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Japans invasion of China
Japans invasion was the greater conflict of World War II as a major front of what is broadly known as the Pacific War. The Second Sino-Japanese War was the largest Asian war in the 20th century. -
Germany invades Poland
On this day German forces invaded Poland on land and from the air. Adolf Hitler wanted to regain lost territory and ultimately rule Poland. -
Battle of Britian
The Battle of Britian was a signifcant turning point in the war. Britian's victory saved the country from possible ground invasion and helped them prove that air power is effective. -
Tripartite pact
On this day, the Axis powers(Germany, Italy, and Japan)signed the Tripartite pact in Berlin. The Pact provided mutual assistance for the signers in case one suffered an attack by any nation not already involved in the war. This formalizing of the alliance was aimed directly at the United States to think twice before venturing in on the side of the Allies. -
Lend-Lease Act
The Lend-Lease Act proposed in late 1940 and passed in March 1941, was the principal means for providing U.S. military aid to foreign nations during World War II. -
Leningrad blockade
The Leningrad blockade, was a military operation undertaken by the German Army Group North against Leningrad in the Eastern Front theatre of World War II. -
German Blitzkrieg on Soviet Union
Blitzkrieg tactics required offensive weapons along a narrow front. These forces drove the enemy defenses causing shock and disorganization. German air power successfully prevented the enemy from adequately resupplying or redeploying forces and sending reinforcements. -
Bombing of Pearl Harbor
Hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawaii.The Japanese managed to demolish nearly 20 American naval vessels, eight enormous battleships, and almost 200 airplanes. -
Wannsee Conference
The Wannsee Conference was when a high-ranking Nazi Party and German government officials gathered in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee to discuss what they called the "Final Solution of the Jewish Question." -
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway was a crucial naval battle for Japan in the Pacific during World War II. They decided to strategically attack this American base island and were successful. -
D-Day
The battle began on June 6, 1944, also known as D-Day, when about 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified coast of France’s Normandy region. -
Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference took place on this day in a Russian resort town in the Crimea during World War II. At this conference, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin made critical decisions regarding the future and the aftermath of the war. -
Iwo Jima/Okinawa
This day began the 82 day long battle between the Allies and Japan and was one of the most bloodiest battles in the Pacific, fought on the island of Okinawa. -
Hitler’s suicide
On this day, Adolf Hitler, dictator of Germany, went into a refurbished air-raid shelter, consumed a cyanide capsule, then shot himself with a pistol. -
VE Day
On this day, both Great Britain and the United States celebrated victory. These nation's cities, as well as formerly occupied cities in Western Europe, put out flags and banners, celebrating the defeat of the Nazi war. -
Potsdam Conference
On this day, the Potsdam Conference was held at Cecilienhof in Potsdam from 17 July to 2 August 1945. The Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President Harry Truman met to negotiate terms for the end of World War II. -
Atomic bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki
The atomic bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasakiduring was the final stage of the Second World War. The United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The two bombs, which killed at least 129,000 people, remain the only use of nuclear weapons for warfare in history. -
VJ Day
On this day, news of the surrender of World War II was announced to the world and it sparked celebrations. On September 2, 1945, a surrender ceremony was held in Tokyo Bay aboard the USS Missouri. President Truman declared September 2 to be VJ Day. -
Formation of the U.N.
On this day, representatives of 26 nations with the Axis powers met in Washington to sign the Declaration of the United Nations, pledging to use their resources against the Axis. -
Truman Doctrine
Truman Doctrine decided that the United States would provide political, military and economic assistance to all democratic nations under the threat of authoritarian forces. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was an American attempt to aid Europe, in which the United States gave $17 billion in economic support to help rebuild European economies following the end of World War II. -
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is a military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on this day. The organization is a system of collective agreement where its member agrees to mutual defense in response to any attack by external partys. -
Mao Zedong &People’s Republic of China
The proclamation was the climax of years of battle between Mao’s communist forces and the Nationalist Chinese leader Chiang Kai-Shek. The loss of China to communism was a big blow to the United States. -
Korean War
On this day, the Korean War started when some 75,000 soldiers from the North Korean People’s Army arrived across the 38th parallel, the boundary between the Soviet-backed Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the north and the Western Republic of Korea to the south. This invasion was the first military action of the Cold War. -
Stalin’s death; Khrushchev
Khrushchev made a speach denouncing Stalin. He blamed Stalin for foreign policy errors, for the failings of Soviet agriculture, for ordering mass terror and for mistakes that had led to loss of life in the Second World War and the German occupation of areas of Soviet territory. -
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact was a collective defense treaty among the eight communist states of Eastern and Western Europe in existence during the Cold War. -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a long and bloody armed conflict that the communist regime of North Vietnam and its southern allies, against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States. This war ended with the withdrawal of U.S. forces in 1973 and the unification of Vietnam under Communist control two years later. More than 3 million people were killed in the Vietnam War. -
Sputnik
The world's first artificial satellite was about the size of a beach ball (58 cm.or 22.8 inches in diameter) and weighed only 183.9 pounds. It took about 98 minutes to orbit the Earth on its elliptical path. -
Bay of Pigs
The Bay of Pigs was a failed military invasion of Cuba by the CIA-sponsored paramilitary group Brigade 2506 on 17 April 1961. -
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier that divided Berlin, constructed by the German Democratic Republic. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a 13-day confrontation in October 1962 between the United States and the Soviet Union. -
Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev was the first president of the Soviet Union, elected on March 14, 1990. He was reconized the for his leadership role in ending the Cold War and promoting peaceful international relations. -
Soviet Union falls
On this day, the once-mighty Soviet Union fell, largely due to the great number of reforms that Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev had implemented during his years as the leader of the USSR.
