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Japan Invades China
The Japanese army successfully invades Manchuria (the northeastern part of China) and hold it until the end of the war. This conquered land acted mainly as a puppet state. -
Germany invades Poland
Germany attacks Poland in hopes of regaining land lost after WWI. This marks the beginning of WWII. -
Battle of Britian
An air strike campaign that was launched by the German air force agianst the United Kingdom. The U.K. successfully defended their lands and prevented the Germans from gaining a position where they could invade the U.K. -
Tripartite Pact
Also known as the Berlin pact, this was a piece of propoganda that was signed by Germany, Italy, and Japan. It was focused on the pulling the United States into the war and promoted for Japan to declare war on the U.S. -
Lend-Lease Act
Established in March of 1941, this act stated that the U.S. would give supplies such as oil and food to the Allied Nations and the countries fighting the Axis Powers. Most of the support was free, but ships and other large equipment was returned to the U.S. after the war. It ended in Sept. of 1945. -
German Blitzkrieg on Soviet Union
Known as Opperation Barbarossa, this was the effort launched by the Germans to invade the Soviet Union. The modivation to attack the Soviet Union was from Hitler's desire to conquer the USSR outlined in "Mein Kampf". The Germans were not successful in invading Russia, due to the harsh Winters which they were not prepared for. The incasion was the largest in warfare to date, despite its failure. The blindside from Germany results in Russia joining the Allied Forces. -
Leningrad Blockade
The effort made by the German army to cut Leningrad (St. Petersburg) off from all ports and resources. The blockade lasted almost 900 days. -
Bombing of Pearl Harbor
Japan bombs U.S. naval base, Pearl Harbor (located in Hawaii), resulting in the immediate entry of the U.S. into the war. -
Wannsee Conference
This was a meeting of top, senior Nazi officials to ensure the cooperation all government departments in the extermination of the Jews. -
Battle of Midway
Only 6 months after the attack on Pear Harbor, the U.S. launched a defensive against a Japanese air fleet. This was the first time the Japanese had been defeated in a naval confrontation in almost 80 years. -
D-Day
The Allied forces invaded the shores of Normandy in the largest sea invasion to date. This led to the liberation of France, began the invasion of German-controlled European countries, and contributed to the Allied powers winning the war. -
Yalta Conference
A confernce between the Big Three -- U.S., U.K., and the Soviet Union -- pretaining to how post-war Europe should be reorganized. It was followed by the Potsdam Conference. -
Iwo Jima/Okinawa
The victory over the island of Iwo Jima allowed for the U.S. to have a place to stage attacks on the larger islands on Japan. It was one of the bloodiest battles in the Pacific in WWII. During the battle, the famous 'Raising of the Flag on Iwo Jima' photograph was captured by Joe Rosenthal. -
Hitler's Suicide
Hitler committed suicide using a gun in Berlin alongside his wife, Eva, who also committed by taking cyanide. After his death, his body along with his wife's were carried out of the emergency exit of the bunker they were staying in and burned in the Reich Chancellor garden outside the bunker, after being covered in gasoline. This was apperently order by Hitler himself, before committing suicide. -
VE Day
The day that Germany surrendered to the Allied Forces. This did not mark the end of WWII, but it was the end to front in Europe. Germany's surrender was mainly enacted after the suicide of Hitler on April 30th, so the surrender was authorized by his successor. The military surrender documents were signed on May 8th. -
Potsdam Conference
The Allies hold a conference in Potsdam (a suburb of Berlin) to discuss what and how a peace treaty would be created in Europe. No actual treaty was created. -
Bombing of Hiroshima
The United States drops an atomic bomb on the Japanese town of Hiroshima, killing 70,000 people instantly. This was done in efforts to end the war. -
Bombing of Nagasaki
Just three days after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, the U.S. drops another bomb on the town of Nagasaki, Japan. This bomb killed anywhere from 35,000 to 40,000 people and injured around the same number of people. This led to Japan pulling out of the war. -
VJ Day
Also known as Victory over Japan Day, the surrender of Japan marked the official end of WWII. The surrender document was signed on Sept. 2 aboard USS Missouri.The picture shows a famous kiss exchanged between a US sailor and a women after Japan's surrender. -
Formation of the U.N.
Formed in efforts to help international relations between countries, the United Nations replaced the League of Nations which proved to be ineffective. There were 51 countries that were members at its formation. There are now 193. -
Truman Docterine
Coming from a speech Pres. Truman gave to all of Congress, this docterine stated that the U.S. would give economic, military, and political support to democratic nations that are under attack from hostile authoritarian forces. This reshaped the U.S. foreign policy completely. -
Marshall Plan
Truman signs the Marshall Plan, an American effort to help rebuild Europe's economy after WWII. The support lasted four years. -
NATO
A mutual, collective defense agreement signed by the U.S., U.K., Canada, and many other western European countries to defend each other against outside forces. It was nothing more than a political pact until the Korean War. It rivaled against the countries that were part of the Warsaw Pact during the Cold War. -
Mao Zedong & People's Republic of China
After the Communist Party of China almost won the Chinese Civil War, Mao Zedong declared that China was now the People's Repulic of China. China became a socialist societ under Mao's control. While China is still part of teh People's Republic of China, it is more capatalist than in the past. -
Korean War
A war between communist North and capatalist South Korea in which the United States was pushed to take up arms in by the United Nations. The U.S. sided with the South, while China helped the North along with the Soviet Union. It was after WWII, but was before the Cold War. -
Stalin's Death: Khrushchev
Stalin died of a cerebral hemorrage and was succeeded by Khrushchev. -
Warsaw Pact
An agreement made between 8 communist powers in both Central and Eastern Europe in retaliation to NATO. It's intent was to create a collective defense between the countries. -
Vietnam War
War between North and South Korea. The North was backed by the Soviet Union and the Viet Cong (South Vietnamese rebels). The South was backed by the U.S. and other anti-communist Allies. Guerrilla warfare was introduced by the North forces. The U.S.'s involvement in the war had more to do with a containment strategy to battle the domino theory that was prelvent at the time. The U.S. eventually ends envolvement in the war and North Vietnam gains control and unifies Vietnam. The war ended in 1973. -
Sputnik
The Russians launched an artifcial satellite into the Earth's orbit on this day. The unexpected success of the Russians launched the Space Race between Russia and the U.S. -
Bay of Pigs
This was a failed military invasion by the U.S.'s C.I.A. on Cuba in attempts to bring down Fidel Castro's communist government. The attack only lasted 3 days before the U.S. was defeated. -
Cuban Missle Crisis
This was a 13-day confrontation between the U.S. and the Soviet Union as result having missles stationed in Cuba and of the assult at the Bay of Pigs. Nuclear missles were placed in Cuba after Khrushchev agreed to a long standing offer established by the Cubans. -
Gorbachev
He was a Soviet statesman and the last President of the Soviet Union. He abloished his own office and allowed the fall of the Soviet Union to happen. -
Berlin Wall
Constructed by the German Democratic Republic, the wall was intended to seperate East and West Berlin from each other by land. It was opened up in Nov. of 1989 and was offically began to be demolised on June 13, 1990. The demolishion was complete in 1992. -
Soviet Union Falls
The Soviet Union is offically debanded on this day. This was the result of Soviet President Gorbachev resigning and declaring his office extinct. He handed all power over to Russian President Boris Yeltsin, including all the nuclear missle launch codes.
