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Japanese Invasion of China
The beginning of the war is conventionally dated to the Marco Polo Bridge Incident on 7 July 1937, when a dispute between Japanese and Chinese troops in Peking escalated into a full-scale invasion. This full-scale war between the Chinese and the Empire of Japan is often regarded as the beginning of World War II in Asia. -
Tanks and planes
In WWII, tank technology advanced rapidly. As tanks became more survivable with thicker armor, planes began carrying heavier and heavier ordnance to kill them. Eventually, armies decided that the best way to kill a tank and other ground targets with a plane was with a tank cannon. -
Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact
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. -
Blitzkrieg
word used to describe a surprise attack using a rapid, overwhelming force concentration that may consist of armored and motorized or mechanized infantry formations, together with close air support, has the intent to break through the opponent's lines of defense. -
German forces invade Poland
German dictator Adolf Hitler begins his quest to build an empire by invading Poland. The capital city of Warsaw is destroyed, and Poland is defeated within weeks. -
Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, just before 08:00 a.m., on Sunday, December 7, 1941. -
Battle of Midway
The U.S. Navy fights Japan in the Battle of Midway and wins the most important battle of the Pacific campaign. It is the first defeat in a modern war ever sustained by the Japanese navy. -
Tunisia Campaign
The Tunisian campaign was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African campaign of the Second World War, between Axis and Allied forces. -
Allied forces invade Italy
Allied troops invade Italy at Salerno, Calabria, and Taranto. Italy signs a secret armistice, agreeing to stop fighting and to not help German troops. -
The Battle of the Bulge begins
German troops launch an offensive attack on the Western front. Allied forces fought the Germans throughout the winter and eventually defeated them in what has come to be called the Battle of the Bulge. Both sides suffered heavy casualties and it remains the bloodiest battle ever fought by American troops. -
Germany surrenders as Soviet troops reach Berlin
As Soviet troops reach Berlin, the German army surrenders. Meanwhile, Hitler commits suicide in his underground bunker. -
Soviet troops liberate Auschwitz
After troops from the Soviet Union arrive in Auschwitz, Poland, survivors of the Nazi concentration camps are freed. The world finally realizes the depth of the horror that the Nazis have inflicted on the Jews. -
President Roosevelt dies
President Roosevelt dies of a cerebral hemorrhage while in Warm Springs, Georgia. Vice-president Harry S Truman is sworn in as president and is charged with leading the U.S. through the end of the war. -
Hiroshima & Nagasaki
The United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 1945, respectively. The two bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the only use of nuclear weapons in armed conflict. first use of nuclear weapons -
President Roosevelt orders Japanese-Americans to internment camps
President Roosevelt issues Executive Order 9066. Despite being American citizens, Japanese-Americans are ordered to go to internment camps in the West out of fear that they will aid the Japanese in the war.