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Japan's invasion of China
Japan launched a full scale invasion of China trying to control more territory. They won many victories and gained control of cities such as Shanghai and Nanjing. -
Germany invades Poland
Germany moved into Poland unannounced and used their surprise, stealth, and quickness for their conquest. They stunned the world with their blitzkrieg (lightning war) and sudden victory. -
Battle of Britain
This was a battle between British and German Air Forces which turned out to be a decisive victory and a turning point for Britian. -
Tripartite pact
Japan signed a ten-year military and economic pact with Germany and Italy to align itself with other revisionist nations. -
Lend-Lease Act
The United States "lent" destroyers and other war goods to the British in return for the lease of naval bases. The program later extended to other countries. -
Bombing of Pearl Harbor
Japanese bombers, fighters, and torpedo planes attacked Hawaii and destroyed many ships and devastated the American naval power in the Pacific. This lead to the United States joking and fighting in World War II. -
Wannsee Conference
This was meeting of senior officials of Nazi Germany to discuss and coordinate. The implementation of the final solution. They agreed to evacuate all Jews from Europe to camps in eastern Poland where they would be worked to death or exterminated. -
D-Day
British and United States troops landed on the French coast of Normandy and began fighting. They leveled many German cities and German resistance faded. The fighting was deadly for both sided and the Germans were overwhelmed. -
VE Day
This is the day when Germany unconditionally surrendered and ended the war in Europe. -
Potsdam Conference
This took place in a Berlin suburb as the last wartime summit conference of the Allies. The major focus was on the immediate Allied control of Germany, the occupation of Austria, and the demarcation of the boundaries of Poland. -
Atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The United States used its revolutionary new weapon, the atomic bomb, on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as its final blow. This was very disastrous for Japan and killed upwards of 200,000 people. -
VJ Day
This is when Japan surrendered unconditionally to the Allies and ended World War II. -
Truman Doctrine
This stated that the United States would support Greece and Turkey with economic and military aid to prevent them from falling into Soviet ideology. This can be seen as the beginning of the Cold War. -
Marshall Plan
This was a plan developed by the United States to help shore up destroyed infrastructures of Western Europe. This proposed to rebuild European economies through cooperation and capitalism. -
Stalin's death; Krushchev
After Stalin's death in 1953, many communist leaders attacked and questioned Stalin and his methods. Krushchev was Stalin's successor and he began a policy of de- Stalinization which was the end of the rule of terror and the partial liberation of the Soviet society. -
Warsaw Pact
The Soviet Union formed the Warsaw Pact as a countermeasure to NATO. The pact included seven communist European nations. -
Sputnik
This was launched by the Soviet Union and was the first satellite sent into space. This was part of the space race. -
Bay of Pigs
Many anti-Castro Cubans trained by the CIA tried to overthrow Castro and his supporters and launched an invasion. This was a failure and diminished United States prestige.
