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MaoZedong heads Long March
As the Communist party realized they had been defeated, 100,000 Communists fled and went on the journey called the Long March (6,000 miles long!). Thousands died however eventually Mao and his followers ended up in the caves in northwestern China. -
Germany invades Poland; France and Great Britain declare war on Germany
After Hitler signs the non-aggresion pact, he quickly moves with Germanyu's plans to invade Poland. Germany began bombing on Warsaw. France and Great Britain then declared war on Germany but by the time those nations could send in help, Hitler had already annexed the western half of Poland. He gave the eastern half to Stalin and Russia. -
Japan attacks Pearl Harbor
U.S military leaders had known from a Japanese coded message that the Japanese were going to attack them. They just didnt' know when or where. In the early morning, the Japanese attacked. After 2 hours, the Japanese had sunk/damaged 19 ships including 8 battleships. More than 2,300 Americans were killed with 1,100 wounded. The next day President Roosevelt declared that this "was a date which will live in infamy." Congress then stated a declaration of war on Japan. -
United Nations formed
Starting from a group of nations endorsing the Atlantic Charter, 50 nations met in San Francisco in 1945 to finalize the Charter of the United Nations. -
Germany Surrenders
After the Battle of the Bulge, the war was starting to end in Europe. The Allies came into the Rhine River in Germany . Soldiers from teh Allied side surrounded Berlin from the southwest and the Soviets surrounded the city as well and were pounding the city with artillery fire. Germany was now surrounded on all sides. After Hitler's suicide, the Third Reich surrendered and General Eisenhower accepted. -
Allies use atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Continued:
Since the U.S received no reply they dropped a bomb on Hiroshima and then a secon bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. -
Allies use atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
After the U.S attack on Okinawa, the Allies now had to attack the Japanese main island. President Truman was told that if he attacked the main lan he could loose half a million lives. Truman had to make a decision whether to use a new bomb, the atomic bomb. The bomb was developed under the Manhattan Project led by Leslie Groves and Robert Oppenheimer. Pres. Truman warned the Japanese that "unless they surrendered they could expect a rain of ruin from the air." The U.S received no reply so---
