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Japan invades Manchuria
Japan's invasion of Manchuria began the road that brought the United States officially into the war. -
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Pacific Theatre
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Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact
The world was surprised by this pact. With the signing of this pact, the fate of Poland was sealed. -
Germany invades Poland
Germany invaded Poland from one side using Hitler's blitzkrieg tactic. Blitzkreig, lightning warfare, employed fast-moving, massed armored columns supported by airpower to overwhelm the enemy. -
Period: to
European Theatre
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Miracle at Dunkirk
Code-named Operation Dynamo by the British, British and French armies in Belgium were forced to flee to the English Channel to evacuate the beaches of Dunkirk. Over 200,000 British and 100,000 French soldiers were saved, but valuable equipment was abandoned -
France asks for armistice
The French government requested armistice. This allowed Germans to occupy more than half of France, including the Atlantic and the English Channel coasts. -
Period: to
Battle of Britain
Hitler expected to be able to make a deal with Britain, but when Winston Churchill became the prime minister any chance of that disappeared. Hitler's Luftwaffe lost the battle to Britian's Royal Air Force. -
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the codename Germany's surprise invasion of the Soviet Union. -
Siege of Leningrad
A prolonged military operation resulting from the failure to capture Leningrad. The siege started on September 8, when the last land connection to the city was severed. The siege ended in 1944. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Japan launched an air attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the chief American naval base in the Pacific. The next day, the United States declared war on Japan. Three days later, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States. -
Period: to
The Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. -
Battle of the Coral Sea
A major naval battle in the Pacific Theatre of World War II between the Imperial Japanese Navy and Allied naval and air forces from the United States and Australia. -
Battle of Midway
The turning point of the Pacific Theatre of WWII where the United States Navy defeated an Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) attack, inflicting irreparable damage on the Japanese fleet. -
Battle of El Alamein
This battle halted the final advance by the Axis forces into Egypt. -
Battle of Guadalcanal
A military campaign fought on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theatre of World War II. It was the first major offensive by Allied forces against the Empire of Japan. -
Battle of Stalingrad
A major battle of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad. The Nazi forces never regained their full strength after their loss in this battle. -
Operation Torch
The British-American invasion of French North Africa in World War II during the North African Campaign. -
Bombing of Hamburg
The Allied bombing of Hamburg during World War II included numerous strategic bombing missions and diversion/nuisance raids. The bombings started in September 1939 ended in April 1945.
The attack during the last week of July 1943, Operation Gomorrah, created one of the greatest firestorms raised by the RAF and United States Army Air Force in World War II. -
Allied Invasion of Italy
The Allied landing on mainland Italy. By early October, the whole of southern Italy was in Allied hands. -
D-Day
The Normandy landings, codenamed Operation Neptune, were the landing operations of the Allied invasion of Normandy, France in Operation Overlord. -
Operation Market Garden
An unsuccessful airborne Allied military operation fought in the Netherlands and Germany. -
Battle of the Bulge
The last major German offensive launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region. -
Yalta Conference
The wartime meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union, represented by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and General Secretary Joseph Stalin for the purpose of discussing Europe's post-war reorganization. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
A major battle in which the United States fought for and captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Empire of Japan. -
VE Day
Victory over Europe Day, when the World War II Allies formally accepted the unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany and the end of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. -
Bombing of Hiroshima
The primary target of the first nuclear bombing mission was Hiroshima. -
Bombing of Nagasaki
The second atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki. After this, the Japanese soon surrendered. -
VJ Day
Victory over Japan Day - the day Japan surrendered. -
Nuremberg Trials
A series of military tribunals, held by the victorious Allied forces. Most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of the defeated Nazi Germany.
