-
Mao Zedong Heads the Long March
The Long March was a military retreat by the Red Army of the Communist Party of China. This march began Mao Zedong's rise to power. His leadership gained support from members of the party on the retreat. -
Germany invades Poland; France and Great Britain declare war on Germany
Hitler demands that Poland give back the port of Danzig. The Poles refuse and ask France and Great Britain for help. Appeasment had convinced Hitler than neither nation woud risk war. On September 1, 1939, the Germans launched a surprise attack on Poland. On September 3, France and Britain declared war on Germany. -
Japan attacks Pearl Harbor
Isoroku Yamamoto called for an attack on the U.S. fleet in Hawaii. He declared that it was "a dagger pointed at Japan's throat." On the morning of December 7, 1941, the bombing of Pearl Harbor began. Within two hours, the Japanese had sunk or damaged 19 ships, including 8 battleships. More than 2,300 Americans were killed and over 1,100 were wounded. President Roosevelt declared that it was "a date which will live in infamy." The U.S. then declared war on Japan and its allies. -
Germany Surrenders
In late March 1945, the Allies rolled across the Rhine River into Germany. About three million soldiers approached Berlin from the Southwest and another six million Soviet troops approached from the east. On April 25, 1945, the soviets surrounded the capital and pounded the city with artillery fire. Hiter prepared for his end in an underground headquaters beneath the crumbling city. On May 7, 1945, General Eisenhower accepted the surrender of the Third Reich from the German military. -
Allies use atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
President Truman had to make a decision of whether or not to use an atomic bomb to make Japan surrender. Using the bomb would be the quickest way to end it. The bomb was developed in the top-secret Manhattan Project. The first bomb exploded in the New Mexico desert on July 16, 1945. President Truman warned the Japanese but they did not reply. On August 6, 1945, the U.S. dropped a bomb on Hiroshima and three days later, they bombed Nagasaki. On September 2, the Japanese surrendered. -
United Nations formed
Before the end of World WAr II, a new international organization called the United Nations was established. Its goal was to work for world peace and the betterment of humanity. The UN's authoirty comes from the nations of the world.
