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#13: Attack of Manchuria
Many Japanese businesses had heavily invested in Manchuria because Manchuria was rich in iron and coal. Also, Japan was in debt and saw that they could use Manchuria for obtaining money. The Japanese parliament protested the attack, but did not have any power over the army so the army attacked. The Japanese won and set up a puppet government, mines, and factories right away. -
#12: Nuremberg Laws
The Nuremberg Laws deprived Jews of the rights to German citizenship, jobs, and property. Also, the Nuremberg Laws stated that all Jews had to wear a bright yellow star on their clothing so that the Nazis could easily identify them. -
#14: Alliance with Italy and Germany
In October of 1936, Hitler and Mussolini formed an alliance with one another known as the Rome-Berlin Axis. One month later, in November of 1936, Germany and Japan formed an alliance together. Italy, Germany, and Japan became known as the Axis Powers and formed one side of World War II, against Britain, France, and the United States, who were known as the Allies. -
#11: Kristallnacht
On November 7, Herschel Grynszpan, a Jewish 17 year old, recieved a postcard saying that his father was deported to Poland. Herschel shot an employee of the German Embassy in Parison to avenge his father's deportation. When Nazis heard the news, they launched a violent attack against the Jews, on November 9, killing 100 Jews and destroying Jewish homes, buisnesses, and synagogues. This day is called Kristallnacht because it means "Night of Broken Glass" and the Nazis smashed Jewish shop windows. -
#1: Invasion of Poland
Hitler demanded that the Polish Corridor and Danzig be returned to Germany, but Poland, Britain, and France denied him. Britain and France then promised to protect Poland from a German invasion. However, Hitler attacked using the blitzkrieg strategy, which is using fast-moving planes, followed by tanks, then infrantry to catch the oppsition by surprise and then crush them quickly. This attack was so fast that Poland fell three weeks before Britain and France could make any military response. -
#2: Soviet Union Invades Eastern Poland
A secret agreement within the nonaggression pact between Germany and the Soviet Union, on August 23, 1939, said that the Soviet Union and Germany would divide Poland between them. After Germany invaded Poland, Stalin sent troops to occupy the eastern half of Poland. Then he annexed regions like Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Finland. Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia fell easily, but Finland resisted. The Finns used the winter to their advantage, but finally fell in March of 1940. -
#3: France Surrenders
Hitler attacked multiple countries to distract France, then sent a huge force to France through a forest called the Ardennes. On June 10, Mussolini joined the Germans and Paris fell on June 14. France surrendered on June 22 and the Germans took control over the northern part of France and left the rest under a puppet government. Charles de Gualle, a French general, fled to London and set up a government-in-exile committed to reconquering France. -
#4: Battle of Britain
Germany bombed British cities, like London, in order to break the morale of the British people. German bombs cause destruction in the cities. Germany planned to knock out the British airforce, the RAF, and land soldiers on the shores. However, even though the RAF was outnumbered, they had radar and learned how to decode Enigma, a German code-making machine. With these devices, RAF fliers could cause major damage. Hitler retreated on May 10, 1941. This showed that the Germans could be stopped. -
#5: Lend Lease Act
The Lend Lease Act stated that President Roosevelt could lend or lease arms and other supplies to any country vital to the United States. In the summer of 1941, the United States was escorting British cargo ships with American arms on them. Hitler responded to this by ordering his submarines to sink any cargo ship that they met. -
#7: German Invasion of Soviet Union
The Soviet Union was unprepared for the German invasion. They had five million soldiers, but they were not well trained nor well equipped. While the Germans advanced through the Soviet Union, the Russians used the scorched earth policy and burned everything so that the German soldiers would not have food or shelter. Hitler moved his troops into Moscow during the winter, which was a risky plan. With help from the weather, the Soviets protected Moscow and the Germans retreated in March of 1943. -
#6: Atlantic Charter
Even though the United States had not yet entered the war, Roosevelt and the British prime minister, Winston Churchill, met secretly on a battleship and issued a joint declaration called the Atlantic Charter. This protected the continuation of free trade among nations and declared that the people had the right to choose their own government. The Atlantic Charter was also used as the Allies' peace plan after World War II. -
#15: Pearl Harbor
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto attacked Pearl Harbor because the U.S. was keeping Japan from having an empire in the Pacific. The United States knew that the attack would be coming, but did not know when or where. In a two hour span, the Japanese sunk or damaged 18 ships including eight battleships. This attack destroyed almost the entire American fleet in the Pacific. Also, this attacked killed almost 2,400 people and wounded more than 1,000. This led to the U.S. entering World War II. -
#20: Japanese Internment
After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, the Americans were scared about the Japanese Americans, who mostly lived in Hawaii and on the West Coast. On Febuary 19, Roosevelt set up a program of internment and loss of property. In March, the military rounded up the Japanese Americans and sent them to relocation camps. These camps were guarded by the military in areas away from the coast so that they could not participate in an invasion. -
#16: Battle of Midway
Midway Island was home to a key American airfield, so Japan attacked this island. Amiral Nimitz was outnumbered four to one in ships and planes, so he allowed the Japanese to attack first. While the Japanese airplanes were overhead, American carrier planes attacked the Japanese ships and destroyed all four aircraft carriers and one support ship as well as 322 planes, so Yamamoto retreated. This battle was important because the Americans had avenged Pearl Harbor and it turned the tide of the war. -
#8: Allied invasion of Italy
Stalin wanted Britain and the United States to attack France, but Britain and the U.S. decided to attack Italy first. They sent Allied troops into Sicily and captured it. This toppled Mussolini from power and on July 25, 1943, King Victor arrested him. Then, Germany took control over northern Italy and put Mussolini back in charge. The Germans retreated on April 28 and tried to sneak Mussolini out of Italy. The Itailians found Mussolini and shot him the following day. -
#9: D-Day
British, American, French, and Canadian troops fought their way onto a 60-mile stretch of beach in Normandy. Then, on July 25, 1944, the Allies broke through the German defenses and General George Patton's red army raced through. On August 25, the Allies marched into Paris and won. After this voctory, the Allies had their sights set on Germany. -
#10: German Surrender
On April 25, 1945, the Soviets had surrounded the German capital, Berlin. Hitler saw that there was no way to win, so he shot himself and his wife drank poison. Their bodies were then burned. On May 7, General Eisenhower accepted the unconditional surrender of Germany from the German military. The following day, the surrender was officially signed in Berlin. This day is called V-E Day, or Victory in Europe Day. -
#18: Bombing of Hiroshima
President Truman warned the Japanese that if they did not surrender, then the United States would drop an new bomb, the Atomic Bomb, or A-Bomb, on Japan. The Japanese did not respond, so on August 6, the United States dropped the first ever Atomic Bomb in battle, on Hiroshima. The bomb killed 73,000 people out of 365,000. This led to other bombings with the atomic bomb. -
#17: Bombing of Nagasaki
During the bombing of Nagasaki, the Americans dropped another Atomic Bomb. The A-Bomb killed 37,500 people out of the 200,000 immediately and radiation killed many more later on. Also, the bomb destroyed the city completely. This led to the surrender of Japan on September 2, which marked the end of the war. -
#19: Japanese Surrender
On September 2, 1945 the Japanese surendered to Douglas MacArthur aboard the U.S. battleship, the Missouri, in Tokyo Bay. With Japan's surrender, World War II ended and the Allies had won.
