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Japanese forces in Manchuria attacked Nationalist forces stationed at the Marco Polo Bridge, directly sparking the Second Sino-Japanese War
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A series of false flag operations undertaken by the SS to justify the upcoming invasion of Poland
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Nationalists emerged victorious over Republicans, and led to the establishment of a dictator government led by Francisco Franco
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German Panzers and Stukas sweep into Poland, starting the European theatre of World War II. And no, Polish cavalry DIDN'T charge at German Panzers
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Living up to their end of the bargain with Germany, Soviet forces invade Poland from the East
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Roosevelt signs the Neutrality Act of 1939, leaving the US out of European affairs
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Netherlands surrenders on 5/4. Belgium surrenders on 5/28. Norway surrenders on 6/10.
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Imagine losing 500 men to a Finnish sniper. smh my head. Despite heavy USSR losses, the war ended with the Moscow Peace Treaty, with Finland ceding territory to the USSR. When Operation Barbarossa was commenced, the Finnish joined on the side of the Axis.
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British forces forced to retreat to Britain via Dunkirk. France surrenders and the puppet government Vichy France is established
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The Luftwaffe begins attacking British airbases and ports to pave way for an amphibious assault (Sealion) on the British mainland
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Failing to defeat the RAF in broad daylight, the Luftwaffe switches to night time bomb raids against civilian targets
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Signing of alliance between Germany, Japan and Italy, the Axis powers.
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Signing the Lend Lease allowed the US to send war material to European nations fighting against the Axis
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Major German airborne operation against British/Commonwealth-held island of Crete. Despite the success of the mission, the huge amount of paratrooper casualties made the Germans hesitant to ever use paratroopers in airborne operations in the future, and instead, used them as light infantry.
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Who would win? The mightiest battleship in the European/Atlantic theatre, or some outdated biplanes flown by tea drunkards?
The Bismark, the largest battleship ever built by Germany that sunk the HMS Hood, is finally hunted down and destroyed by British torpedo bombers and battleships. -
Axis troops sweep into the USSR under Operation Barborossa to seize living space and resources. Though the Soviets suffered heavy losses, they were able to stall German advances in Russia as winter set in.
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US government seizes Japanese assetsand places embargo of oil and metal on Japan to deter Japanese aggression in the Far East
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The 800+ day siege begins, resulting in mass starvation of the Soviet defenders
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Japanese carrier aircraft raid Pearl Harbor, causing heavy damage to US battleships in the Pacific Fleet. Following the raid, Rear Admiral Chester Nimitz was promoted to Commander-in-Chief of the US Pacific Fleet.
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Ended with US forces surrendering to Japanese forces, and forced to endure the Bataan Death March which started on 4/9.
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The conference that Nazis decided to liquidate the ghettos and send the occupants to concentration camps.
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British forces surrender to Japanese forces at Singapore
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Carrier battle fought between the US and Japanese at the Coral Sea. Although the Japanese sunk a US carrier (Lexington) and heavily damaged the other (Yorktown), US fighters caused two Japanese carriers to be unable to participate in the Battle of Midway, and halted a potential Japanese invasion on New Guinea.
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Battle between US and Japanese carrier planes, ending with the loss of 4 Japanese carriers (Akagi, Kaga, Hiryu and Soryu) and 1 US carrier (Yorktown); halting the Japanese advance.
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Allies' first major offensive against Japanese-held islands. Ended after 6 months with the Japanese forces retreating.
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British-American amphibious landing operation in the Northern African campaign. Was the first major American military involvement in the "European" theatre of the war
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After over 5 months of fighting, Field Marshal Paulus surrenders the rest of his 6th Army to the Soviets
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Massive Allied air raid against a Japanese troop convoy en route to New Guinea. The planning of this battle was later analyzed, and became a classic game theory scenario.
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Allies win the Tunisian campaign, forcing the Afrika Korps and Italian forces to withdraw from Northern Africa
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"By bombing the devil around the clock, we can prevent German defenders from getting any rest!" Round-the-clock bombing against Germany begins, with USAAF B-17s bombing in the morning, and RAF Lancasters bombing at night
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Battle of Kursk would see one of the largest tank versus tank battles in history. Not sure whether that Tiger or those T-34s are gonna win, but we know that those Ferdinands sure aren't keeping up.
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Italy surrenders and the Armistice of Cassibile was signed by King Emmanuel III and Minister Pietro Badogolio with the Allies.
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SS commandos led by Otto Skorzeny rescues Mussolini from captivity and Hitler lets Mussolini lead a puppet fascist Italian state.
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Opening new front in France, surrenders would be unconditional and occupation of defeated nations
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First Japanese home island to be invaded by the US. Fierce resistance resulted in thousands of casualties on both sides.
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Allied forces land on 5 Normandy beaches in the largest amphibious operation ever, opening the "second" European front.
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The Japanese loss of the battle led to the resignation of Prime Minister Tojo and also left the Japanese mainland vulnerable to American bombers
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US Hellcats vs... Japanese turkeys? IJN naval aviation will never recover from this battle after losing 2 carriers and the bulk of its carrier fighters.
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Hitler narrowly survives a coup against him and orders many officers killed, including Colonel Stauffenburg and Field Marshal Rommel.
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Poles attempt an uprising to free the city of Warsaw. It was suppressed, however, and the nearby Soviets did nothing to help.
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After being ordered to reduce the city to ruins, General Choltitz instead surrenders Paris intact to the Western Allies.
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Failed Allied airborne operation to capture key bridges in the Netherlands to cross the Rhine. Due to heavy German resistance and delayed advances, the operation resulted in a failure.
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US troops led by General MacArthur lands on the Philippines. He famously said, “People of the Philippines, I have returned."
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Arguably the largest naval battle in history. One of the largest battleships (Mushashi) ever built was also sunk in this battle.
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Last-ditch German offensive against the Western allies. Failed due to lack of supplies and men, as well as Allied counterattacks.
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Bring out the M10 Panthers! Operation Grief was led by Skorzeny during the Battle of the Bulge by using soldiers disguised as Allies to spread confusion and capture key points.
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USSR joins war against Japan, post-war governments in Eastern Europe would be communist, and UN framework discussed
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General Patton's 3rd Army crosses the Rhine after breaking through the Siegfried Line
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Fierce Japanese resistance, increased used of kamikaze attacks, and the sinking of the Yamato, the lead ship of the largest battleship class ever built
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FDR dies at the age of 63. His vice president Harry Truman takes the office.
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btw, this photo above the Reichstag was staged
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US and Soviet troops meet at the Elbe river, joining the Western and Eastern Fronts.
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Mussolini and his mistress are shot by Italian partisans after attempting to flee.
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Hitler and his wife Eva Braun commit suicide by a combination of gunshot and cyanide pills.
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German leaders Donitz, Jodl and Keitel surrenders unconditionally to the Allies.
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Germany would be split into 4 occupation zones and reconstruction of German government
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A B-29 flown by Colonel Tibbets drops the Little Boy atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
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Another B-29 flown by Major Sweeney drops the Fat Man atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Nagasaki
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Emperor Hirohito announces on the radio that he is willing to accept the Allied terms of surrender.
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Japanese Instrument of Surrender signed on the battleship USS Missouri at Tokyo Bay
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UN established, with the five victors (US, USSR, UK, China and France) being the P-5 in the Security Council with veto powers.
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Trying war criminals in Europe for crimes against humanity. Many major defendants committed suicide (Goring, Himmler, Goebbels, etc)
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Judgement for war criminals for crimes against humanity in the Far East.
