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Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev was born in Privolnoye, Russia. In 1961, he became a delegate to the Communist Party Congress. He was elected general secretary in 1985. Also, he became the first president of the Soviet Union in 1990. -
Japan's Invasion of China
The Japanese invasion of China, launching the Second Sino-Japanese. Some historians date the beginning of World War II with this Japanese invasion. Fighting began with the Battle of Lugou Bridge, aslo known as the Marco Polo Bridge Incident. The incident occurred during provocative Japanese military maneuvers. What occurred at the bridge is not know with certainty but there were casualties on both sides. -
Germany invades Poland
This invasion marked the beginning of World War II in Europe. The German-Soviet Pact of August 1939, which stated that Poland was to be partitioned between the two powers, this enabled Germany to attack Poland without fear from the Soviets. -
The Battle of Britain
Was an "air battle for Britain". German and British air forces fought in the skies over the United Kingdom, it was the largest bombing campaign to that day. This was a significant turning point of World War II. The battle ended when Germany’s Luftwaffe failed to gain air dominance over Britain although he had been targeting Britain’s air bases, military posts and, its civilian population. Britain’s decisive victory saved the country from invasion. -
Tripartite Pact
Was also known as the Berlin Pact, this was an agreement between Germany, Italy and Japan and was signed in Berlin by Adolf Hitler, Galeazzo Ciano and Saburō Kurusu. -
Land-Lease Act
Was also titled "An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States", this was a program under which the United States supplied Free France, Great Britain, the Republic of China, and later the USSR and other Allied nations food, oil, and materiel between 1941 and August 1945. -
German Blitzkrieg on Soviet Union
A German term for “lightning war,” blitzkrieg is a military tactic that creates disorganization among enemy forces through the use of mobile forces and concentrated firepower. Its successful execution results in short military campaigns, which preserves human lives and limits the use artillery. During the invasion of teh Soviet Union by the Germans, German units encircled millions of Soviet soldiers, and forced them to surrender. -
Leningrad Blockade
Also konwn as the Siege of Leningrad, this was a prolonged military operation controlled by the German Army Group North against Leningrad, currently known as Saint Petersburg, in the Eastern Front of WWII. -
Bombing of Pearl Harbor
Hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The Japanese destroyed almost 20 American naval vessels, eight battleships, and almost 200 airplanes. More than 2,000 Americans soldiers and sailors died and 1,000 were wounded. -
Wannsee Conference
This was a meeting of senior officials of Nazi Germany, held in the Berlin. The purpose of the conference was to ensure the cooperation of the leaders of different government departments on the final solution to the Jewish question, whereby most of the Jewish people that occupied Europe would be deported to Poland and killed. -
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway was a crucial naval battle in the Pacific Theatre of World War II. It occured six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the US Navy defeated an attacking fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy. -
D-Day
This was the day the Allied powers crossed the English Channel and landed on the beaches of Normandy, France, and began to free Western Europe from Nazi control during WWII. -
Yalta Conference
Was also called the Crimea and Argonaut Conference, during WWII, this was when the heads of governement of the US, UK, and Soviet Union met to discuss Europe's war reorganization. -
Iwo Jima and Okinawa
The US turned back to Japan in the Pacific on this date and had re-taken islands that surrounded the nation. However, two small islands remained crucial to invade Japan, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Iwo Jima was attacked first. -
Hitler's suicide
Adolf Hitler killed himself by gunshot in his bunker in Berlin. His wife Eva committed suicide with him by taking cyanide. -
VE Day
Also known as Victory in Europe Day, generally known as V-E Day, VE Day, or just V Day. This was the public holiday celebrated to mark the formal acceptance by the Allies of WWII of Nazi Germany's surrender of its forces. -
Potsdam Conference
This was the last of the World War II meetings held by the “Big Three” heads of state. The merican President Harry S. Truman, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin, met and talked and tried to established a Council of Foreign Ministers and a central Allied Control Council for Germany. -
Atomic bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki
During the final stage of WWII, the US dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The two bombings killed at least 129,000 people. -
VJ Day
VJ Day was also known as "Victory Over Japan Day". On this day, it was announced that Japan had surrendered to the Allies and this ends WWII. -
Formation of the UN
The United Nations (UN) was established to promote international co-operation. It was a replacement for the League of Nations, the organization was created after WWII to prevent another conflict. -
Truman Doctrine
During the Greek Civil War, Truman made a proclamation to the US Congress. He stated that if Greece and Turkey weren't given the things and aid they needed then the countries would become Communist and this would hurt the whole region. -
Marshall Plan
President Truman signed the Economic Recovery Act of 1948. Later became known as the Marshall Plan, named after the Secretary of State George Marshall, who in 1947 proposed that the US help to restore the economic infrastructure after the war in Europe. -
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was established by 12 Western nations: the US, France, Belgium, Norway, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Italy, Iceland, Denmark, Luxembourg, Canada, and Portugal. This alliance provided for a self-defense against the Soviet aggression. -
Korean War
A war between North and South Korea. The United Nations force led by the US fought for the South, and China fought for the North, which was also assisted by the Soviet Union. -
Stalin’s death; Khrushchev
Joseph Stalin was the leader of the Soviet Union from the mid-1920s until his death in 1953. He died from a massive heart attack. -
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact was a collective defense treaty between eight communist states of Central and Eastern Europe during the Cold War. -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War refers to the period when the United States and other members of the SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organization) joined the forces of the Republic of South Vietnam in fighting communist forces of South Vietnamese guerrillas and regular-force units. -
Sputnik
Sputnik was the first ever artificial Earth satellite. The Soviet Union launched it into orbit. It was a metal sphere and was 58 cm in diamter with four radio antennas. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
This was a failed military invasion of Cuba by the CIA-sponsored group Brigade 2506. A counter-revolutionary military, trained and funded by the United States government's CIA, Brigade 2506 went against the armed wing of the Democratic Revolutionary Front and were supposed to overthrow the Communist government of Fidel Castro but they were defeated in 3 days. -
Berlin Wall was under Construction
Two days after sealing off free passage between East and West Berlin with barbed wire, East German authorities begin building he Berlin Wall, to permanently close access to the West. For the next 28 years, the Berlin Wall stood as a symbol of the Cold War, a “iron curtain” dividing Europe. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
Was also known as the October Crisis, The Missile Scare, or the Caribbean Crisis, this was a 13-day confrontation between the US and the Soviet Union over Soviet ballistic missiles deployed in Cuba. -
Soviet Union falls
On this date, the Soviet Union disintegrated into fifteen separate countries. Its collapse was praised by the west as a victory for freedom, a triumph, and evidence of the superiority of capitalism over socialism. The United States rejoiced as its enemy lost, thereby ending the Cold War. -
Mao Zedong and the People's Reupublic of China
The Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong declared the creation of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). This ended the costly civil war between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Nationalist Party. This broke out immediately after World War II.
