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Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. It marked the entry of the United States into World War II, as it led to the formal declaration of war against Japan by the U.S. Congress on December 8, 1941. 21 ships were lost or damaged. It galvanized American support for the war effort and triggered a united Allied response against the Axis powers, leading to the defeat of Japan and its allies. -
Normandy Landings (D-Day)
D-Day was an amphibious invasion of Nazi-occupied France during WW2. Allied forces landed on the beaches of Normandy in an effort to establish a Western Front against Nazi Germany. At the time, it was the largest naval, air, and land operation in history. By August 1944, all of northern France had been liberated. It signified the start of the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi occupation. It was a turning point in the war and paved the way for the eventual defeat of Nazi Germany. -
VE Day
VE Day is the day that marked the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany to the Allied forces, effectively ending World War II in Europe. The surrender was signed by German representatives in Reims, France, and later in Berlin, Germany. Fighting continued in the Pacific. It celebrated the long-awaited victory over Nazi tyranny in Europe, bringing an end to a devastating conflict that had persisted for nearly six years, killing millions. -
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Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference was a meeting of the Allied leaders following the end of World War II. It aimed to determine the post-war fate Europe and led to the demilitarization of Germany. Truman used it to mention the threat of nuclear warfare. It resulted in key decisions about the division of Germany, reparations, and the establishment of the Allied Control Council, setting the stage for the Cold War rivalry between the US and Soviet Union. -
VJ Day
VJ Day commemorates Japan's surrender to the Allied forces, marking the end of World War II. It ended World War II in its entirety, following the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Although it led to widespread celebration, it also ignited a wave of riots in the US. It signified the end of hostilities in the Pacific Theater and the beginning of Japan's post-war reconstruction. -
Construction of Berlin Wall begins
The construction of the Berlin Wall was the erection of a physical barrier by East Germany (GDR) to divide East and West Berlin during the Cold War. It separated families and restricted the movement of people between the two sides. It became a powerful symbol of the division between Western and Eastern blocs during the Cold War. Because it represented the ideological and political tensions between the US and the Soviet Union, its collapse in 1989 marked the destruction of the Iron Curtain. -
China becomes Communist
On this date, the People's Republic of China was officially proclaimed, with the Chinese Communist Party under Mao Zedong coming to power. It ended the civil war between the CCP and nationalists. It led to the Five-Year Plan and restructuring of Chinese society. China's communist arc aligned it with the Soviet Union during the Cold War. This shift had significant geopolitical implications, as China became a major global player, and it led to the estrangement of China from the United States. -
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Korean War
The Korean War began when North Korean forces, backed by the Soviet Union and China, invaded South Korea, which was supported by the UN and primarily the United States. It resulted from the division of Korea after World War II. It was a critical conflict during the Cold War, illustrating the global struggle between communism and democracy. It ended in an armistice, with the Korean Peninsula remaining divided into North and South Korea to this day, and shaped US foreign policy for decades. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs invasion was a covert operation conducted by the US, where Cuban exiles trained and funded by the U.S. attempted to overthrow Castro's communist government. It failed spectacularly. The invasion was a significant Cold War setback for the United States. It failed to remove Castro and intensified tensions with the Soviet Union, leading to the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. It solidified Cuba's alliance with the Soviet bloc, marking a lasting impact on the geopolitics of the region. -
Warsaw Pact Created
The Warsaw Pact was a political and military alliance formed by the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republics in response to the establishment of NATO in Western Europe. It represented the formalization of Soviet control over Eastern Europe. The pact was dissolved in 1991. It is significant because it heightened Cold War tensions and contributed to the division of Europe into two opposing blocs.