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Attack of Manchuria (#13)
Japanese businesses were heavily invested in the Chinese province of Manchuria. This area was rich in iron and coal. The Japanese armied seized Manchuria despite objection from the Japanese Parliament. The army then set up a puppet government. Engineers and technicians began arriving in large numbers to begin the construction of mines and factories. -
Nuremberg Laws (#12)
These laws deprived Jews of thehir rights to German citizenship, jobs, and property. They also were forced to wear a bright yellow star on their clothing for identification purposes. -
Alliance with Italy and Germany (#14)
Hitler's rapidly increasing power convinced Mussolini to seek an alliance with the Germans. In October 1936, they finally came to an agreement. A month later, Germany made an agreement with Japan. These three countries became known as the Axis Powers. -
Kristallnacht (#11)
When Grynszpann shot an employee at the German Embessy in Paris, the Nazi leaders launched a violent attack on the Jewish community. Nazi storm troopers attacked Jewish homes and synagogues across Germany and murdered 100 Jews. The streets were covered with shattered glass. This became known as the "Night of Broken Glass". -
Invasion of Poland (#1)
Hitler launched a surprise attack once the Soviet threat was removed. He attacked at dawn via both airspace and by land, which was a strategy known as blitzkrieg that HItler was testing out. The Germans crumbled Warsaw leaving the whole world in shock. No one knew this yet, but this battle unleashed World War II, -
Soviet Union Invaded East Poland (#2)
When Stalin signed the Nonagression Pact with Hitler, he recieved the eastern half of Poland and several other countries. After Stalin made the agreement with Hitler, he sent troops to occupy the eastern half of Poland and began annexing the other countries he recieved in the agreement.. -
France Surrenders (#3)
After the Battle of Dunkirk, France knew of their impending defeat. On June 10, Mussolini joined forces with Hitler, sensing an easy win. They declared war on France and Great Britain. Italy attacked France from the south. By June 14, Paris fell to the Germans. Nazi troops marched throughout the city. Two days later, Marshall Henri Petain to become prime minister. On June 22, they surrendered. -
Japanese Internment (U.S.) (#20)
On February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt set up a series of a program of camps and loss of property. Japanese Americans were now considered a threat. In March, the military rounded up "aliens" and sent them to camps. Of those "aliens", 2/3 were Nisei or Japanese Americans who were born in America. The camps were restricted military areas far away from the coast. These locations were to prevent Nisei participation in an invasion. From 1941-1946, U.S. imprisoned approximately 31,275 people. -
Lend Lease Act (#5)
The Lend Lease Act gave the president the power to lend or lease arms and any other supplies to any country vital to the United States. This gave the United States a chance to help their allies even though they were "neutral'. -
Battle of Britain (#4)
Hitler's plan to attack Britain was known as "Operation Sea Lion". These German attacks cost many civilians their lives and broke the morale of the British people, but they continued to fight. In the end, they won because Germany was shocked by how much the British resisted. Germany called off their attacks and the Battle of Britain ended. -
German Invasion of the Soviet Union (#7)
Hitler's plan was known as "Operation Barbarossa". Stalin had been repeatedly warned by his intelligence, but he dismissed it as a plan by Great Britain to try and spark war between the USSR and the Germans. Therefore, the Germans had the element of surprise on their side. The USSR's air force was mostly on the ground and were destroyed before they even got off the ground. Soviet soldiers were surrounded by German troops with all their supply lines cut off. They had no choice, but to surrender. -
Atlantic Charter (#6)
The Atlantic Charter upheld free trade among nations and the right of people to choose their government. This later served as the Allies' peace plan at the end of World War II. -
Pearl Harbor (#15)
Early morning on December 7, 1941, American sailors at the Pearl Harbor base in Hawaii awoke to roaring explosions. The U.S. knew an attack was coming, but no exact details. Within 2 hours, Japanese had sunk or damaged 18 ships, 8 of which were battleships, nearly the whole Pacific fleet. Around 2,400 Americans were killed and more than 1,000 wounded. The next day America declared war on Japan. This was known as "a date which will live in infamy". -
Battle of Midway (#16)
In June 1942, another Japanese code was broken, Nimitz (Am. Commander) knew they were heading for Midway Island. However, Japanese navy fleet was the largest assembled. It also possessed the world's largest battle ship carrying Admiral Yamamoto. Nimitz was outnumbered 4 to 1, but he was ready, he had forces hidden on the horizon. Nimitz allowed Japan to attack first. American planes then swooped in and destroyed 332 Japanese planes,all four carriers, and one support ship. This turned the tides. -
Allied Invasion of Italy (#8)
The Allies on the mainland were led by General Harold Alexander's 15th Army Group. This operation followed the invasion of Sicily during the Italian Campaign. The main invasion forc elanded near Salerno which is located on the western coat which is known as "Operation Avalanche". While "Operation Avalanche" was occurring, two other supporting operations took place in Calabria which was known as"Operation Baytown" and one in Taranto known as "Operation Slapstick". -
D-Day (#9)
The operation known as "Operation Overlord" was the attack on Normandy. The force was composed of Canadians, Brits, French, and Americans. The invasion of Normandy was the greatest land and sea attack in history. -
German Surrender (#10)
Allied troops closed in on Berlin. Hitler knew the end was coming. He married Eva Braun, then he wrote a letter blaming the war on the Jews and his generals for losing the war. He and Eva committed suicide, both by poison, but Hitler also shot himself. -
Bombing of Hiroshima (#18)
President Truman sent the Japanses a warning after a July 16 bombing in New Mexico. They would surrender or expect "a rain of ruin from the air". They did not reply, so on August 6 the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, a city of 365,000 people. Almost 73,000 people were killed. -
Bombing of Nagasaki (#17)
On August 9, the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Nagasaki, a city of 200,000. It killed about 37,500. Radiation caused even more casualties. -
Japanese Surrender (#19)
Japanese surrendered on the United States Missouri battleship in Tokyo Bay to General Douglas MacArthur. The war was over. The challenge was to rebuild the war-strucken countries.
