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Attack of Manchuria
Japan had a strong desire to be a powerful and prosperous country. The nearby area of Manchuria was rich in iron and coal, which Japan heavily invested in. The Japanese invaded Manchuria and seized it despite objections from the Japanese parliament. -
Alliance with Italy and Germany
Hitler's growing strength and power in the war, convinced Mussolini to consider and alliance with Germany. The two dictators soon reached an agreement that became known as the Rome-Berlin Axis. -
Kristallnacht
Also known as "Night of Broken Glass", Nazi storm troopers went on a rampage on the Jewish people. After a Jewish youth shot an employee of the German Embassy in Paris out of revenge for his father's deportation to Poland, the Nazi's were furious: launching an all out attack on the Jewish communities. They destroyed Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues throught Germany and murdered about 100 Jews. -
Invasion of Poland
Hitler leads a surprise attack on Poland. More than 1.5 million soldiers were brought into the assault as well as planes, bombs, and tanks. Poland crumbled under the attack. The invasion was the start of WWII. -
Soviet Union Invades East Poland
After Stalin signed the nonaggression pact, he sent troops to occupy the eastern half of Poland. After completing the first part of the agreement, Stalin went on to take over Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Finland. -
France Surrenders
In France's weak state, Mussolini joined forces with Hitler to declare war on France on Britian. Italy also joined in on the attack and invaded the south of France, sensing an easy victory. Paris fell to the Germans and France had no choice but to surrender. -
Battle of Britian
Great Britian refused to give up after the fall of France. Hitler brought 'Operation Sea Lion' into action, attacking the RAF and English soldiers. The British fought back and stole secret German messages, using them to their advantage and inflicting deadly damage on the enemy. Hitler was stunned by the resistance and stopped his attack on May 10, 1941. -
Lend Lease Act
The Act allowed the president to lend or lease arms and other supplies to any country vital to the United States. The US Navy began escorting British ships carrying US arms and stayed neutral. -
German Invasion of Soviet Union
The Red Army was the largest in the world, but they were unprepared for Hitler's blitzkrieg. The Russians used 'scortched earth' strategy to escape the Germans. The Germans surrounded Leningrad and cut it off the rest of the world, starving millions. Hitler moved onto Moscow, where the weather forced a retreat. -
Atlantic Charter
A declaration issued sercretly between Roosevelt and Chruchill on a battle ship. It upheld free trade among nations and the right of the people to choose their own government. The charter later served as the Aliie's peace plan at the end of WWII. -
Pearl Harbor
Once the Japanse discovered that the United States had cracked a Japanese code to attack Southeast Asia. Japan knew at this point it had to defeat the US to stop it before it entered the war. The lead a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Within hours, the Japanese had wiped out nearly the entire US Pacific fleet. About 3,400 Americans were killed or wounded during the invasion. -
Japanese Internment
During WII, suspicions about Japanese Americans grew as Japan became more aggressive to America. As a result, the US relocated all Japanese Americans to camps on the Pacific coast to protect themselves from any Japanese spies within the population. -
Battle of Midway
After another Japanese code was broken by the US, and American Pacific fleet prepared an ambush on Japan at Midway Island near Hawaii. The attack was successful and the Japanese had no choice but to retreat after 332 Japanese planes, all four aircraft carriers, and a support ship were destroyed by the Americans. -
Allied Invasion of Italy
The Allies agreed to attack Italy after Stalin's urgent call to invade them. Allied forces of 180,000 soldiers landed on Sicily and captured it from German and Italian troops, toppling Mussolini from power and was arrested. -
D-Day
The Allies came up with a plan to invade Germany from the Enligh Channel, first using a dummy army to fool Hitler. The true invasion of Normandy became the greatest land and sea attack in history. Despite all the casualties, the Allies fought their way to victory, liberating France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands from Germany. -
German Surrender
The Soviets surrounded the capital of Berlin, bombarding the city. The attack by the Allies was so overwhelming, Hitler knew his end was coming. Hitler committed suicide with his wife as a result. Germany finally surrendered and the Allies celebrated V-E Day: Victory in Europe Day. -
Bombing of Hiroshima
Japan did not answer America's warning that they would drop another bomb if Japan didnt surrender. So, they dropped another atomic bomb in Hiroshima this time. Some were killed almost instantly, some suffered greatly from the burns, and buildings were completely annihilated. A total of 73,000 were killed that day. -
Bombing of Nagasaki
America dropped another bomb on Nagasaki three days after the bombing of Hiroshima. It killed 37,500 people and the radiation killed many more. -
Japanese Surrender
After the horrors of the bombings, Japan finally surrendered to General Douglas MacArthur. It took place on the US battleship 'Missouri' in Tokyo Bay. The Japanese surrender ended the war -
Nuremberg Laws
Germany suffered great guilt from the Holocaust, so they came up with a plan to make sure such crimes never happen again. They did this by putting Nazi warn criminals on trial in Nuremberg, Germany. Many escaped the trials by committing suicide but some were executed for pleading guilty.
