-
Japan Invades China
Japan, eager for the natural resources to be found in China and seeing obvious weaknesses, invaded and occupied Manchuria. It was turned into a nominally independent state called Manchukuo. When China appealed to the League of Nations to intervene, the League published the Lytton Report which condemned Japanese aggression. The only real consequence of this was that an outraged Japanese delegation stormed out of the League of Nations, never to return. -
The Holocaust
Since 1945, the mass murder of some 6 million European Jews (as well as members of other persecuted groups, such as Gypsies and homosexuals) by the German Nazis during the Second World War. To the anti-Semitic Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, Jews were a lower race, an alien threat to German racial wholesomeness and society After years of Nazi rule in Germany, during which Jews were consistently persecuted, Hitler’s “final solution” now known as the Holocaust, mass killing centers in Poland. -
Munich Conference
On Sept. 29, 1938, Neville Chamberlain of Britain, Édouard Daladier of France, Benito Mussolini of Italy and Adolf Hitler met in Munich, Germany to discuss Hitler’s hope of acquiring the Sudetenland. Ironically, the president of Czechoslovakia, the owner of Sudetenland, Emil Hacha, was not present to participate in the debate. The four powers reached a consensus and decided to give the Sudetenland to Hitler. On Sept. 30, 1938, the Munich Pact was signed. -
Non Agression Pact
Shortly before World War II broke out in Europe, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union surprised the world by signing the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact. With Europe on the brink of another major war, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin viewed the pact as a way to keep his nation on peaceful terms with Germany. German chancellor Adolf Hitler used the pact to make sure Germany was able to invade Poland unopposed. The German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact fell apart in June 1941. -
Germany Invades Poland
German forces bombarded Poland on land/air, Adolf Hitler seeks to regain lost territory and rule Poland. The German invasion of Poland was how Hitler intended to wage war using the "blitzkrieg" strategy. This was characterized by extensive bombing early on to destroy the enemy's air capacity, railroads, communication lines, and munitions dumps, followed by a massive land invasion. Once the German forces had plowed their way through, infantry moved in, picking off any remaining resistance. -
Blitzkrieg
A German term for “lightning war,” blitzkrieg is a military tactic designed to create disorganization among enemy forces through the use of mobile forces and locally concentrated firepower. Its successful execution results in short military campaigns, which preserves human lives and limits the expenditure of artillery. German forces tried out the blitzkrieg in Poland in 1939 before successfully employing the tactic with invasions of Belgium, the Netherlands and France in 1940. -
Battle of Britain
In the summer of 1940, German and British air forces clashed in the skies over the United Kingdom, in the largest bombing campaign to that date. A turning point of World War II, the Battle of Britain ended when Germany’s Luftwaffe failed to gain air superiority Britain’s decisive victory saved the country from a ground invasion and possible occupation by German forces while proving that air power alone could be used to win a major battle. -
Lend Lease Act
In March 1941, the Lend-Lease Act provided U.S. military aid to foreign nations during World War II. It authorized the president to transfer arms or any other defense materials for which Congress gave money to “the government of any country whose defense deems vital to the defense of the U.S.”. By allowing the transfer of supplies without compensation to Britain, China, the Soviet Union and other countries, the act allowed the US to support its war interests without being overextended. -
Operation Barbossa
Adolf Hitler launched his armies eastward in a massive invasion of the Soviet Union. The invasion covered a front from the North Cape to the Black Sea. By this point German combat effectiveness had reached its peak; in training, doctrine, and fighting ability, the forces invading Russia represented the finest army. Barbarossa was the crucial turning point in World War II, for its failure forced Nazi Germany to fight a two-front war against a coalition possessing immensely superior resources. -
Wannsee Conference
The Wannsee Conference held in a villa in a suburb of Wannsee. It was presided over by SS-Lieutenant General Reinhard Heydrich. Heydrich had fourteen men representing the governmental and military involved in implementing the practical aspects of the Final Solution. Heydrich was an ambitious and meticulous officer. One of Heydrich's foremost intentions was to make sure that all these men understood perfectly what duties/responsibilities they were expected to fulfill. -
Bataan Death March
After the U.S. surrender of the Bataan Peninsula on the main Philippine island of Luzon to the Japanese during World War II, the approximately 75,000 Filipino and American troops on Bataan were forced to make an grueling 65-mile march to prison camps. The marchers made the trek in intense heat and were subjected to harsh treatment by Japanese guards. Thousands perished in what became known as the Bataan Death March. -
