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World War II in China
For Americans, World War II began on December 7, 1941. But war had been going on for years elsewhere. For the Chinese, war began in 1931, when Japan invaded northeastern China, setting up a Japanese state called Manchukuo. By 1938 Japan occupied much of China and had taken Nanking, longtime capital of China, where Japanese troops killed more than 42,000 civilians. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
All these assumptions were wrong. As the bombs rained on PEARL HARBOR on the infamous morning of Sunday, December 7, 1941, almost 3,000 Americans were killed. Six battleships were destroyed or rendered unseaworthy, and most of the ground planes were ravaged as well.Most American newspaper headlines had been focusing on European events, so the Japanese attack was a true blindside. -
Battle of Midway
Six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States defeated Japan in one of the most decisive naval battles of World War II. Thanks in part to major advances in code breaking, the United States was able to preempt and counter Japan’s planned ambush of its few remaining aircraft carriers, inflicting permanent damage on the Japanese Navy. An important turning point in the Pacific campaign, the victory allowed the United States and its allies to move into an offensive position. -
Dropping the atomic bomb on Japan
For Truman, the choice whether or not to use the atomic bomb was the most difficult decision of his life. Regardless, on August 6, 1945, a plane called the ENOLA GAY dropped an atomic bomb on the city of HIROSHIMA.Two days later, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan. On August 9, a second atomic bomb was dropped on NAGASAKI, where 80,000 Japanese people perished. On August 14, 1945, the Japanese surrendered.
