WWII & Cold War Timeline

Japan’s invasion of China

Jul 1, 1937

Japan invated China for their supply of resources, and this initatived the second Sino-Japanese War. China received aid from the communists, Britan, France, and United States. germany also helped China for a short period of time before making a treaty with Japan.

Germany invades Poland

Sep 1, 1939

Hitler wants to regain Danzing corridor from Poland, which was taken away from Germany after World War I and given to Poland.This area gave Poland sea access. Germany invades Poland in hopes to regain Danzing corridor.

Battle of Britain

Jun 18, 1940

After the fall of France, the German air force (Luftwaffe) conducted many air raids on Britian. British air force (Royal Air Force) ended up defeating the Gemans and prevented Britian from being invaded by Germany.

Tripartite Pact

Sep 27, 1940

This is th day where the Axis powers were formed: Germany, Italy, and Japan.

Lend-Lease Act

Mar 1, 1941

The United States passed this Act after Britian could not afford to buy war tools. It let the Allies get war materials and pay in forms other thn cash.

German Blitzkrieg on Soviet Union

Jun 1, 1941

German invades Russia and uses Blitzkrieg techniques. Eventually, Germany faces defeat and this is known as the turning point in the world.

Leningrad blockade

Sep 8, 1941

Leningrad blockade is also known as Siege of Leningrad. Germany army invaded Leningrad (present day St.Petersburg) and created a blockade for 900 days. Many citizens died of starvation and disease.

Bombing of Pearl Harbor

Dec 7, 1941

Due to the United States cracking Japan's secret code, the Japanese dropped a surprise bomb on Pearl Harbor, a United States' naval base. The bomb killed and wounded many Americans and damaged many ships. This surprise attack made the United States to declare war on Japan and their allies.

Wannsee Conference

Jan 20, 1942

Nazi officals met to discuss what should be done with the Jewish people. They abandoned the idea of sending all Jews to Madagascar and instead created labor camps.

Battle of Midway

Jun 2, 1942

United States defated Japanesse naval forces with U.S. air crafts and it contributed to the end of Japanesse expansion into the Pacific.

D-Day

Jun 6, 1944

The Allies attacked the German army which were located on Normandy beaches. This invasion weakened Germany's "Atlantic Wall", which resulted in many people being liberated from the Nazi rule. At the end of this invasion, Northan France was liberated.

Iwo Jima/Okinawa

Feb 1, 1945

United States' forces focus on the island Iwo Jima because they want to make it a U.S. fighter plane base. The invasion of Okinawa was known as the last step to taking over Kyushu.

Yalta Conference

Feb 4, 1945

All three major Allies powers leaders ( Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin) met at Yalta and discussed the final defeat of Nazi Germany.

Hitler’s suicide

Apr 30, 1945

Hitler consumes a cyanide pill then shoots himself in an air-raid shelter in Berlin.

VE Day

May 8, 1945

German surrenders and put their weapons down.

Potsdam Conference

Jul 17, 1945

Harry S. Truman, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin all met in Potsdam, a suburb of Berlin, and discussed what to do with Germany.

Atomic bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki

Aug 6, 1945

Truman, United States' presdient, ordered an atomic bomb to be dropped on Japan in order to defeat Japan and save more lives of American soldiers. A bomb named "Little Boy" was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6th, and a bomb named "Fat Man" was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9th.

VJ Day

Aug 14, 1945

This was the day Japan surrending to the Allies power was announced. This marked the end to World War II.

Formation of the U.N.

Oct 24, 1945

United Nations came after the League of Nations failed to prevent World War II from occuring. 50 countries met in San Francisco to create the charter,and the charter was later ratified.

Truman Doctrine

Mar 12, 1947

United States' president Harry S. Truman ordered the United states to give ecomonic help to Greece and Turkey due to communist pressure.

Marshall Plan

Apr 1, 1948

This was a program sponsored by the United States to help 17 European countries recover from the war. This plan had hopes of maintaining democratic states.

NATO

Apr 4, 1949

This treaty was made in response to Soviet Union's communist treats. It was made so that North American presence in Europe could possibly stop communist expansion.

Mao Zedong &People’s Republic of China

Oct 1, 1949

Mao Zedong was the chairman of People’s Republic of China. People’s Republic of China had ties with the Soviet Union which made them have conflict with western powers.

Stalin’s death; Khrushchev

Mar 20, 1950

Nikita Khrushchev came into power after Stalins death on March 5, 1953. His rise to power eased tensions between the Soviet Union and United States.

Korean War

Jun 25, 1950

This war was fought between North and South Korea. The Soviet Union faught on North Korea's side, and the United Nations, especially United States, faught on South Korea's side. The war ended with Korea splitting up into North and South Korea.

Warsaw Pact

May 14, 1955

This was a treaty between Soviet Union, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Romania. This treaty allowed Soviet Union's military units to be taken care of in other territories involved with this treaty.

Sputnik

Oct 4, 1957

This was a satellite launched by the Soviet Union which started the space age. Sputnik cirlcled the Earth every 96 minutes and remained in orbit till early 1958.

Bay of Pigs

Apr 17, 1961

This was an unsuccessful invasion in Cuba by Cuban exiles who were against Castro. This invasion was funded by the United States government and contributed to the start of the Cuban Mistle Crisis.

Berlin Wall

Aug 12, 1961

The Berlin Wall was built to seperate East and West Berlin from 1961 to 1989.

Cuban Missile Crisis

Oct 1, 1962

The Soviet Union were sending missile shipments to Cuba. The United States created a blockade to prevent morre missiles from arriving in Cuba. The missiles were a treat because eastern United States could easily get attacked.

Vietnam War

Nov 1, 1965

The United States faught along side with South Vietnam against North Vietnam. The cause of this war was North Vietnams desire to become communist.

Gorbachev

Jan 1, 1990

He became the first president of the Soviet Union and is known for his leadership to end The Cold War.

Soviet Union falls

Dec 25, 1991

Mikhail Gorbachev announced the break up of USSR in hopes theycould improve relationships with the United Nations, especially United States