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Nazi Germany Invaded Poland
Adolf Hitler invaded Poland claiming "self defense" but as a result Britain and France declared war on Germany beginning WWII. -
Sitzkrieg
"The Phoney War" was a phase early in World War II marked by a lack of major military operations by the Western Allies against Germany. -
France Fell to Germany
Germany found victory in France and divided it into two zones, leading to an occupation in that would last over four years and a desperate British evacuation from Dunkirk that left the UK facing invasion. -
Battle of Britain
German and British air forces fought in the UK marking a turning point of World War II when Britain prevailed, saving the country from a ground invasion and possible occupation by Germany. -
America First Committee Launched
This commitee was created to oppose America`s potential intervention in World War II. -
Destroyers-for-Bases Deal
Agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom to exchange fifty destroyer warships to the Royal Navy from the US Navy for land rights on British possessions. -
Congress Instituted the Draft
The Burke-Wadsworth Act was passed by Congress, the first peacetime draft in the history of the US is imposed and Selective Service was born. -
Four Freedoms
FDR addresses Congress with this speech, rallying public support for the US to take a stronger interventionist role in WWII, because he claimed all nations had the entitlements to freedom of speech, to worship God in his own way, to want, and to fear. -
Lend-Lease
Act that gave Roosevelt the power to lend arms to Britain with the understanding that America would be payed back. -
USS Kearny Attacked
The USS Kearny was part of the Neutrality patrol in the Caribbean, and was attacked by German U-boats, one of the many reasons the US joined the war. -
Reuben James Sank
The USS Reuben James became the first United States warship to be sunk as a result of hostile action in World War II. -
Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor
Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor and President FDR convinced Congress to declare war on Japan, finally causing the US to join WWII. -
Battle of Bataan
The most intense phase of Imperial Japan's invasion of the Philippines during World War II. -
Bataan Death March
As a result of the Battle of Bataan, approximately 75,000 Filipino and American troops on Bataan were forced to make a 65-mile march to prison camps. -
Battle of Coral Sea
The first air-sea battle in history in which American aircraft carrier planes successfully intercepted Japanese planes attempting to invade the Coral Sea. -
Battle of Midway
The US defeated Japan in this decisive naval battle of WWII in which it countered a Japanese attack, crippling the Japanese Navy. -
Battle of Stalingrad
This battle was the successful Soviet defense of the city of Stalingrad during WWII, stopping the German advance into the U.S.S.R. and resulting in nearly 2 million military and civilian casualties. -
Island Hopping Campaign Begins
The Japanese Navy occupied scores of islands throughout the western Pacific Ocean and the US began their offensive campaign by retaking the islands. -
Manhattan Project Began
Project's goal was to build the world's first nuclear weapon, the atomic bomb, in the US out of fear that Germany would build one first, gaining an advantage in WWII. -
Battle of El Alamein
The climax of the WWII North African campaign between the British and the German-Italian army. -
Casablanca Conference
A meeting between U.S. President FDR and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in the city of Casablanca, Morocco where they finalized the Allies strategic plans against the Axis powers and creation of the “unconditional surrender” policy. -
Tehran Conference
The strategy planning meeting between U.S. President FDR, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin in Tehran, Iran, -
D-Day
Allied troops landed along the French coastline to fight Nazi Germany resulting in an Allied visctory and marking the beginning of the end of war in Europe. -
MacArthur Returned to the Philippines
MacArthur, who was a US military adviser to the Philippines before WWII, returned to the islands during the island hopping campaign and gradually liberated the Philippines as he promised. -
FDR Elected to a 4th Term
FDR presided over two of the biggest crises in U.S. history: the Great Depression and World War II, and won his forth term in office around the time WWII had begun to favor the Allies. -
Battle of the Bulge
Hitler attempted to split the Allied armies in northwest Europe by means of a surprise blitzkrieg thrust through the Ardennes to Antwerp but Allied defense tactics prevailed leading to the neutralization of the German counteroffensive despite heavy casualties. -
Yalta Conference
THe second wartime meeting of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin and U.S. President FDR in which they agreed to demand Germany’s unconditional surrender and began plans for a post-war world. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The US invaded Iwo Jima out of a need for military base near Japan. -
Battle of Okinawa
The Okinawa campaign was the last and biggest of the Pacific island battles of World War II between the US and Japan over control of air bases vital to the projected invasion of Japan. -
FDR Died / Harry Truman Became President
FDR passes away after four terms in office, leaving VP Harry S. Truman in charge of the US still fighting WWII. -
VE Day
The day when German troops throughout Europe finally laid down their arms officially ending WWII in Europe and is celebrated as a national holiday. -
Potsdam conference
The last WWII meeting held by American President Harry S. Truman, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin which issued a declaration demanding “unconditional surrender” from Japan along with agreements on German punishments. -
Little Boy Dropped on Hiroshima
An American bomber drops the world’s first atom bomb over the city of Hiroshima, killing approximately 80,000 people are killed, 35,000 are injured, and another 60,000 would later die of effects of the fallout. -
Fat Man Dropped on Nagasaki
A second US bomber dropped a second atomic bomb on the city of Nagasaki killing about 40,000 people and resulting in Japan announcing its unconditional surrender. -
VJ Day
Japan was announced to have unconditionally surrendered to the Allies on this day, ending WWII -
Nuremberg Trials
13 trials in which war criminals were indicted on charges such as crimes against peace and crimes against humanity with the purpose of bringing Nazi war criminals to justice, -
Japanese War Crime Trials
In Tokyo, Japan, the International Military Tribunals for the Far East tried 28 Japanese military and government officials, convicting 25 of them after being found guilty of war crimes.
