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The Holocaust
Hitler was appointed Chancellor on this day, setting the plan for Nazi genocide against Jews. The holocaust was not only a termination of the Jewish people, many other ethnic and politcal groups inside of Europe were targeted. Hitler forced these people into camps, slowly killing them off. Hitler's plan was to exterminate all people who were not true Germans, in hopes of creating one all powerful race in Germany. Hitler killed over 6 million Jewish people throughout the holocaust. -
Japan Invades China
The war between Japan and China started when Japanese claimed that they were fired on by the Chinese at the Marco Polo Bridge near Beijing. The Japanese over took Manchuria and used it as a launching base for their troops. Within 5 months, 1 million Chinese people were under Japanese control. All of the major cities in China were captured by the end of 1937, as well as the major communication systems of the nation. -
Munich Conference
Hitler, Mussolini, French Premier Edouard Daladier, and British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain met at Munich to sign a pact that would appease Germany in the event that Czechoslovakia would be under German control. The original agreement was to give Germany only Sudentenland, but much more was gained. This left the Czech nation completely open to German rule, and the terrorized government was forced to surrender to Hitler. By the time Germany invaded Poland, Czechoslovakia no longer existed. -
Non-Aggression Pact
Representatives from Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union met and signed a non-aggression pact, which promised that the two countries would not attack each other. Through this pact, Germany would protect itself from having to fight a 2-front war. The USSR was awarded land. The Soviets gained parts of Poland and the Baltic States with the signing of the pact. Germany later broke its agreement when they attacked the Soviet Union 2 years after on June 22, 1941 with operation babarossa. -
Germany Invades Poland
Germany bombarded Poland with air forces, as Hitler seeked to regain territory that was lost and ultimately rule Poland. Hitlers war strategy became known as "blitzkrieg", and included extensive bombing to cause mass devastation early on. Although 1 million strong, the polish were extremely under-equipped and had out dated war strategies, leading to their demise. Britain responded to this event with bomb raids over Germany, 3 days later. -
Blitzkrieg
Germany used the military tactic "blitzkrieg" maeaning lightning war during the invasion of Poland in 1939. The strategy involved speed and surprise, leaving the enemy confused and unable to react in a timely manner. The attack was backed up by air forces, having the ability to cause destruction through bombing and caused an extremely successful amount of causualties on enemy lines. -
Battle of Britain
Germany began a long series of bomb raids against Britain, which lasted about 3 1/2 months. It was the first major campaign to be entirely fought by air forces. Germans wanted to gain air superiority over the Royal Air Force. Britain forced hitler to cancel Operation Sea Lion. This event led to the failure of the German's plan to destroy Britains air force. It was considered a turning point in the war and the first major defeat of Germany. -
Lend Lease Act
The Lend Lease Act was a program in which the US supplied Great Britain, France, The USSR, The Republic of China, and other allied forces with materials. It was signed into law on March 11, a year and a half after the outbreak of WWII in Europe. Canada provided a similar program called Mutual Aid that sent loans to Britain and other allies. This event marked the end of United States neutrality in WWII. -
Operation Barbarossa
Hitler launched his armies eastward in a mass invasion of the Soviet Union. This operation was the crucial turning point in World War II. About 4 million of the axis power soldiers invaded the USSR. Germany had seriously underestimated its apponent and faced major failure. Operation Barbarossa was the largest military operation in world history in both manpower and casualties. Germanys defeat forced Hitler to call more operations to take place inside of the USSR, which all eventually failed. -
Pearl Harbor
The attack on pearl Harbor was a surprise led by Japanese air forces on the Americans, destroying the majority of American ships stationed there. Bombs and under water torpedos were used as the main weaponry during this attack. American's did not take this event lightly, FDR planned to go into immediate attack, ending American neautrality. -
Wannsee Conference
The Wannsee Conference was held in Berlin on January 20, 1942. The purpose of this meeting was to decide the outcome of the Jewish People of Germany and ensure the cooperation of administrative leaders. Senior officials of Germany were the head of this conference. The Holocaust was an event planned in the outcome of this meeting. -
Bataan Death March
The Death March was a forced 60mile walk on American and Fillipino prisoners after the battles at Bataan in 1942. The American's faulty assumption led to extreme causualties in both battles and the march. The march became recognized as a Japanese war crime, due to the torture inflicted by Japan and endured by the prisoners during this walk. Approximately 5,200 American lives were lost in the outcome. -
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway was the most important naval battles of World War II. It was Japan's first major naval defeat since 1863. Japans plan was a failure due to their faulty assumptions of America's reaction. Many of Japan's air craft carriers were destroyed by the Americans. Japan was unable to keep replacing their losses while the US steadily increased its output. Japan faced their ultimate demise in the losses of their war ships and air crafts. -
Battle of Stalingrad
This battle is considered to be one of the bloodiest in all of history, with nearly 2 million casualties; leaving Hitler humiliated and causing a turn of the tide in favor of the Allied forces. The Russians believe this battle to be the greatest of their Great Patriotic War. Germans experienced a loss of about 150,000 soldiers in this battle. Stalin gained great confidence in his military as a result. -
D Day
Operation D Day was an invasion of the allied forces on Normandy, France. The event was considered to be the largest seaborne invasion in history. By the end of August, 1944 all of France had been liberated. The allies defeated the Germans by the next Spring. Operation Overlord was known as the begginning and the end of the war. -
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a surprise attack on the allied forces by Germany, led by Hitler. The United States suffered the most and obtained the highest number of causualties during a single operation in WWII. The battle also depleated Germany's war-making resources. The phrase came from the way the allied front line bulged inward on wartime news maps. About 610,000 American forces were involved and 89,000 were casualties, including 19,000 killed. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima was also known as Operation Detatchment. The US Armed Foces fought and captured the island from the Japanese Empire. The battle lasted 5 weeks and comprised of some of the most bloodiest fighting of the War in the Pacific during World War II. There was a severe amount of causualties on both sides; American and Japanese. Japans defeat was assumed from the start. America had an over powering number of soldiers and arms. The American Air Force was superior to Japans. -
Battle of Okinawa
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VE Day
VE Day officially announced the end of World War II in Europe. The Germans laid down their arms on this day and surrendered to the Soviets. Just previously on April 30, Adolf Hitler committed suicide. This event took place during the battle of Berlin. The surrender was then authorized by Hitlers successor, Karl Donitz. His administration was known as the Flensburg government. The act of surrender was signed on May 7 in Reims, France and on May 8 in Berlin, Germany. -
The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The bombing of two Japanese islands was a result of Japans refusal to surrender to the allies. The Enola Gay, and American ship, dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and on Nagasaki, three days prior. The bombing caused massive destruction of both land and people. Those who were unharmed by the bombs eventually lost their lives due to extreme radiation. The lands remain a fatal battle ground today unsuitable for any life form. This caused Japan to surrender, officially ending the war. -
V-J Day
Japan surrendered unconditionally to the Allied forces on August 14, 1945. The war was officially over. On September 2nd the Japanese formally surrendered on the USS Missouri. Just a few days earlier the Allies called on Japan to surrender,and as a result of their refusal, Japan faced massive destruction. Two Japanese islands, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed, killing thousands and leaving the lands in complete ruins. The event caused so much devastation that Japan was forced to surrender. -
Warsaw Pact
The Treaty of Friendship was signed by the Soviet Union and 7 of Europes main satellites. It established a mutual defense organization that put the Soviets in command of the armed forces of the member states. It became known as the Warsaw Pact. The pact was signed in Warsaw. It included the Soviet Union, Albania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria as members.