WWII- Significant Events

Start & End of progression of WWII

Period: Jan 1, 1931 to Dec 31, 1945

Japan invades Manchuria

Sep 18, 1931

*Japan with Military Junta takes over the then-weak Manchuria of China

Germany withdraws from League of Nations

Oct 14, 1933

*Germany leaves the League of Nations
*Hitler declares they wouldn't be obeying the Treaty of Versailles

First Neutrality Act passed

Aug 31, 1935

*Americans wanted to stay out of war because of recovery from WWI and Great Depression
*Leaned toward Allied Powers

Italy invades Ethiopia

Oct 3, 1935

*Italy wanted an Italian Sea
*They expanded to the lowly-technologized nation of Ethiopia

Germany invades the Rhineland

Mar 7, 1936

*Germany broke the League of Nation's rule
*Demilitarized buffer zone between Germany and France

Quarantine Speech

Oct 5, 1937

*Roosevelt made this global speech to try to squelch the agressors from expansion

"Anschluss"- Austria annexed with Germany

Mar 12, 1938

*Germany seized Austria to join Axis Powers

Munich Conference

Sep 30, 1938

*Hitler, Mussolini, Daladier of France, and Chamberlain of Britain
*They figure out German ownership of Sudentenland and stop Hitler's claims of Eurpeon land
*Appeasement of Hitler

Germany takes Sudetenland

Oct 10, 1938

*The first step of taking over Czechoslovakia
*Appeasement for Hitler from Munich Conference

Kristallnacht

Nov 9, 1938

*aka "night of broken glass"
*Anti-Semitism act of the Germans
*d]Destroyed thosuands of Jewish buildings and establishments
*Killed 100 Jews
*Sent 26,000 to concentration camps

Nazi-Soviet Pact made

Aug 23, 1939

*Hitler of Germany and Stalin of USSR meet
*They agree to not join and divide Poland
*Hitler broke this later

Invasion of Poland

Sep 1, 1939

*The official start of the war
*Hitler craftily made it seem that it was due to a Polish attack
*Poland was completely taken by three weeks time

Cash-and-Carry Policy passed

Nov 5, 1939

*U.S. would sell weapons to any other nation only if it was immediately paid in cash and transported by their own ships

Sitzkrieg- "Phony War"

Period: Nov 30, 1939 to Mar 13, 1940

*Winter of 1939-1940
*Germany quickly took over much of Europe including Norway, Luxemburg, Bulgaria
*The Soviets invaded Russia on Nov. 30th
*The Moscow Peace Treaty was passed on March 13th

Japan bombed Pearl Harbor

Dec 7, 1941

*Marked America's entry into WWII
*Surprise attack on naval base in Hawaii
*Delayed the U.S. but not as much as Japan had wished

Battle of Bataan ends

Apr 9, 1942

*Associated with the Bataan Death March-
*After this battle, surrendered Americans and Filippinos were forced by Japanese to march for 65 miles

Battle of Coral Sea

May 1, 1942

*Fought strictly by carrier-based aircraft
*Supported by Australia
*Won by America against Japan

Battle of Midway

Jun 3, 1942

*Chester W. Nimitz directed
*only through aircrafts
*America beat Japan's attempt at taking Midway Island

Battle of Stalingrad

Aug 23, 1942

*Last German attempt on Eastern front
*At a major city on Volga River
*Allies win

Manhatten Project begins

Sep 17, 1942

*President Roosevelt gave the green light to begin research on developing new technology for nuclear bombs
*In secrecy
*Employed 120,000 Americans

Normandy Invasion/D-Day

Jun 6, 1944

*aka Operation Overload
*on a beach in France
*bad conditions of cliffs (no harbor), dunes, currents, and frequent storms
*unexpected area for an element of surprise

Letye Gulf

Oct 23, 1944

*Japan's navy- last attempt against MacArthur of America
*Made up of three battles on water and land, all won by Allies
*Ending defeat of Japan's naval power
*Largest Pacific battle, end of Japan's threat

Battle of the Bulge

Dec 16, 1944

*Last attempt of Germans on Western Front, 60 miles of advance
*Alies won

Yalta Conference

Feb 4, 1945

*Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill decided postwar actions
*Took place in Russia

Okinawa

Mar 23, 1945

*aka Operation Iceberg
*Major battle of Pacific-many casualities
*Part of 3-point plan to conquer the East
*Allies won

Victory in Europe Day

May 8, 1945

*Day after German government surrendered unconditionally
*All Allied Powers rejoiced

Potsdam Conference

Jul 17, 1945

*Harry Truman, Joseph Stalin, and Winston Church decided to split Germany into four parts
*Discussed after Germany's surrender

America bombs Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Aug 6, 1945

*Done to force Japan to surrender
*Killed and injured hundreds of thousands
*8/6/1945- Hiroshima
*8/9/1945-Nagasaki

Japan surrenders to Allied Powers

Sep 2, 1945

*Two bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki caused Japan to give in
*Signified the final end to WWII