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Japanese Invasion of China
The Second Sino- Japanese War was a war between China and Japan. -
Germany Invades Poland
The first invasion of WWII, this marked the begginning of it all. Hitler seeked to regain lost territory and ultimately rule Poland. It was also the begginning of Hitlers' use of the Blitzkreig. -
Battle Of Britain
From July to September of 1940, the Battle of Britain was a successful defense of the air raids made by the German Luftwaffe after the fall of France. Had the Germans succeeded, Britain would have been open to invasion to German forces, resulting in a drastic shift in the momentum of the war. -
Tripartite Pact
The Tripartitite Pact was a treaty signed in Berlin Germany on September 27th, 1940. It was signed by Japan, Germany, and Italy, forming the Axis Powers of World War II. These powers were opposed by the Allied Powers, including the United States, China and Great Britiain. -
Lend-Lease Act
The Lend Lease act was a act that said that the US could provide aid to foreign nations in WWII. This was America's way of participating in the war, while still maintaining isolationism. -
Attack of Pearl Harbor
Known as a "date that will live in infamy," this suprise attack by the Japenese killed thousands of Americans at Pear Harbor Naval Base in Hawaii. This was the act that triggered American involvement in WWII. -
German Blitzkreig on the Soviet Union
German forces invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941. At first, the German Blitzkrieg seemed to succeed. In December 1941, Hitlerdeclared war on the United States, which consequently added its tremendous economic and military power to the coalition arrayed against him. A second German offensive against the Soviet Union in 1942 brought Germ -
Leningrad Blockade
Citizens were allowed two pieces of bread a day and began to eat things from wallpaper to boiled leather briefcases. Over I million citizens died while the survivors tried to defend their city. Churchill worked with Stalin and opened a second front in Western Europe to provide some relief -
Wannsee Convention
The Wannsee Conference"was a meeting of Nazi officials that took place in Berlin on January 20, 1942, to discuss the final solution of the Jewish Question. -
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway was desicive naval battle in the Pacific theater. THe US inflicted devastating damage on the Japanese fleet. -
D-Day
The invasion of Normany in June of 1944 marked a turning point in the war. Thousands of US troops stormed the beach of Normandy and eventually succeeded in their invasion of German controlled areas. -
Yalta Conference
This was a conference between the three chief Allied leaders. This conference discussed the final plan to defeat Nazi Germany. -
Iwo Jima
A major battle in the war, Iwo Jima marked a turning point when the US landed and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Japanese Army. A massive loss of life ensued, causing controversy when the island has no real strategic value. -
Hitler's Suicide
On April 30th, Hitler killed himself by shooting himself in the head and swallowing a cyanide capsule. This was the event that caused the Germans to surrender, ending WWII in Europe. -
VE Day
victory in Europe Day when the Germans surrendered -
Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference was a meeting held in Potsdam that was called to discuss the procedures of peace settlements throughout Europe. -
Atomic Bomb
A bomb that uses the fission of radioactive elements such as uranium or plutonium to create explosions equal to the force of thousands of pounds of regular explosives. The atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki resulted in hundred of thousands of deaths . -
VJ Day
On August 15, 1945, the Empire of Japan officially surrendered to the United States of America. This marked the end of all of WWII and led to celebrations around the nation. -
Formation of UN
The United Nations was born as a means of better controlling international conflict and negotiating peace than was provided for by the League of Nations. WWII became the real cause for the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union to begin formulating the original U.N. Declaration, signed by 26 nations in January 1942, as a formal act of opposition to Germany, Italy, and Japan, the Axis Powers. -
Truman Doctrine
This was a statement by Harry S. Truman in 1947 declaring economic aid to Greece, which was facingCommunist threats. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was a US sponsored program designed to rehabilitate the economies of the western and southern European countries in order to create stable conditions in which dem -
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty. -
Mao Zedong & People’s Republic of China
Mao Zedong was the Chinese Communist leader and founding father of the People's Republic of China from 1949 until his death in 1976. He encourage population growth, almost doubling his country's population and also instituted the Great Leap Forward. -
Korean War
The conflict between Communist North Korea and Non-Communist South Korea. The United Nations (led by the US) helped South Korea. -
Death of Stalin
The death of Joseph Stalin marked the end of an era where "purges" took place where he killed millions of his own people in Gulags. The death of Stalin was a relief to many around the world. -
Warsaw Pact
The 1955 treaty binding the Soviet Union and countries of eastern Europe in an alliance against the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. -
Sputnik
Marking the beginning of the Space Age, Sputnik was a Russian sattelite that was the first satellite to be launched by man. -
Bay of Pigs
The bay of pugs was an unsuccessful invasion of Cuba in 1961, which was sponsored by the United States. Its purpose was to overthrow Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. It resulted in tensions and embarresment to the United States. -
Berlin Wall
Built in 1961 to halt the flow of immigration from East Berlin to West Berlin; immigration was in response to lack of nd close Soviet control of economy and politics; torn down at end of cold war in 1991 -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was an incident where Soviet missiles were placed in Cuba as a response for help. The event greatly increased tensions between the Soviets and the Americans. -
Vietnam War
A war that America was involved in order to try and stop the spread of communism. -
Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev was the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union. He dealed with many domestic issues, and was eventually abdicated by the abolishment of the Soviet Union. -
Fall of Soviet Union
The Soviet Union fell in 1991 and disassociated into several new countries. This marked the end of an era.
