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Nazi Germany Invades Poland
This German invasion sparked WWII. -
Sitzkrieg
There was an 8th month period where no major fighting happened on the western front, the press coined it sitzkrieg. -
France Fell to Germany
France remained under Axis control until the Allied landings. -
Battle of Britain
The German Luftwaffe attempted to overtake the UK but ultimately lost to the British air force. -
America First Commitee Launched
The committee, one of the biggest anti-war efforts in American history, was launched on the premise that America should not intervene in WWII. -
Destroyers for Bases Deal
The U.S. traded naval destroyers for land rights on British bases. -
Congress Instituted the Draft
For the first time in the U.S., a draft was instituted in peacetime. -
Lend-Lease
This act allowed the U.S. to lease military supplies where it saw fit. -
Four Freedoms
Roosevelt broke the tradition of non-interventionism in the U.S. by saying all people in the world deserved four specific freedoms. -
USS Kearny Attacked
This was the first attack on U.S. property, further pushing America to the brink. -
Reuben James Sank
This was the first U.S. ship sunk in hostile action. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor is suddenly attacked by hundreds of Japanese fighter planes. -
Battle of Midway
The battle of midway is argued the most important naval battle in the war -
Battle of Stalingrad
Germany suffered a humiliating defeat at Stalingrad. This was the first major loss for Germany. -
Battle of Bataan
Japanese forces overwhelm the Allies and take the Bataan peninsula. -
Beginning of Manhattan Project
The U.S. begins construction on a nuclear weapon for fear that Germany would complete one first. -
Bataan Death March
Several thousand American and Filipino prisoners of war were marched across the Philippines. -
Battle of Coral Sea
This was the first air-sea battle in history. -
Battle of El Alamein
A key part of the Western Desert Campaign. -
Tehran Conference
This was the first conference between the major three allied powers leaders. -
Island Hopping Campaign Begins
Macarthur and Nimitz take up the policy of capturing Pacific islands one at a time. -
Casablanca Conference
Roosevelt and Churchill met in Morocco. -
D-Day
The Allied forces storm Normandy. -
MacArthur Returned to the Philippines
Two and a half years earlier, MacArthur had sworn to return, and on this day he did, bringing with him invasive forces. -
Roosevelt Elected for Fourth Term
Roosevelt to this day remains the only president to have served more than 2 terms, which serves as a testament to his influence. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The U.S. overtook the island for its key Japanese bases. -
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a German offensive that suffered the U.S. the most casualties it had endured the entire war. -
Yalta Conference
The Allied leaders gathered and determined how they would handle Germany and the aftermath of the war. -
Battle of Okinawa
This was the last Pacific battle, also the biggest. -
FDR Dies
Roosevelt dies of a cerebral hemorrhage at 63. -
VE Day
The Allied forces accepted Nazi Germany’s surrender. -
Postdam Conference
The Allied leaders discuss the terms of the end of WWII. -
Little Boy Dropped on Hiroshima
The U.S. drops the world’s first atomic bomb in war. -
Fat Man Dropped on Nagasaki
A uranium based twin of Little boy is dropped on Nagasaki, though not the original target. -
VJ Day
This was the final ending of WWII. -
Nuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg trials were held in prosecution of officials who took part in The Holocaust or other war crimes. -
Japanese War Crime Trials
Japanese rulers were tried for three kinds of war crimes.
