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U.S. and World War II
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Mukden Incident
A few Japanese officers set off dynamite on a rail line owned by Japan in Manchuria. The Japanese blamed chinese dissidents for the explosion which would lead to the invasion of Manchuria by the Japanese. -
Japan invades Manchuria
As a response to the Mukden incident, Japan invades Manchuria and occupies it. The Japanese Imperial Army pushes south until they reach China and invade it as well which leads to the Second Sino-Japanese War. -
Second Sino-Japanese War
As Japan pushed into China, this finally provoked the Chinese to declare an all out war against the Japanese. The war would last till the end of World War II. During the war, the Japanese would commit many atrocities that would anger the United States. The US would begin to provide aid to China and eventually declare war on Japan. -
Rape of Nanking
The Japanese captured the capital of Nanking and began a six week massacre on Chinese civilans. Thousands were raped and killed during it. Because of this incident, the US and other western powers began to give China loans and aid. -
Oil Embargo
In response to Japans invansion of Indochina, President Frankln D. Roosevelt declares an oil embargo on Japan. This put Japan in a bind as it would not be able to move its war machine without oil. It would lead to Japan's bombing of Pearl Harbor. -
Pearl Harbor
Japan initiates a surprise attack on the US Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor. The US would change its position of neutrality and declare war on Japan, jumping into World War II. The Japanese believe the US to be inferior, but were proven wrong during the course of the war. -
Battle of Midway
Midway was one of the most important naval battles during World War II. Japan wanted to eliminate the US as a naval power in the Pacific and made a plan to attack the island of Midway. Through codebreaking, the Americans learned of the attack and set up an ambush for the Japanese. The US sunk four of Japan's six aircraft carriers. -
D-Day
The Allied forces launch an invasion on Europe. Their goal was to land American, British, and Canadian forces on five beach heads: Sword, Juno, Gold, Utah, and Omaha. Also, paratroopers landed inland and took out Nazi defenses that were pelting the beaches. This invasion allowed the Allies to begin their push into Nazi Germany -
Battle of the Bulge
Nazi forces launched a campaign and surprised American forces in the Ardennes Forest near the town of Bastogne. The Nazis kept pressing the American lines so much that on maps, the American line began to bulge inwards hence the name. The Americans eventually pushed the Nazis back. It was one of the bloodiest battles fought by the US. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The US invaded the volcanic island of Iwo Jima. The US wanted to capture the whole island especially the three airfields on the island. They wanted to use Iwo Jima as a staging area to bomb the main islands of Japan. -
Battle of Okinawa
The US invaded the island of Okinawa in hopes to use it as their base for when they invaded the main island of Japan. The battle ended in June 1945 and resulted in the most casualities lost in the Pacific War. The Japanese fought fiercely and often used civilians as shields and as booby traps. The bloodiness of the battle allowed the US to understand how costly an invasion of the main islands would be. -
Nazi's surrender
The Nazi's unconditionally surrender to the Allied forces. This marked the end to the war in Europe. However, the war in the Pacific still raged on. -
Bombing of Hiroshima
To avoid what were deemed an unexeptable amount of civilian and military casualties, the US elected to drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima instead of invading the main islands of Japan. It was hoped that Japan would surrender after the bombing. -
Bombing of Nagasaki
The US dropped a second atomic bomb on the city of Nagasaki. This all part of the US's plan to drop atomic bombs on Japan until they surrendered. After much deliberation, the Emperor of Japan decided to surrender to the US. -
VJ Day
Japan surrenders to the US, ineffect, officially ending World War II. The official surrender document would be signed on September 2nd.
