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Japan invades Manchuria
Began on September 18, 1931, when the Kwantung Army of the Empire of Japan invaded Manchuria immediately following the Mukden Incident, ended on Feb 27, 1932. -
Japan invades China, initiating World War II in the Pacific
In 1937 skirmishing between Japanese and Chinese troops on the frontier led to what became known as the Marco Polo Bridge Incident. -
Germany, Italy, and Japan sign the Tripartite Pact
an agreement between Germany, Italy and Japan signed in Berlin on 27 September 1940 by, respectively, Adolf Hitler, Galeazzo Ciano and Saburō Kurusu. -
Manhattan Project launches
a top-secret federal effort to build the world’s first atomic weapons during World War II. -
Japan bombs Pearl Harbor
hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawaii -
The United States declares war on Japan, entering World War II
Americans were angered for the attack of Pearl Harbor -
MacArthur ordered out of the Philippines
On this day, following President Franklin D. Roosevelt's orders, Gen. Douglas MacArthur pulls out of the Philippines, as the American defense of the islands collapses. -
Firebombing raids of Tokyo
The first raid on Tokyo was the Doolittle Raid of 18 April 1942, when sixteen B-25 Mitchells were launched from USS Hornet to attack targets including Yokohama and Tokyo and then fly on to airfields in China. -
British and US navies halt the Japanese naval advance in the central Pacific at Midway
U.S. naval forces decisively halted the Japanese advance -
US troops halt the Japanese island-hopping advance at Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands.
Japanese prisoners were captured by U.S. forces on Guadalcanal Island in the Solomon Islands -
Allied troops conquer Okinawa, the last island stop before the Japanese islands
A 6th Marine Division demolition crew watches explosive charges detonate and destroy a Japanese cav -
Trinity test- Atomic Bomb
an implosion plutonium bomb, the same style as the one used at Nagasaki, detonated with 20 kilotons of force, slightly more than the Little Boy bomb dropped on Hiroshima -
USS Indianapolis sunk
Torpedoed and sunk on 30 July 1945 by Japanese submarine I-58. -
The United States drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima
the American bomber Enola Gay dropped a five-ton bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. -
The Soviet Union declares war on Japan and invades Manchuria
The Soviet Union poured more than 1 million Soviet soldiers into Japanese-occupied Manchuria -
The United States drops an atomic bomb on Nagasaki.
The New York Times article reported that the dropping of the bomb occurred at noon, Japanese time. -
Japan formally surrenders, ending World War II.
The Japanese navy and air force were destroyed.