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Japan invades China
The Japanese occupy eastern China, currently under the nationalist Chiang Kai-shek, and a stalemate between the two ensues that will continue until the Japan's defeat in WWII by the Allies. -
Germany invades Poland
After invading Poland, the German army swiftly breaks apart the nations military, and with the USSR's help, almost completely control Poland within two months. The invasion was, of course, planned by both Germany and the Soviet Union. -
Period: to
World War II
Tensions from the Great War finally come to a bursting point, as France and Great Britain--and others soon--declare war on the recently revived Germany on 3 September 1939 for invading Poland. -
Battle of Britain
Great Britain succesfully dealt with air raids from Germany, which sent bomber pilots with relatively little preparation on Hitler's whim. -
Tripartite Pact
Germany, Italy, and Japan pledge help to one another should they be attacked by a power not presently involved with the current wars or conflicts. -
Lend-Lease Act
Franklin D. Roosevelt proposes the Lend-Lease Act--which is passed by Congress in 1941--in order to aid Great Britain, which was getting too low on money to pay for the arms and supplies from the U.S.A., in the war effort. The Act extends to more countries in the future. -
Leningrad Blockade
The German army blocks off Leningrad (St. Petersburg) from the rest of the Soviet Union, letting almost one million people die in the winter. -
Bombing of Pearl Harbor
Roughly 360 aircraft are sent from Japan to attack the naval base at Pearl Harbor. It is successful, with around 3,000 U.S. casualties and the destruction of quite a few sea vessels and aircraft. -
Wannsee Conference
Nazi conference held to determine what should be done with the persecuted Jews in Europe. The final "solution" entailed the movement of the Jews into labour groups across eastern Europe, and is understood to be the Holocaust. -
Battle of Midway
U.S. bombers from Midway Island begin the attack on Japanese forces, which had planned to seize the island. Both sides sustaining casualties, the Japanese back from the battle. -
German Blitzkrieg on Soviet Union
Germany launches their attack on the Soviet Union in the summer, and whilst the army gained much ground, they inevitably lost control. -
D-Day
The Normandy Invasion led by the Allies, in which they simultaneously landing on separate beaches and began liberation of France. -
Yalta Conference
Conference mainly remembered for how Poland's government was to be handled. The plans for dividing Germany were also discussed. -
Iwo Jima and Okinawa
U.S. troops invade the island of Iwo Jima and the town of Okinawa in an effort to defeat Japan. -
Hitler's suicide
In acceptance of defeat, Hitler appoints two positions to his subordinates--that of the head of state and chancellor--and retires to a suite where he shoots himself. His wife, whom he had married one to two day before, also takes poison, and both of their bodies are burned. -
VE Day
Victory in Europe Day, in which Germany has formally surrendered to the Allies. -
Potsdam Conference
Stalin, Churchill, and Truman (among other national leaders) discuss how to resolve Europe after ending the war there. No peace treaties were made however, and each nation was particularly less amicable than they had previously been. -
Atomic bombing of HIroshima and Nagasaki
Hiroshima is devastated by the nuclear weapon, with roughly 70,000+ deaths, and Nagasaki is affected 3 days later in like, with around 40,000+ deaths and some 40,000 injured. -
Victory over Japan Day (VJ Day)
Japan accepts surrender to the Allies, and begins formal surrender ceremonies on 2 September 1945. -
Formation of the United Nations
The successor to the League of Nations is born, taking some essential points of the predecessor, but different in regards maintaining piece and aiding the development of nations. -
Period: to
The Cold War
Fear of nuclear war between two new world superpowers--The Soviet Union (USSR) and the United States of America--has caused tension between them. Whilst no actual nuclear war occurred, the struggle for power led to horrifying events such as the Korean War, Vietnam War, and Cuban Missile Crisis. -
Truman Doctrine
United States President Harry Truman declares immediate economic and military aid to Mediterranean countries in "danger" of becoming communist. -
Marshall Plan
The European Recovery Program, a U.S. program to reconstruct the economies of European nations so that democratic institutions could continue, is signed into law by President Harry Truman. -
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a collective-defence organization, is created from the North Atlantic Treaty out of fear from the new and powerful communist governments forming, as well as the Soviet Union. -
Mao Zedong
The chairman of the Chinese Communist Party has become the chairman of the People's Republic of China after defeating the nationalists. -
Korean War
North Korea (The Democratic People's Republic of Korea) invades South Korea (The Republic of Korea) with aid from the Soviet Union and China, The United Nations aids the Republic of Korea, and an effective stalemate between the two sides occurs. -
Vietnam War
The split sides of North Vietnam (the communist Viet Cong) and South Vietnam (The State of Vietnam) begin war with one another. The United States enters the bloody war on the side of South Vietnam, but South Vietnam falls regardless and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is formed. -
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance establishes the Warsaw Treaty Organization, a mutual defence organization comprised of a number of eastern countries at the time, most notable being the Soviet Union. -
Sputnik (1)
The first satellite sent by man is launched by the USSR, promoting a feeling of unease and doubt in the U.S. -
Khrushchev becomes Soviet Premier
After Stalin's death in March 1953, Khrushchev becomes a lead role in the actions of the Soviet Union and attempts to reform the nation from the Stalinism previously forced upon them. -
Bay of Pigs (Invasion)
The United States does a bang-up job invading Cuba's Bahia de Conchinos and has tea afterwards. (They had 3 airplanes bomb Cuban air bases and sent Cubans trained by the U.S. to invade Cuba at the Bay of Pigs, but failed.) -
Berlin Wall
The wall is erected in order to retain the steadily decreasing number of inhabitants in Eastern Germany, as it could become a serious threat to the state. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The United States President John F. Kennedy issues a naval blockade on Cuba after receiving information that the Soviet Union has been shipping nuclear weapons to Cuba. Khrushchev and Kennedy exchange messages with one another and Khrushchev agrees to remove the nuclear weapons from Cuba, enraging the Cuban communist leader Fidel Castro. -
Mikhail Gorbachev
Gorbachev is elected chairman of the Supreme Soviet, and thereby obtains presidency. His reforms of the Soviet Union are extremely democratic, and he eventually becomes the sole cause for the fall of the Soviet Union. -
Fall of the Soviet Union
Mikhail Gorbachev resigns his presidency of the Soviet Union, and it falls with him on that very same day.
