WWII & Cold War

Japan's invasion of China

Nov 5, 1931

Despite having loss many men, Japan was able to force Gerneral Ma from Tsitsihar by November 19.

Germany Invades Poland

Sep 1, 1939

Entering through Warsaw, German force invade Poland (on land and in the air) to regain loss territory and ultimately control.

Battle of Britian

Jul 10, 1940

This battle was the attempt of Germany's Air Force to gain complete air superiority and invade Britian. However, they failed.

Tripartite Pact

Sep 27, 1940

An agreement between Germany (Adolf Hitler), Italy(Galeazzo Ciano), and Japan (Saburo Kurusu) to form the Axis Powers.

Lend-Lease Act

Mar 1, 1941

The Lend-Lease Act was the means for providing U.S. military aid to foreign nations during World War II. Started by Truman's Doctrine; March 1940.

Leningrad Blockade

Sep 8, 1941

Hitler made the strategic decision to circle Leningrad and suround the city into surrendering rather than take valuable resources to attacking it directly.

Bombing of Pearl Harbor

Dec 7, 1941

Surprise attack by Japan, Japan bombed the American Naval Base of Pearl Harbor in response to neutralize the U.S. pacific fleet and protect Japan advances to the Dutch Indies.

Wannsee Conference

Jan 20, 1942

The Wannsee Conference held in Berlin with the top 15 Nazis to come up with a plan to kill the entire Jewish population of Europe, about 11 million people.

German Blitzkrieg on Soviet Union

Jun 1, 1942

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.

Battle of Midway

Jun 4, 1942

Thanks to code breaking, the United States was able to counter Japan’s planned ambush.

D-Day

Jun 6, 1944

The Allies invaded Western Europe in a large attack.This day marked the beginning of the end of war in Europe.

Yalta Conference

Feb 4, 1945

U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Union Dictator Joseph Stalin made important decisions regarding the future progress of the war and the postwar world.

Iwo Jima/Okinawa

Feb 19, 1945

Battle fought between the Japanese and the United States. Known as "Operation Detachment", lasted until 26 March 1945 when the last Japanese soldiers were captured or killed.

Hitler's Suicide

Apr 30, 1945

After lossing WWII and to escape reprocussions, Hitler kills himself.

VE Day

May 8, 1945

Victory in Europe Day. On this day Britian and the United States celebrate the end of the Nazis and put up their flags.

Potsdam Conference

Jul 17, 1945

Held in Germany; Joseph Stalin, Harry Truman, Winston Churchill all met to negotiate terms for the end of WWII.

Atomic bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki

Aug 6, 1945

These 2 bombings which killed at least 130,000 people helped encourage Japan to surrender from WWII.

VJ Day

Sep 2, 1945

Victory in Japan Day. The end of WWII. A formal surrender ceremony was held in Tokyo Bay aboard the USS Missouri.

Formation of the U.N.

Oct 24, 1945

Representatives at war with the Axis powers met in Washington to sign the Declaration of the United Nations, pledging to use their resources against the Axis and agreeing not to make a separate peace.

Truman Doctrine

Mar 1, 1947

President Harry Truman anounced that the United States would provide military, political, and economic assistance to all democratic nations under the the threat of communism.

Marshall Plan

Jun 5, 1947

The Marshall Plan (European Recovery Program) was an American aid Europe.The United States gave $13 billion (then) in economic support to help rebuild European economies after WWII

NATO

Apr 4, 1949

To prevent the further spread of Communism the United States and 11 other Western nations formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Mao Zedong & Peple's Republic of China

Oct 1, 1949

Communist revolutionary Mao Zedong officially proclaims the existence of the People’s Republic of China.

Korean War

Jun 25, 1950

North Korean Army went across the 38th parallel, the boundary between the Soviet-backed Korea and South Korea.

Stalin's Death; Khrushchev

Mar 5, 1953

The Soviet government named Nikita Khrushchev as one of the selected five men named to the new office of Secretariat of the Communist Party following Stalin's Death. He was named secretary September 1953.

Warsaw Pact

Mar 14, 1955

The Warsaw Pact (formally, the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation, and Mutual Assistance) was a defense treaty among 8 communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe during the Cold War.

Vietnam War

Nov 1, 1955

Costly war that the communist regime of North Vietnam and its southern allies, known as the Viet Cong, against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States. North Vietnam being the victors ended in 1975.

Sputnik

Oct 4, 1957

The world's first artificial satilite launched by the Soviet Union.

Bay of Pigs

Apr 17, 1961

CIA's full invasion of Cuba by 1,400 American-trained Cubans who fled their home when Fidel Castro took over. However, the invaders were heavily outnumbered by Castro's troops and surrenedered within 24 hours of fighting.

Cuban Missile Crisis

Oct 22, 1962

During the Cuban Missile Crisis, leaders of the U.S. and the Soviet Union engaged in a tense, 13-day political and military standoff over the installation of nuclear-armed Soviet missiles on Cuba.

Mikhal Gorbachev

Mar 1, 1985

Former Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Berlin Wall

Nov 9, 1989

A barrier that divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989, constructed by the Nazis.

Soviet Union falls

Dec 25, 1991

Representatives from 11 Soviet republics met in the Kazakh city of Alma-Ata and announced that they would no longer be part of the Soviet Union and declared they would establish a Commonwealth of Independent States.