Battle of Midway
Six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States overpowered Japan in one of the most decisive naval battles of World War II. Thanks in part to major advances in code breaking, the United States was able to anticipate and counter Japan’s planned ambush of its few remaining aircraft carriers, inflicting permanent damage on the Japanese Navy. An important turning point in the Pacific campaign, the victory allowed the United States and allies to move into position. -
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad, was the victorious Soviet defense of the city of Stalingrad in the U.S.S.R. during World War II. Russians consider it to be the supreme battle of their Great Patriotic War, most historians consider it to be the greatest battle of the entire conflict. It stopped the German advance and marked the turning of the tide of war in favor of the Allies. The Battle of Stalingrad was one of the bloodiest battles in history, with combined military/civilian casualties of 2 million. -
Pearl Harbor
December 7, 1941, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor. The barrage lasted just two hours but they managed to destroy nearly 20 American naval vessels and 200 airplanes. 2,000 Americans soldiers/sailors died. President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan; Congress approved. Three days later, Japanese allies Germany and Italy also declared war on the United States. America finally joined the war. -
D-Day
During World War II, the Battle of Normandy, resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany’s control. Codenamed Operation Overlord, also known as D-Day, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified coast of France’s Normandy region. The invasion was one of the largest military assaults in history. All of northern France had been liberated, and the Allies had defeated the Germans. -
Battle of The Bulge
Adolph Hitler attempted to split the Allied armies in Europe by a surprise blitzkrieg thrust through the Ardennes to Antwerp. American units fought desperate battles to stem the German advancements. Germans drove deeper into the Ardennes in an attempt to secure vital bridgeheads, the Allied line took on the appearance of a large bulge. Lieutenant General George S. Patton’s maneuvering of the Third Army proved vital to the Allied defense. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The American invasion of Iwo Jima came from the need for a base near the Japanese coast. Following air and naval bombardment, three U.S. marine divisions landed on the island. Iwo Jima was defended by 23,000 Japanese army/navy troops, who fought in a network of caves, dugouts, and tunnels. Despite the difficulty of the conditions, the marines wiped out the defending forces, and the battle earned a place in history with a photograph showing the U.S. flag being raised in victory. -
V-J Day
On August 14, 1945, it was announced that Japan had surrendered to the Allies, finally ending World War II. Since then, both August 14 and August 15 have been known as “Victory over Japan Day”.The term has also been used for September 2, 1945, when Japan surrendered aboard the U.S.S. Missouri, Tokyo Bay. Several months after the surrender of Nazi Germany, Japan’s surrender in the Pacific brought six years of conflict to a final and highly anticipated stop. -
V-E Day
On this day in 1945, both Great Britain and the United States rejoice Victory in Europe Day. Cities in both nations, as well as formerly occupied cities in Western Europe, put out flags and banners, rejoicing in the defeat of the Nazi war machine. In Prague, Germans surrendered to their Soviet antagonists, after the latter had lost more than 8,000 soldiers, and the Germans considerably more, the German surrender was realized in a final cease-fire. -
Battle of Okinawa
This was the biggest of the Pacific island battles of World War II, the Okinawa campaign (April 1-June 22, 1945) it involved the 287,000 troops of the U.S. Tenth Army against 130,000 soldiers of the Japanese Thirty-second Army. At stake were air bases vital to the projected invasion of Japan. By the end of the 82-day campaign, Japan had lost more than 77,000 soldiers and the Allies had suffered more than 65,000 casualties including 14,000 dead. -
The Bombing of Hiroshima/Nagasaki
On August 6, 1945 the US dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima in Japan. Three days later a second atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki. These were the only times nuclear weapons have been used in war. The United States wanted to force Japan's surrender as quickly as possible to minimize American casualties. Given all of these reasons, the US was in quite a hurry to drop the bomb. Shortly after successfully testing the first atomic explosion`, the order to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. -
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact was the Soviet Union’s response to West Germany joining NATO. The Warsaw Pact, named after the meeting to create it was held in Warsaw, was based throughout the Soviet and troops in it were used in the ending of the 1968 Czech Revolt. The Warsaw Pact, or the ‘Treaty of Friendship, was obviously very much dominated by the Soviet Union. Soviet tanks/aircraft/guns were used throughout the Warsaw Pact and the military command was dominated by decisions made in Moscow.
