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Japan's Invasion of China
China fully resisted against Japanese expansion of their territory. Japan then decided to invade large areas of Eastern China to try to unseat the Nationalist government. A stalemate occured until the Japanese defeat inWorld War II, ending it's occupation of China. -
Germany invades Poland
German forces invade Poland through land and air forces. Hitler wanted to regain lost territory and rule Poland. The invasion of Poland was the domino that started World War II. -
Battle of Britain
British and German air forces battled in the skies over the united Kingdom. Britain Royal Air Force defeated Germany's, and this was considered a major turning point in the war. Britain's victory prevented Germany from a ground invasion from German forces. -
Tripartite Pact
The Axis power consisting of Germany, Italy, and Japan became allies after signing this pact. The pact stated the three countries would provide mutual assistance if any of the countries are attacked by any nation not directly involved in the war (mainly US). -
Lend Lease Act
The Lend Lease Act allowed the United States to provide foreign aid to the Allies during World War II. It allowed the president to transfer arms or any other defense materials to countries who need them during the war. -
German Blitzkrieg on Soviet Union
In the largest and most powerful invasion in history, about 3,000,000 Germans invaded the Soviet Union. The Blitzkrieg broke the Non-Aggression Pact between the Soviet Union and Germany. Hitler did not prepare for the long Russian winter, and the Blitzkrieg failed. -
Leningrad Blockade
After Germany had invaded the Soviet Union and were apporaching Leningrad, Leningrad's population were mobilized to build anittank fortifications around the city. The siege on Leningrad is also called the 900 Day Siege, even though it actually lastd 872. Many Leningraders died mainly due to starvation and illnes since the blockade did not allow for many supplies to enter the city. -
Bombing of Pearl Harbor
On the morning of December 7th 1941, Japanses forces bombed the United States at their naval base of Pearl Harbor. After the United States severed commercial and financial relations with Japan, Japan declared war. More than 2,300 U.S soldiers were killed. -
Wansee Conference
Nazi officials met to discuss something called the "Final Solution of the Jewish Question." This was just code name for them discussing how to get rid of the Jews in Germany. -
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway was a naval battle fought between the United States and Japan forces. The United States were able to defeat Japan's first line carrier strength and most of Japan's best naval pilots. The Battle of midway was an important turning point in the war because it restricted further Japanese invasion and allowed the US to move into a offensive position. -
D-Day
British, U.S., and Canadian forces landed on five separate beachheads in Normandy, France to try to liberate France. Bu August 1944, they had succeeded and soon after they would defeat Germany. -
Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference was the second meeting between Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, and Jospeh Stalin. During the conference, the three leaders planned the final defeat and occupation of Germany. The leaders decided that they had no duty towards Germany except for minimum subsistence. -
Iwo Jima/ Okinawa
The United States needed a base near Japan, and on Feb. 23rd 1945, three US military divisions landed on the island of Iwo Jima. Iwo Jima was being defend by about 23,000 Japanese troops, but after about a month, the United States were able to defeat them. -
Hitler's Suicide
Adolf Hitler committed suicide in his underground bunker underneath his chancellory. When his officers warned him that the Russians were a day or two away from taking over his chancellory, he decided to commit suicide along with his wife by swallowing a cyanide capsule and shooting himself with a pistol as well. -
VE Day
German troops finally surrendered to the Allied powers all throughout Europe. German troops had surrrendered to the soviet Union in Prague and other places. Both Great Britian and the United States celebrated this victory with celebrations in the streets. -
Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference was an Allied conference between Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, and Harry Truman.The conference was called to discuss the peace settlements in Europe after Germany were defeated. -
Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima
Hiroshima was the first city in the world to be destroyed by an atomic bombing. At the end of World War II, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city to end the war. -
Atomic Bombing of Nagasaki
The United States dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki. Between 60,00 and 80,000 people were killed, and the impact of the bomb made Japan finally surrender, ending World War II. -
VJ Day
Japan formally surrendered to the Allies aboard the USS Missouri. Celebrations were held all over the world, and PReisdent Truman delcared this date VJ Day. -
