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Japan's invasion of China
Japan had conflicts with China since 1931: when Japan invaded Manchuria. Japan invaded China in 1937 at Beijing. This was the beginning of World War II in Asia. -
Blitzkrieg
This German word, meaning "lightning war," describes a technique used by Hitler's army in Poland, and later in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Sudden, forceful attacks left the enemy disorganized. These short attacks preserved the lives of the offensive, but left the defensive in ruins. -
Germany invades Poland
This day marks the beginning of World War II. This invasion was in accordance with a secret plan with the Soviets to invade Poland from both sides. Later on, Hitler went against this pact and also invaded the eastern side of Poland. -
Battle of Britain
"Operation Sea Lion" (ordered for preparations on July 16) is the codename for Hitler's invasion of Great Britain through air raids. The main offensive was unleashed on August 13. This operation was not a success for the Axis powers. -
Tripartite Pact
After Japan renounced the Anti-Comintern Pact (made by the Axis powers against the Soviet Union), the Tripartite Pact was created. This pact pledged for the Axis to help eachother in all political, economic, and military means when attacked by either the Soviet Union or the United States. -
Lend-Lease Act
This United States act allowed the U.S. to provide military support to foreign countries in World War II. The president had the ability to transfer any arms or other defense materials to the government of a country deemed necessary for the defense of the U.S. -
Leningrad Blockade
During the first stages of Operation Barbarossa, Hitler's plan to invade Russia, German forces sieged the city of Leningrad (formerlly, St. Petersburg). This siege lasted nearly 900 days and caused the deaths of more than 1 million civilians. -
Bombing of Pearl Harbor
This "date which will live in infamy" marks the day that Japan bombed a U.S. naval base in Hawaii in an attempt to destroy the United States' power in the Pacific. -
Wannsee Conference
This was a Nazi conference to discuss the "final solution to the Jewish problem." Many different proposals were discussed, including mass deportation to Madagascar, but the final decision was to use concentration camps. -
Battle of Midway
Prior to this battle, the United States was on the defensive in the Pacific battle. This battle was a major turning point in the war, when the U.S. took the offensive. This success was due in large part to major advances in code breaking, so the U.S. could anticipate a Japanese ambush on the island. -
D-Day
The Normany Invasion (Operation Overlord) was the beginning of the end of WWII. Allied forces landed on the beaches of Normandy and pushed back the Germans to meet the Soviets coming from the east. This led to Germany's surrender and the end of the Nazi Reich. -
Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima was a successful U.S. invasion on a Japanese island. This battle has been remembered by the photograph of the American soldiers raising the U.S. flag in victory. -
Yalta Conference
This was a meeting of the Big Three Allied leaders at Yalta in Crimea. The Yalta Conference planned the final defeat and occupation of Germany. -
Okinawa
This was the last, and largest, battle in the Pacific. Allied forces captured air bases here that were vital to the future invasion of Japan. -
Hitler's Suicide
On this day, Hitler and his wife, Eva Braun, committed a double suicide by swallowing cyanide pills. Hitler also shot himself in the head to make sure of his death. This happened shortly after hearing the news that the Russians were only a day away from taking over the chancellery. -
VE Day
This "Victory in Europe" day celebrates Nazi Germany's surrender. Many German troops tried to flee the eastern front to avoid being captured by the Soviets, and fighting continued in little pockets between the Germans and the Soviets. -
Formation of the U.N.
The original U.N. Declaration was signed in January 1945 by 26 countries as an act of opposition to the Axis powers. This declaration was adopted on June 26, 1945. -
Potsdam Conference
This was an Allied conference to discuss the peace settlements in Europe, although no peace treaties were written. The "Big Three," the U.S. president, British prime minister, and Soviet premier, were the chief participants in this conference. -
Atomic bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki
The first atomic bomb used against Japan by the United States was dropped in Hiroshima on 6 August 1945. The bomb immediately killed 80,000 people and tens of thousands died later due to the radiation. The second bomb was dropped in Nagasaki just three days later. -
VJ Day
On this day, Japan surrendered unconditionally to the Allied forces, thus bringing an end to World War II in the Pacific. September 2, 1945 is also referred to as VJ Day because this is the day when Japan formally surrendered. -
Truman Doctrine
This declared immediate aid, both economic and military, to the governments of Greece and Turkey, both of which were threatened by Communism and the Soviet Union. -
Marshall Plan
This plan is also known as the European Recovery Plan. To finance the economic recovery of westen Europe, $13 billion streamed into Europe from 1948 to 1951. -
NATO
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) was established to protect western European countries from Soviet aggression. There were originally 12 countries in NATO. -
Mao Zedong & the People's Republic of China
Mao Zedong was the leader of the Communist Party in China. When the Communists won leadership over the Nationalists, Mao became the chairman of the People's Republic of China. After fighting in the Korean War with the Soviets, Stalin began to trust Mao as a Communist, not a Nationalist. -
Korean War
The Korean War began when North Korean troops, backed by the Soviet Union, crossed the 38th parallel into South Korea. The U.S. entered the war in July and pushed the North Koreans back up to the parallel. There was a stalemate near the parallel and the fighting ended in July 1953. -
Stalin's death and Khrushchev
Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union, died on this day. The next leader became Nikita Khrushchev. His call for "peaceful coexistence" relieved some of the tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. -
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact was a treaty among the Soviet Union and its satellite countries. It was created in response to NATO in the west. -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a battle between North Vietnam and South Vietnam. The Communist Party ruled in the north, and American troops backed the south. This war was very unpopular in the U.S., and North Vietnam won in the end. -
Sputnik
There were a total of 10 Sputnik sent into Earth's orbit by the Soviet Union. Sputnik 2 carried Laika, a dog and the first living creature to be sent into space. The lauching of Sputnik 1 signlaed the beginning of the Space Age. -
Bay of Pigs
This was an unsuccessful invasion of Cuba by the United States. The invasion force consisted of exiled Cubans who resented Fidel Castro, the leader at this time. By the end of the invasion, all of the force had either been killed or captured. -
Berlin Wall
On this day, East Germany began to build a barbed wire and concrete wall inbetween West and East Berlin. The primary purpose of this heavily guarded wall was to prevent East Germans from moving to West Berlin. The Berlin Wall fell on 9 November 1989. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
This 13-day ordeal shows the tension between the U.S. and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The Soviet Union placed nuclear missiles in Cuba, just 90 miles away from Florida, pointing toward the United States. After an agreement was reached by U.S. President John F. Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, the missiles were removed. -
Gorbachev
In March 1985, Gorbachev became the general secretary of the Communist Party in the Soviet Union. His programs of "restructuring" and "openness" effectively brought an end to the Cold War in 1991. -
Soviet Union falls
With the reforms imposed by Gorbachev, the Soviet Union had been on the road to disitegration since 1985. Many of the republics left the Soviet Union. Gorbachev resigned on Christmas day in 1991. This was a peaceful end to the tense Cold War.
