-
Beginning of World War 2
Gernany invades Poland causing France and Britain to declare war on Germany -
France falls
Marshall Philippe Petain signed an armistice which gave half of France and its Atlantic coastal lands to Germany. In Southern France, a collaborationist regime with its capital in Vichy is established -
Battle of Britain begins
German Luftwaffe begins bombing England to prepare for amphibious invasion but fails. -
Period: to
The Battle of Britain
The air war known as the Battle of Britain ends in defeat for Nazi Germany. -
Selective Service Act
First peace draft in America's history for men between the ages of 21 and 35. Later, when America entered the war, the Act changed to incorporate all men between the ages of 18-45 -
FDR is elected for his third term
-
Lend Lease Act
The legislation gave President Franklin D. Roosevelt the powers to sell, transfer, exchange, lend equipment to any country to help it defend itself against the Axis powers. -
Japan attacks Pearl Harbor
Japananese Imperial Navy attacks Pearl Harbor, the base of the US Pacific Fleet, in retaliation for US embargo on oil exports to Japan and to prevent US intervention in their Asian expansion. The attack was conducted without any formal warning, while peace negotiations were in place. Brings US into the war against Germany and Japan. -
US delcareas war on Japan and its axis allies declare war on the US
US declares war on Japan, which leads to its allies Germany and Italy to declare war on the US, officially bringing US into the war. -
Battle of Guadacanal
First victory in America's island hopping strategy. -
Japanese Internment Act (Executive order 9066)
Japanese-Americans forced into camps causing loss of homes & businesses, 600K more renounced citizenship; demonstrated fear of Japanese invasion -
Battle of Midway
Decisive US victory where the Adimiral Nimitz, deciphering Japanese code, sunk 4 Japanese carriers, destroying the Empire's ability to mount an offensive. -
Italy surrenders to Allied forces
-
D-Day
Largest amphibious invasion, where American and British troops, under General Dwight D. Eisenhower, invade French coast to establish a foothold in Europe. -
Liberation of first concentration camp
Soviets liberate the first concentration camp -
Battle of the Bulge
Germans launch their last counter offensive but the American defenders hold the line allowing Patton's third army to flank the Germans -
Germany surrenders to Western Allies
With Hitler dead and Berlin in ruins, Germany surrenders to allied powers, ending war in Europe. -
First successful atomic bomb detonation
-
Potsdam Conference
Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin decided how to restructure Europe's border and outlined terms for the unconditional surrender of Japan -
US drops first atomic bomb on Hiroshima
-
US drops atom bomb on Nagasaki
-
Japan formally surrenders ending World War 2
With the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the Japanese navy destroyed, the Emperor surrenders to MacArthur ending the second world war.
