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13; Attack of Manchuria
Japan decided to invade China's northern east province, Manchuria for its area of richness in iron and coal. This attack that was launched created a challenge for the League of Nations, and many members vigorously protested. Japan ignored all the protests claimed by the League and withdrew from it in 1933. -
12; Nuremberg laws
These were a set of laws that deprived Jews of their rights to German citizenship, jobs, and property. It was basically a way for Nazis to discard German Jews from their right to be apart of Germany. -
14; Alliance with Italy and Germany
Because of Hitler's growing power, Mussolini thought he should seek the formation of an alliance with Germany. The two dictators came to an agreement that became known as the Rome-Berlin Axis. One month later, Germany also formed an alliance with Japan, and the three countries became known as the Axis Powers. -
11; Kristallnacht
This event was based off of the night on November 7 (2 days earlier), when a Jewish man shot a German employee because of the fact his father had been deported by the Germans. The Germans were upset because of this, so they attacked Jewish synagogues, homes, and stores, killing about 100 Jews. This day was named "Kristallnacht" meaning "Night of Broken Glass' based off of how much shattered glass there was around the cities from the attacks. -
1; invasion of Poland
Hitler had a plan of conquering Poland. The German attack went down on this day. It was a surprise attack for Poland, causing the city to crumble. This attack was one of the first things leading to the war. This was the first time Germany used their new type of warfare, "the blitzkrieg -
2; Soviet Union invaded E. Poland
On this day, Stalin moved his troops in the eastern half of Poland, based off of the secret agreement he made with Hitler. The secret agreement involved them conquering and sharing Poland between their two countries-Germany and the Soviet Union. -
3; France surrenders
A couple of days before surrendering, France had been attacked by Italy and Paris had fallen to Germany. After what happened at Dunkirk, France could sense them being defeated, so June 22, the surrendered. -
4; Battle of Britain
Germany invaded Britain as part of one of his plans name "Operation Sea Lion". The bombing began on this day, but the battle did not end until May of 1941, when Germany gave up on fighting the very resistant Great Britain. This was important because the allies learned that they could block Hitler's forces -
5; Lend-Lease Act
A law passed by the United States that allowed the president to lend or lease arms and any other supplies to any country vital to the U.S. -
7; German invasion of Soviet Union
Hitler's final plan was to conquer his original allie; the Soviet Union. He went through with his plan on this day, which he named "Operation Barbarossa". The Soviet Union was very unprepared for the surpirse blitzkrieg attack, however, after 2 years of the Soviet Union being in very critical condition, the Germans eventually retreated because of thr cold weather. Many of their equipment froze so they could not fight. -
6; Atlantic Charter
A joint declaration issued by President Roosevelt and Winston Churchill. It allowed free trade to exist among nations and upheld the right of people to choose their own government. It later was used as the Allie's peace plan at the end of the war. -
15; Pearl Harbor
On this day, the Japanese led an attack on a harbor in Hawaii. The attack was known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor. The United States had expected an attack from a recent decoded message, but did not know when. Early that morning, people awoke to much commotion and the roar of explosives. Within the span of 2 hours, the Japanese had damaged 18 ships (nearly the whole U.S. military). -
20; Japanese Internment (in U.S.)
On February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt created a program of internment camps because of the threats Japanese Americans supposedly posed to the U.S. .The military rounded up these pople and relocated them to designated ares. From 1942-1946, the U.S. imprisoned about 31,275 of Maricans with Japanese descent. -
16; Battle of Midway
On June 3, 1942 the Japanese launched a strike on the island of Midway, and island west of Hawaii. The fleet had been the largest assembled navy ever, outnumbeing the Americans 4-1 in ships and planes. Despite this, the Americans were able to use a tactic which allowed them to attack Japanese ships and destroy their planes simultaneously. The Americans successfully "avenged Pearl Harbor" and turned the tide of the war in the Pacific against the Japanese. -
8; Allied invasion of Italy.
After the successful invasion of Sicily, Italy surrendered to the allied forces of Great Britain and the United States. -
9;D-Day
the day in which the invasion of Normady occured. It was the greatest land and sea attack in the world. British, American, French, and Canadian troops were apart of the plan named "Operation Overlord". A month later, 1 million other troops joined the fight which successfully pushed the Germans out, allowing the allies to takeover France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and much of the Netherlands. -
10; German surrender
The surrender of Germany was accepted by General Eisenhower and signed in Berlin just days after Hitler killed himself. Millions of troops of Allies surrounded Berlina month before the surrender, and it was obvious the city was going to crumble and get defeated. -
18; Bombing of Hiroshima
At the time, atomic bombs had recently been discovered in Germany as a result of scientist succeeding in splitting the nucleus of a uranium atom. President Rooseevelt wanted to be the first one to develop this bomb, and on the morning of August 6, 1945, a plane by the name of Enola Gay, took off from Tinian Island at precisely 8:16 am and the atomic bomb exploded above Hiroshima. -
17; Bombing of Nagasaki
After the first ombing of Hiroshima, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki 3 days later, a city with 200,00 people. It killed around 37,500 and its lingering radiation killed many more. -
19; Japanese Surrender
On this day, the Japanese surrendered to General Douglas MacArther. The actual surrendering of the Japanese took place on the U.S. battleship "Missouri" in Tokyo Bay. The war had officially ended and countries were now looking to mend a damaged and war-torn world.
