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Second Sino-Japanese War
China resisted to the expansion of Japanese influence in its territory. Japan won most of the war, capturing major cities because of having such an advanced military. China was able to recover by using Allied countries for air support to get supplies and dropping atomic bombs. The remaining Japanese forces surrendered. This becomes a tuning point because if the Marco Polo bridge incident hadn't happened, then this war might not of occurred. -
Maginot Line
The Maginot Line was a fortification built by the French to deter the Germans from invading. There were air-conditioned areas for the troops, living quarters, supply storehouses, and underground rail lines connecting various portions of the line. The Maginot Line was a turning point because since the fortification was built, it increased the time it took for the Germans to defeat the French. This is key to the war because instead of the Germans attacking the French, they attacked Belgium. -
Nazi-Soviet Non-Agression Pact
The two countries; Germany and the Soviet Union agreed to take no military action against each other for the next ten years. Since Europe was on the brink of heading into war, the Soviet Union viewed the pact as a way to keep his nation on peaceful terms with Germany. Hitler used the pact so he could invade Poland unopposed and was also used to determine how Germany and the Soviet Union would divide up Eastern Europe. This caused tension between countries, and added more countries to the war. -
Invasion of Poland
The German army took on the invasion of Poland and this was considered the start of World War II. Germany justified their invasion by claiming that Poland was planning on invading Germany with its Allies. Hitler then retaliated by launching a campaign against Poland and broke through Polish defenses along the border and advanced on Warsaw in a massive encirclement attack. The invasion becomes a turning point because the second world war could've been delayed. -
Appeasement
Appeasement was the policy of making concessions to the dictatorial powers in order to avoid conflict. Appeasement was commonly used by Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. If leaders would've negotiated rather than not saying anything at all and not fearing the wrath of the leaders, some of the provoking decisions leaders made to see how others would respond, could've been avoided. This theme becomes important to the entire war because leaders refuse to speak up and sacrifice valuables. -
Western Desert Campaign (Desert War)
It was a series of battles fought between the Allies and Axis powers in North Africa. The Allied powers used the weakest times of the Axis powers to attack, using armored vehicles and bombs to take out the armies. If the Axis powers had won, they could've taken over more land and also would've gotten their wish; to stop food and supplies from getting to Britain and the Soviet Union which could've left both countries starving and lose tons of battles. -
Pearl Harbor
Pearl harbor, a U.S. naval base near Honolulu, Hawaii, was a surprise attack by Japanese forces.Hundreds of Japanese fighter planes descended on the base, where they managed to destroy or damage nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight battleships, and over 300 airplanes. If the Japanese hadn't attacked Pearl Harbor, then the U.S. probably wouldn't have come into the war in 1941and instead come in later on. It had become the "final straw" for the U.S. -
Battle of Midway
Six months after the attack of Pearl Harbor, 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 due to advances in code breaking. It was a turning point because the U.S. was able to quicken the inevitable defeat of Japan. It made Japan go onto the losing side while the U.S. took the lead. -
Battle of Stalingrad
Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad. Hitler wanted Stalingrad because it was an industrial city and because it had Josef Stalin's name. The battle began with the German air force bombing the Volga River and the then the city of Stalingrad. When they Soviets started hiding out, killing many Germans, Germany started losing many soldiers. The Soviets had trapped the German army, and the German army surrendered. Germany's advances into Europe stopped. -
Kamikaze
Kamikaze aircraft were essentially pilot-guided explosive missiles and purpose-built to crash their aircraft into enemy ships in what was called a "body attack" in planes laden with some combination of explosives, bombs, and torpedoes. When attacking Pearl Harbor, Japan had lost many ships and airplanes and weren't able to recuperate. They realized they were not able to win against Allied troops so they began to crash into Allied ships. Despite trying to gain a lead, Japan had to surrender.
