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The Invasion of Poland
The invasion of Poland was an attack lead by Germany, against Great Britain, to take over France. Germany is success full in taking over France and continue to take over the surrounding lands. Great Britain basically fights Germany alone and does not have enough military power to halt Germany's advance. This marks the start of what will become world war II. -
Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a tragic event that lead to America's involvement in world war II. Japan attacked U.S. naval ships stationed in the harbor in hopes to destroy most of the U.S...military power and prolong the time it would take to join the war. Unfortunately there was not many ships in the harbor as Japan thought there would be and the U.S. now had a reason to join the war against Japan and Germany. This might have greatly changed the tide of the war. -
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord also known as D-Day was an operation to invade France and take it back from Germany. The operation was lead by American general Dwight D. Eisenhower. It was one of the largest land sea air operations ever attempted in history. The operation was successful and was a major turning point for the allies in winning the war against Germany and the axis powers. -
Battle of the Bulge
This battle was Hitler's last major offensive battle against the Allies. The offensive was intended to stop Allied use of the Belgian port of Antwerp and split the Allied lines. The battle's lasted about a month. Unfortunately, Germany's attack failed. Their army was dwindling and they were forced to retreat. The allies took back the land Germany had taken over and eventually America was able to take the first German town, Ackin. -
Invasion of Berlin
The Soviet army pushes all the way Berlin to take Hitler out of power. Hitler knows his time is up so he quickly married his girlfriend Eva Braun and they both commit suicide. Their bodies were hidden and have never been found. -
Hiroshima
Hiroshima, Japan was attacked by a U.S. airship that dropped an atomic bomb called the "Little Boy". The atomic bomb devastated the area killing between 90,000 to 146,000 people. -
Berlin Airlift “Easter Parade”
The Easter Parade was one of the biggest days for operation vittles. On this day April 16, U.S. and British forces sent 1,398 flights into Berlin. That was about one every minute. That day, 12,941 tons of supplies were delivered to the city’s 2.5 million residents. This was 3 times the daily required amount of only 4,500 tons of supplies. -
The Korean Armistice Agreement
The Korean Armistice Agreement was a truce that ended the Korean war. The truce created a Korean Demilitarized Zone to separate North and South Korea and also allowed for the return of prisoners of war. The war lasted three years and ended in the deaths of 33,000 U.S. deaths, 1 million S. Korean deaths, and 1.5 million N. Korean deaths. -
Sputnik I
The Sputnik I was the first-ever artificial earth satellite sent into space. It was made from an aluminum sphere 23 inches in diameter weighing 184lbs. The Soviet Union launched it into low orbit around the earth and in 92 days, it orbited earth 1440 times. It orbited earth for 3 weeks until its batteries died, and then stayed in orbit for another two months before it fell back into earth's atmosphere. -
The U-2 Affair
On May 1, a high altitude American spy plane was shot down on a mission to survey the Soviet Union. The pilot Francis Gary Powers survived the crash and was captured by the Soviet Government. His alibi was that he was on a weather research mission. They didn't buy it and held him in jail until 2 years later when they exchanged him for one of their spies who had been captured by the U.S. It was the first-ever spy swap between the two countries. -
The National Liberation Front
The National Liberation Front (NLF) also known as the Viet Cong, was an organization in South Vietnam made up of Communists and non-communists. Anyone could join the political organization as long as they opposed North Vietnam's ruler Ngo Dinh Deim. Their goal was to reunify Vietnam. -
Vostok I
The Vostok 1 spacecraft was the first to successfully send a man to space and return him safely to earth. This man's name was Yuri Gagarin. The spacecraft was meant to send Yuri 7km into the air and eject him to parachute safely back down to earth. -
Gulf of Tonkin
On August 2, two US Destroyers stationed in the Tonkin Gulf, off the shores of Vietnam radioed that they had been attacked by North Vietnamese forces. In response to this information, President Lyndon B. Johnson increased the U.S. Military presence in Vietnam and became fully involved in the Vietnam War. -
Operation Rolling Thunder
Operation Rolling Thunder was lead by the United States 2nd Air Division. They sent planes to bomb North Vietnam in an effort to demoralize the people and cause them to surrender. They hoped it would make the North Vietnam government look unprepared to govern the country. The operation failed and the people and government still stood strong. -
Apollo 11
On July 20, The United States won the challenge to be the first one to land on the moon. The spacecraft took 3 men by the name of Neil Armstong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins. The spaceships name was the Apollo 11 Comand Module. The total journey took them 8 days, 3 hours, and 18 minutes. -
The 26th Amendment
The 26th Amendment gave U.S. citizens the right to vote at the age of eighteen. The voting age was lowered to eighteen because people argued that if you were old enough to be drafted for military service, then you should be allowed to exercise the right to vote as well. On March 23, the amendment passed the House with a vote of 401 to 19. It was ratified on July 1, 1971.
