-
Nazi Germany Invade Poland
Germany invaded Poland, which was the precursor to the Second World War. -
Sitzkrieg
Also known as the Phoney War since there was no actual war action. This time came in the beginning of WWII when the only active military land operation was by the French against the Germans. -
France Fell To Germany
German forces occupied Paris, when the French military fell to the Germans following a period of chaos in the French government. -
Battle of Britain
Germany failed to gain superiority over the Royal Air Force despite months of targeting Britain's air bases, military posts and, civilians. -
Destroyers-for-Bases Deal
between the United States and Great Britain fifty US Navy destroyers were transferred to the Royal Navy in exchange for land rights on British possessions -
America First Committee Launched
United States non-interventionist pressure group against the American entry into World War II. -
Congress Instituted the Draft
The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, which required all men between the ages of 21 and 45 to register for the draft, this was the first peacetime draft. -
Lend-Lease Act Passed
The principal means for providing U.S. military aid to foreign nations during World War II. -
The USS Kearny is Attacked
a United States Navy warship during World War II that was torpedoed by a German U-boat before the U.S. had entered the war. -
Four Freedoms
Roosevelt gave a speech which outlined the four freedoms that American's have and that the rest of world is entitled to. Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. -
Reuben James Sank
This American destroyer was torpedoed and sunk with the loss of 115 of 160 crewmen, including all officers. -
Japanese Attack Pearl Harbor
A surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii -
Battle of Bataan
The most intense phase of Imperial Japan's invasion of the Philippines during World War II. -
Bataan Death March
The forced migration of 60,000–80,000 Filipino and American prisoners of war by the Imperial Japanese Army. -
Battle of Coral Sea
A naval battle between the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and naval and air forces from the United States and Australia. -
Battle of Midway
A decisive naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II because the island chosen was very strategic and the troops on the island held the Japanese at bay for a long time before American troops were able to attack the Japanese fleet. -
Battle of El Alamein
The Allied victory at El Alamein lead to the retreat of the Afrika Korps and the German surrender in North Africa -
Casablanca Conference
Held at the Anfa Hotel in Casablanca, French Morocco, the Allied Forces planned the Allied European strategy for the next phase of World War II. -
Battle of Stalingrad
the most major confrontation of World War II in which Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in Southern Russia, but the victory went to the Soviet Union. -
Tehran Conference
A strategy meeting of Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill after the Anglo-Soviet Invasion of Iran. -
D-Day
The Normandy landings were the landing operations of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. -
MacArthur Returned to the Philippines
MacArthur waded ashore onto the Philippine island of Leyte, a few months later his troops invaded the main island of Luzon -
FDR Elected to a 4th Term
The first and only time a president has been inaugurated for a fourth term. -
Battle of the Bulge
The last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. -
Island Hopping Campaign Begins
American forces only concentrate their resources, setting up military forces/ supplies, on strategically important islands. -
Yalta Conference
Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt discussed Europe's postwar reorganization and the re-establishment of the nations conquered and destroyed by Germany. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
A major battle in which the United States Marine Corps landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Imperial Japanese Army -
Battle of Okinawa
A major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Marine and Army forces against the Imperial Japanese Army -
Harry Truman Became President
Truman became the 33rd president after Roosevelt died 82 days into his 4th term. In his first months in office he dropped the atomic bomb on Japan, ending World War II -
Victory in Europe Day
The public holiday marking the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces -
Potsdam Conference
The Soviet Union, Britain, and the United States discussed the postwar fate of Germany. -
Little Boy (Bomb) Dropped on Hiroshima
"Little Boy" was the codename for the atomic bomb dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. -
VJ Day
A national holiday commemorating the victory of the United States over Japan. -
Fat Man (Bomb) Dropped on Nagasaki
"Fat Man" was the codename for the atomic bomb that was detonated over the Japanese city of Nagasaki by the United States. -
Nuremberg Trials
Judges from the Allied powers presided over the hearings of twenty-two major Nazi criminals. Twelve prominent Nazis were sentenced to death. -
Japanese War Crime Trials
a military trial to try the leaders of the Empire of Japan for "Class A" crimes. -
Manhattan Project Began
A secret military project created in 1942 to produce the first US nuclear weapon