Formation of the UN
The United Nations is a multipurpose international organization formed after World War II. The United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union took the lead in designing the organization. The U.N. declaration was signed by 26 countries. It's purpose is to maintain peace and security , develop friendly relations between countries, respecting and promoting human rights, etc. -
Truman Doctrine
President Harry S. Truman created the Truman Doctrine that declared immediate economic and military aid for the governments of Greece and Turkey, who were being threatened by the Soviet Union. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan (also known as European Recovery Program) was a U.S. sponsored program that was created to help the economies of 17 European countries. It channeled over $13 billion to help these countries successfully. -
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was established after the North Atlantic Treaty was created. NATO was established as a military alliance as a collective self-defense after the Soviet Union had strategically placed armies around central Europe. There are twenty six members in total currently. -
Mao Zedong and People's Republic of China
Communist leader Mao Zedong named himself named himself head of state and formed the People's Republic of China. This was after years of conflict between Zedong's communist forces and Nationalist leader, Chiang Kai-Shek, who had been receiving help from the United States. China becoming a communist country was a low blow to the United States -
Korean War
The Korean War was a major conflict between North and South Korea. North Korea, who were supplied and advised by the Soviet Union, invaded South Korea. The United Nations took action, especially the US, joined the South Korean side. After 2.5 million lives had been claimed, fighting ceased. No further agreements were reached, and the front line still acts as the barrier between North and South Korea. -
Stalin's Death; Khrushchev
Joseph Stalin was dictator of the Soviet Union from 1941 until his death in 1953. During his later years of life, Joseph Stalin was very paranoid. He was to implement the Doctor's Plot, a pretext that senteced Kremlin doctors to death. He died suddenly on March 5th before he could implement it, and many people called foul play. Nikita Khrushchev was premier of the Soviet Union between 1958 and 1964 during the Cold War. -
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact was an organization between Soviet Union, Albania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria. The pact put the Soviet Union in charge of the armed forces of these states. -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a long war that pitted the communist government of North Vietnam and the Viet Cong of South Vietnam against the South Vietnamese goverment and the US. The war started because of North Vietnam's desire to unify the country under one communist goverment. -
Sputnik
Sputnik was the first artificial satellite that was launched into space by the Soviet Union. The United States were suprised by the Soviet Union's technological achievement, and this started the beginning of something called the space race. -
Bay of Pigs
For years, the CIA attempeed to push Cuban leader, Fidel Castro from power. On April 17th 1961, the CIA launched a full scale invasion of Cuba by 1400 American-trained cubans. The invaders were outnumbered by Castro's troop and they surrendered after les than 24 hours of fighting. -
Berlin Wall
The Communist government of Germany built a barbed wire and concrete wall between East and West Germany. The main purpose of this was to keep Western fascists out of East Germany. Many East Germans tried to cross over to Western Germany, but many were killed. East Germany's communist government was soon forced from power in 1989 , and the wall was soon knocked down. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a tense thirteen day standoff between the US and the Soviet Union after the Soviet Union placed nuclear missiles in Cuba aimed at the US. War was avoided when an agreement formed between the two countries. The Soviet Union would remove the missiles as long as the US promised not to invade Cuba and remove missiles from Turkey. -
Gorbachev came into power
Mikhail Gorbachev served as the general secretary of the Communist party of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991 and became president of the Soviet Union from 1990-1991. In power, he created dual programs that called for restructuring and openness of the Soviet Union. His efforts to democratize the government and decentralize it's economy soon lead to the downfall of the Cold War and communism in the Soviet Union. -
Soviet Union falls
A few days before the fall of the Soviet Union, 11 Soviet republics announced they would no longer be part of the Soviet Union. Three other republics had declared indepence a long time ago, and now only one republic, Georgia, remained. This was only part of the fall of the Soviet Union, the other part being radical reforms Gorbachev had implented during his time as leader.
