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Japanese Invasion of China
The Japanese invasion of China was marked by the Second Sino-Japanese war, in which Japan conquered Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Nanjing, and Northen Shanxi. -
Germany Invades Poland
Germany,, in order to reclaim lost ground and evventually claim control of Poland, invades Poland through land and air. -
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain was An air campaign waged by German Air Force (the Luftwaffe) on Britain in an attempt to gain an advantage over the Royal Air Force, and resulted in a German failure. -
Tripartite Pact
A declaration of the defensive alliance between Japan, Italy, and Germany signed on September 27th 1940. -
Lend-Lease Act
FDR initiated this act that allowed the US to send foodstuffs, ammunition, weapons, equipment, (etc.) while remaining neutral in the war. -
German Blitzkrieg on Soviet Union
Blitzkrieg, or "lightning war", was a tactic employed by the German military structured to instill disorginization among enemy forces through mobile forces and concentrated firepower. This tactic was used during the German invasion of the USSR where at first it was successfulbut later at Stalingrad not as much. -
Leningrad Blockade
From September 8th, 1941 to January 27th, 1944 (872 days), Germany's Red Army placed a blockade on Leningrad and made access to food, water, and fuel nearly impossible, resulting in 650,000 deaths. -
Bombing of Pearl Harbor
Japan attacks the US Naval Base in Hawaii, instigating the US to enter the war. -
Wannsee Conference
A meeting of Nazi officials which discussed the tactics for systematically oppressing and murdering the Jewish population. -
Battle of Midway
A battle between the US and Japanese navies, significant in that the US's win allowed them to move to an offensive. -
D-Day
The day of the Allied invasion of German-occupied Normandy, France which resulted in a weakening of Nazi grip on Europe. -
Yalta Conference
The United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union (the three Allied Powers) met at the Yalta Conference to discuss the final plans to defeat Germany. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
U.S. air raids proved to be less than effective at this strategetic locus in Japan, but after the entry of Night Raids the U.S. secured a win withing a month. -
Battle of Okinawa
Often referred to as the bloodiest battle of the Pacific, the US attacked Okinawa, a statagetic location on Ryuku, in a battle resulted as a bloody victory for the US on July 2nd. -
Hitler's Suicide
Hitler, worried that the USSR would seize his chancellorship, commited suicide by swallowing cyanide tablets and shooting himself. -
VE Day
(May 7th in the UK)
VE Day, or Victory in Europe Day, is the day that marks the Allied acceptance of Germany's unconditional surrender. -
Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam conference was originally intended to encourage relationships between Allied Powers, but the split between the democratic West and the communist Soviet Union signaled that this was the last conference with all the powers. -
Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki
The US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki resulting in countless deaths, most of which were civilian, and economic and social strife that continued for decades after the attack. -
V-J Day
V-J Day is short for Victory over Japan Day and is celebrated for it effective ending of World War Two on August 14th in the US, August 15th in the UK, and September 2nd for when the official treaty was signed. -
Formation of the U.N.
The United Nations was formed after WWII in order to maintain diplomacy and amiable relations between countries. -
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was proposed by president Harry S. Truman to provide support (in the form of $400,000,000) to Greece and Turkey from Soviet Union's expansions and Communist uprisings. -
Marshall Plan
Under the Marshall Plan, the US invested 17 billion dollars (120 billion when adjusted for current inflation) in Europe in the effort of restabilizing western Europe and combating Communism and the USSR. -
NATO
NATO, or North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is a military alliance for defense against the Soviet Union that had placed encroaching armies around Europe. -
Korean War
(July 25th 1950 - July 27th 1953)
The Korean War was the bloody result of a long-standing tension between North Korea and South Korea. The US intervened based on the ideology of the Truman Doctrine. -
Stalin's Death
Stalin, known for redacting Lenin's NEP and for a reign of terror that killed nearly 10 million people, dies of a heart attck on this day. He is suceeded by Nikita Khrushchev. (Stalin on right, Khrushchev on left) -
Mao Zedong and the People's Republic of China
Mao Zedong rose to power during social and economic turmoil, gaining supporters of the Communist ideology during the Long March. -
The Warsaw Pat
A treatise between Soviet Union and other Eastern European states (Albania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria) that allowed the USSR comand of all armed forces of these countries. -
Vietnam War
A war between the Communist North Vietnam and the Viet Cong against the US-backed south. -
Sputnik
Sputnik was a part of 10 satellites launched by the Soviet Union, which was a part of the greater Space Race between the Soviet Union and the United States. -
Bay of Pigs
Initiated by JFK, this invasion of Cuba through CIA trained Cubans was a failed attempt to depose Fidel Castro. -
Berlin Wall
(August 13th 1961 - November 9th 1989)
The Berlin Wall was built in order to stop the migrations from Communist East Germany to Capitalist West Germany. -
Cuban Missle Crisis
A product of the Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis entailed the USSR settling nuclear weapons in Cuba, and resulted in a pact between the US and the USSR in which the US would exit their nuclear weapons from Turkey and the USSR would do the same from Cuba. -
Gorbachev
Gorbachev was the last leader of the Soviet Union before its 1991 fall, encouraging the end of the Cold War and attempting to hold the USSR together with new economic policies. His resignation was coupled with a statement of the end of the USSR. -
Societ Union Falls
After 11 Soviet republics declare independence from the Soviet Union and Gorbachev's resignation, the USSR falls.
