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Attack of Manchuria
Japan's expansion began in 1931. That year, Japanese troops took control of Manchuria in Northern China. -
Nuremburg Laws
In 1935, the Nuremburg laws were passed which deprived Jews of their right to German citizenship, jobs, and property. Jews were required to wear a bright yellow star to help the Nazi's identify them. -
Kristallnacht
On November 9, 1938, after hearing that an employee of the German embassy in Paris had been shot, Nazis launched a violent attack on Jewish homes, businesses and synagogues across Germany and murdered one hundred Jews. Jewish shop windows were systematically smashed, broken glass litering the streets, earning the nickname Kristallnacht, the night of broken glass. -
Invasion of Poland
After securing the nonaggression pact with Stalin and removing the threat of the Soviet Union, Hitler was able to move ahead with his plan to conquer Poland. Hitler launched a Blitzkrieg on Poland on September 1, 1939. German planes rained bombs on the Polish capitol of Warsaw as tanks and over 1.5 millin soldiers marched across the Polish border. -
Soviet Union Invades East Poland
On September 17, 1939, Stalin began his invasion by sending Soviet troops to occupy East Poland. He then set out to occupy the other countries outlined in the nonaggression pact. -
Alliance with Italy and Germany
After Hitler conquered France, Mussoini new he wouls have to break his neutral stance if he were to share in Germany's victories. After declaring war on France and Great Britain, Italy became Germany's greatest ally. -
France Surrenders
Folllowing the defeat a t Dunkirk, France is left vulnerable to attacks. Sensing this, Mussolini, allied himself with Hitler and they declared war on Great Britain and France. Italy attacked France from the south while Germany squeezed between the Maginot line and captured Paris. France was forced to surrender and Germany took over Northern France while leaving the south to a puppet government. -
Battle of Britain
In the summer of 1940, Germany's airforce began bombing Great Britain. At first, British air fields and aircraft factories were targeted before. On september 7, the Germans began bombing British cities, such as London, to weaken the citizens' morale. However, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, the greatest weapon the British had against Germany, refused to give up hope and fought relentlessly. Finally, on May 10, 1940, stunned by British resistance the German surrendered. -
Lend Lease Act
The Lend Lease Act, passed in March 1941, allowed the President to lend or lease arms or other supplies to any country vital to the United States. By the summer of 1941, the U.S. navy was escorting British ships carrrying U.S. arms. -
Germany Invades The Soviet Union
On June 22, 1941, Hitler launched his blitzkrieg invasion of the Soviet Union called Operation Barbarossa. As Hitler's army ventured farther into the Soviet Union, the Russians used their tactic of scorched earth, or retreating and burning everything in their path in order to starve the enemy of food and supplies. However, Hitler did not back down, instead bombing warehouses which stored food and isolating Leningrad to starve the Russians and advancing towards Moscow. -
Atlantic Charter
President Roosevelt and Winston Churchill met on August 9, 1941. They issued a joint declaration called the Atlantic Charter. It upheld free trade among nations and the rights of people to choose their own government. -
Pearl Harbor
Early in the morning of December 7, 1941, American sailos in Hawaii woke to the roar of explosives. Within two hours, Japan had sunk or damaged 18 ships which made up nearly the entire Pacific fleet. 2,400 Americans were killed and 1,000 were wounded. -
Japanese Internment
On February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt set up a program of internment and loss of property since Japanese Americans were considered a threat to the country. In March, the military began rounding up "aliens" and shipping them to relocation camps. The camps were restricted military areas away from the coast, which were thought to prevent the Japanese Americans from participating in an invasion. -
Battle of Midway
As Japanese planes roared over Midway Island, American carrier planes swooped in to attack Japanese ships. Many Japanese planes were still on the decks of the ships. American pilots destroyed 322 Japanese planes, all four aircraft carriers and on support ship. -
Allied Invasion Of Italy
In January of 1943, President Roosevelt and Winston Churchill met in Morrocco and decided to launch an attack on Italy. On July 10, 1943, allied forces of 180,000 soldiers landed on Sicily and captured it from Italian and German troops by August. -
D-Day
By May of 1944, the allied invasion force was ready to attack the Germans across the English Channel. Thousands of planes, ships, tanks, and 3.5 million troops awaited orders. On June 6, 1944, the Allies attacked on the coast of Normandy in north western France. The Germans, protected by cannons, rocket launchers, and concrete walls were forced to retreat. -
German Surrender
In late March of 1945, the Allies rolled across the Rhine River into Germany. Three million allied soldiers approached Berlin from the south west and six million soviets from the east. By April 25, the Soviets had surrounded the capital and pounded the city with artillery. On May 8, the surrender was officially signed in Berlin. -
Bombing of Hiroshima
On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Almost 73,00o people died in the attack. -
Bombing of Nagasaki
On August 9, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. It killed about 37,500 people. Radiation killed many more. -
Japanese Surrender
The Japanese suurendered on September 2, 1945. The suurender took place aboard the United States battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay. With Japan's surender, the war had ended.
