrictions, and raparations. -
Atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The United States dropped the first atom bomb, "Little Boy," on Hiroshima. 80,000+ people died from the explosion and exposure to radiation. The second atom bomb, "Fat Man," was dropped on Nagasaki three days later, killing 40,000 people. -
Victory over Japan Day
Japan surrendered which put an end to WWII in the Pacific. -
Truman Doctrine
Harry Truman delivered a speech that stated that the United States would aid democratic nations militarily, politically, and economically. -
Marshall Plan
The United States offered $17 billion to Europe in order to help aid them in reconstructing their economies after WWII. -
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty organization was formed because of unbalanced power strength in the eastern side of the hemisphere. The Soviet Union was a strong force, but Europe was fragmented and was weak. Therefore, the United States consolidated power with the Europe in order to maintain a balance between powers. -
Mao Zedong and the People's Republic of China
Mao was born on December 26, 1893 in Shaoshan village. Mao worked on his father's farm and took on the hobby of reading political books. He was inspired by the military prowess of George Washington and Napoleon Bonaparte. At age 52, Mao governed as the Chairman of the Communist Party of China. He was the founding father of the People's Republic of China which was proclaimed on 1949. The PCR was a single-party state governed by the Chinese Communist Party. -
Korean War
Korea was temporarily divided upon the 38th parallel known as North and South Korea by the Soviet Union and the United States. On 1950, North Korea attacked South Korea. Fearing that communism will cause a domino effect, the U.S. helped South Korea fight off the North Koreans, and the U.S. in the meantime worked on an armistice with North Korea. -
Stalin's death; Krushchev
After the death of Stalin, Georgi Malenkov was announced premier and first secretary of the Communist Party. However Krushchev pushed Malenkov out of the premiership. He instead took the premiership himself and held political power. -
The Warsaw Pact
A treaty between the Soviet Union, Albania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria that set up a defense to defend any member from attacking forces. This was a response to NATO which made the descision to remilitarize West Germany. -
Vietnam War
A war between Northern Vietnam which was supported by the Soviet Union, China, and other communist allies and Southern Vietnam who was aided by the U.S and other anti communist allies. The U.S. feared the spread of communism which caused them to be involved with the Vietnam war. The batttle occured in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia and lasted about 19 years. -
Sputnik
The Soviet Union launched its first man made satellite, Sputnik. Sputnik traveled at 18,000 mph and reach the highest point from earth at 584 miles. -
Bay of Pigs
Fidel Castro, a Cuban nationalist, led his guerilla army to attack Havana and overthrow General Fulgencio Batista. The CIA, in return, devised a plan to launch an attack on Castro by trained Cuban runnaways. In the end, the CIA's plan failed. -
Berlin Wall
East Germany built a border between East and West Berlin, sealing off families and friends from the other side. The Berlin Wall included 79 miles of fencing, 300 watchtowers, 250 guard dogs, 20 bunkers, and 65 miles of anti-vehicle trenches. 5,000 people escaped the eastern side, but 100 people died during the process. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Soviet Union installed nuclear-armed Soviet missiles in Cuba which served as a threat to nation security. President John F. Kennedy agreed to Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev’s offer to remove soviet missiles from Cuba in return of the U.S. not invading Cuba. Kennedy also agreed to remove U.S. missiles from Turkey. -
Soviet Union Falls
Ukraine, the Russian Federation, Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekista all decided to break apart from Soviet Union ties and govern their own country. The Soviet Union had grown weaker as to the radical reforms made by Gorbachev; thus, he resigned from his job, and the Soviet Union fell.
