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Japan invades China(Manchuris)
Conflict broke out when China began full-scale resistance to the expansion of Japanese influence in its territory. Troops of the 2nd Division in Japan moved up the rail line and captured virtually every city along its 730 mile length in a matter of days. -
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The Holocaust
A genocide in which approximately six million Jews were killed by the Nazi regime and its collaborators. Jews were targeted and methodically murdered in a genocide, one of the largest in history, and part of a broader aggregate of acts of oppression and killings of various ethnic and political groups in Europe by the Nazis. Non-Jewish victims of broader Nazi crimes include Gypsies, Poles, communists, homosexuals, Soviet prisoners of war, and the mentally and physically disabled. -
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Munich Conference
Conference held during which the leaders of Great Britain, France, and Italy agreed to allow Germany to annex certain areas of Czechoslovakia. It's also a settlement permitting Nazi Germany's annexation of portions of Czechoslovakia along the country's borders mainly inhabited by German speakers. The agreement was negotiated at a conference held in Munich, Germany, among the major powers of Europe, excluding the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia. -
Non-Agression Pact
The nonaggression pact between Germany and the Soviet Union that was concluded only a few days before the beginning of World War II and which divided eastern Europe into German and Soviet spheres of influence. Hitler wanted a nonaggression pact with the Soviet Union so that his armies could invade Poland basically unopposed by a major power. By signing this pact, Germany had protected itself from having to fight a two-front war in the soon-to-begin World War. -
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Germany invades Poland
Germany's invasion on Poland is also known as the September Campaign or the 1939 Defensive War. Germany, the Soviet Union and the Slovaks invade Poland which marked the beginning of World War II in Europe. German forces invaded Poland from the north, south, and west. Poland never formally surrendered. -
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Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is when the German airforce, Luftwaffe, attack the United Kingdom. It was the first major air battle fought entirely by air forces. It was also the biggest and longest lasting aerial bombing attack. The German goal was to gain air superiority over the United Kingdom. -
Lend-Lease Act
"An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States" It was a program where we provided France, Great Britain, China, the USSR and other Allied countries with food, oil and materials. Supplies worth $50.1 billion (equivalent to $656 billion today) were shipped out. In all, $31.4 billion went to Britain, $11.3 billion to the Soviet Union, $3.2 billion to France, $1.6 billion to China, and the remaining $2.6 billion to the other Allies -
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Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II, About 4 million of the Axis soldiers invaded Soviet Russia making it the largest invasion in the history of warfare. The invasion was motivated by Hitler's desire to take over Soviet territories. The Soviet region became the site of some of the largest battles, deadliest atrocities, highest casualties, and most horrific conditions. -
Pearl Harbor
A lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the United States Pacific Fleet. On December 7, 1941, Japanese airforce attacked the harbor which led to the United States' entry into WWII. -
Bataan Death March
The Bataan Memorial Death March is a challenging march through the high desert terrain of White Sands Missile Range, conducted in honor of the heroic service members who defended the Philippine Islands during World War II, sacrificing their freedom, health and, in many cases, their very lives. Prisoners were stripped of their weapons and valuables, and told to march to Balanga, the capital of Bataan. Some were beaten, bayoneted, and mistreated. -
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Battle of Midway
Important naval battle in the Pacific during WWII. Military historian John Keegan called it "the most stunning and decisive blow in the history of naval warfare." It was decided an American victory. It caused devastating damage on the Japansese that was said to be unfixable. -
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Battle of Stalingrad
The battle of Stalingrad took place because Nazi Germany fought the Soviet Union to take control of the city of Stalingrad. It mostly consisted of close combat, direct assults and air raids. It's mostly known as the bloodiest battle in the history of warfare. The battle was supported by the German airforce Luftwaffe but they never gained initiative in the east and retreated back to the west. -
Blitzkreig
A method of warfare whereby an attacking force spearheaded by a dense concentration of armoured and motorized or mechanized infantry formations, and heavily backed up by close air support. In English, it means "lightning war". This way of warfare forces a breakthrough into the enemy's line of defense through a series of short, fast, powerful attacks; and once in the enemy's territory, proceeds to dislocate them using speed and surprise and encircle them. -
D-Day
The Normandy landings were the landing operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. The largest seaborne invasion in history, the operation began the invasion of German-occupied western Europe. This led to the liberation of France from Nazi control, and contributed to an Allied victory in the war. -
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Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a German attack towards the end of World War II. The goal was to try and take control of the harbor of Antwerp. It was planned by Eric von Manstein and it was the major offensive attack by Germany. Germany wanted to split up the Allied armies so they could encircle them and destory them, The Battle of the Bulge was evidentally a failure for Germany. -
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Battle of Iwo Jima
The United States Armed Forces stormed the island of Iwo Jima and eventually took control of it. It was the only battle by the U.S. Marine Corps where there were more American casualties than Japanese. The Japanese deaths although did exceed the Americans. -
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Battle of Okinawa
The largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War during World War II. The battle has been referred to as the "typhoon of steel" which refers to the ferocity of the fighting. Mainland Japan lost 77,166 soldiers, who were either killed or committed suicide, and the Allies suffered 14,009 deaths -
Victory in Europe Day
V-E day is the day that America celebrates the surrender of Nazi Germany. About a week earlier, Nazi leader Adolf Hitler killed himself and his successor, Karl Donitz, took his place. Once Donitz took power, he surrendered under the Allies. The military surrender was signed May 7 and 8 in France and Berlin. -
The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
In August 1945, the United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The two bombings, which killed at least 129,000 people, remain the only use of nuclear weapons for warfare in history. The United States called for the unconditional surrender of the Japanese armed forces in the Potsdam Declaration on July 26, 1945; this was buttressed with the threat of "prompt and utter destruction". -
Victory over Japan
The name chosen for the day on which Japan surrendered, in effect ending World War II. August 15 is the official V-J Day for the UK, while the official U.S. commemoration is September 2. The name, V-J Day, had been selected by the Allies after they named V-E Day for the victory in Europe. -
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact, also known as the Treaty of Friendship, The Warsaw pact was a reaction by the Soviet Union to the integrattion in Germany. It was primarily made for the Soviet Unions desire to maintain control over military forces in Central and Eastern Europe.