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Japan's invasion of China
Japan, eager to gain vast amounts of natural resources invades Manchuria and occupies it in 1931. As a result Japan begins to have influence over China. China responds my complaining to the League of Nations. The League of Nations attmept to stop Japan peacefully which only angers them even more causing them to leave the League. Gradually Japan begins to take over China. -
Germany invades Poland
1.5 million troops invaded Poland early in the morning. Hitler claimed that it was only a defensive attack. However Britan and France were not convinced and declared war on Germany intiating World War II. -
Battle of Britan
This battle was a succesful defense of Great Britan against the unrelenting forces of the German army. It was won by the Royal Army air force in Semptember of 1940 -
Tripartite Pact
This was an agreement signed by Germany, Italy. and Japan in Berling in 1940. It was a defensive military alliance bewtween these three countries. All three of these countries also endorsed propaganda towards the U.S. These three countires eventually began the Axis Powers -
Lend-Lease Act
President Franklin Roosevelt signs an act which states that the U.S. will help countries by providing them with resources and those countries may pay them later in any way they wish -
German Blitzkrieg on Soviet Union
Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941 which was successful at first since the Soviet Union was unprepared. Unprepared for the harsh winter conditions, the German force was badly weakened and was unable to defeat the Soviet Union. -
Leningrad Blockade
Germany planned to surround and trap the city of Leningrad. In total it lasted for 872 days and about one million Russian cilivians died from starvation but still refused to surrender. In 1944, German forces were forced to retreat, ending the seige. -
Bombing of Pearl Harbor
Japan intiates a siprise aerial attack on the U.S. naval base, Pearl Harbor on Oahu Island, Hawaii. This worsened the realtionship between Japan and the U.S. and eventually became the reason the U.S. entered World War II -
Battle of Midway
A battle fought using almost only with aircraft which the United States was able to prevent further Japanese expansion in the Pacific. The United States was able to destroy most of Japan's best pilots. -
Wannsee Conference
This was the day that the Nazi generals came together and decided on what to do with the Jews. During this confrence many ideas were thrown around on what to do, and while no one mentioned the specific killing of the Jews the underlying tone was that the ones who rebel will be handled accordingly -
D-Day
Also known as the battle of Normandy. This is when the British and Canadian troops landed on the French coast and assaulted the German forces. This event eventually led to the liberation of western Europe from Nazi control -
Yalta Confrence
A World War conference to plan the defeat and occupation of Germany by the Allied leaders: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin. -
Iwo Jima/Okinawa
The last and one of the fiercest battles fought in the Pacific was on Iwo Jima/ Okinawa which was heavily defended by the Japanese against the Americans. -
Hitler's Sucide
Hitler committed suicide with his wife in his underground bunker. After taking a cyanide capsule, he shot himself with a pistol after Germany was about to be defeated. -
VE Day
VE Day, known as Victory in Europe Day, was celebrated by Great Britain and the United States after Germany declared defeat of World War II. -
Potsdam Conference
This was an Allied confrence held in the suburbs of Berlin in July of 1945. During this confrence leaders of the Allied forces, President Truman, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin all came together and discussed actions needed to be taken after the war. However the confrencees did not write a treaty they let the council of foreign ministers do that. As a result of this confrence the Allied forces got 1/4 of Berlin and Austria in order to make them democratic and demilitarized. -
Atomic bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki
In order to defeat the Japanese forces without losing many American lives, President Truman made the decision to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki with the first Atomic bomb. About 140,000+ people were killed and Japan was forced to surrender. -
VJ Day
This was the day Japan officially admitted defeat and the U.S. officially ended World War ll -
Formation of U.N.
Created by Churchill and Rooselvelt in order to defend themselves amongst Axis powers but eventually the charter was modified when many other countries joined in -
Truman Doctrine
A pronouncement by U.S. president, Harry Truman which declared immediate ecnomic and military aid to countries such as Greece and Turkey in order to prevent communist forces from taking over -
Marshall Plan
It is a plan established by the United States to help recontruct European economies in fear of Communists using the poverty of the postwar to its advantage. -
NATO
This was the US's response to the Warsaw Pact. The US and 11 other countries came together to create the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It lasted through the Cold War -
Mao Zedong & People's Republic of China
He was the leader of the Chinese Communist Party from 1935 and eventually became chairman of People's Republic of China from 1945 to 1959. He initiated China's economic development and social change to strengthen China. -
Korean War
A war fought between Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea). The Soviet Union and China supported North Korea while the United States supported South Korea. At the end, about 2.5 million people died. Neither side won and the 38th parallel was established. -
Stalin’s death; Khrushchev
Joseph Stalin dies and a new priemer by the name of Nikita Khrushchev comes to power. Khrushchev begins leading the Soviet Union in 1958 and rules during the height of the Cold War. He was also the man who intiated the Cuban Missile Crisis his rule came to an end in 1964 -
Warsaw Pact
It is a treaty signed by the Soviet Union, Albania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria to defend one another against from attacks by enemies -
Vietnam War
A war between the Communist government of Norh Vietnam and South Vietnam which was supported by the United States. This was part of the Cold War which the United States lost the battle in and had to withdraw from. The south was taken over by the Communist north. -
Sputnik
This was the first ever satellite launched in space and it was created by the Soviet Union. This event innaugrated the SPace Age and further increased competition between the U.S and the Soviet Union -
Bay of Pigs
This was attack on Cuba during the Cold War. Fidel Castro had recently came to power and had overruled the U.S. backed president. The U.S. began planning and watching Cuba. On this day The U.S. decided to attack Cuba by bombing their air bases. However the U.S. was humiliated and defeated by Castro and his troops just days later. -
Berlin War
The Berlin Wall seperated West Berlin (democratic) from East Berlin (communist) after the Cold War which was fought between the United States and Soviet Union after World War II. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
A conflict that almost started a war between the United States and the Soviet Union after the Soviet Union provided Cuba with nuclear weapons -
Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev was the last leader of the Soviet Union until it dissolved. He tried to democratize the Soviet Union's government and decentralize its economy which also ended the postwar control of eastern Europe. He was secretary from 1985 to 1991 and president from 1900 to 1991. -
Soviet Union Falls
After the death of Stalin, Gorbachev implemented radical reforms that could not improve the Soviet Union's economy and political problems. Eventually, different states broke away from the Soviet Union and the Soviet Union fell into 15 countries.
