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Germany Invades Poland
Signaling the beginning of WWII, the invasion also allowed the German military to test the blitzkreig method of fighting to be used throughout the war. -
Sitzkreig Begins
After the western European powers declared war on Germany, an eight month period ensued in which no major milirary land campaigns existed. -
France Falls to the Axis
With the fall of France, the British Expeditionary Force was forced to retreat at Dunkirk and the Allies did not have a foothold in Western Europe to launch attacks. -
Battle of Britain Begins
Germany attempted to take Britain out of the war by forcing a peace treaty with them, but were held back by British air superiority, convincing the US that Britain was a formidable ally and buying time for the Allies. -
Destroyers For Bases Agreement Signed
With this agreement, Britain was given destroyer they could use to help with the Battle of Britain and give them an even stronger navy to fight the Germans, and the bases were used for airfields to give both the US and the UK advantages during the war. -
America First Committee Formed
One of the largest anti-war committees in American history, the group peaked at 800,000 members and was a strong voice against war before being dissolved following the attack at Pearl Harbor. -
Burke-Wadsworth Act
This act allowed the conscription of US men into the armed forces, allowing the US forces to be much larger than if a volunteer force was used, giving the US access to much more manpower. -
FDR Gives Four Freedoms Speech
This speech was a popular anti-isolationist one, expressing to the American people why the US should go to war to preserve human rights and liberties. -
Lend-Lease Act Passed
This act to allow the transfer of supplies to allied nations without compensation allowed Britain to recieve supplies and stay in the fight against Germany until the US joined the war, -
USS Kearney Attacked
The attack on the Kearney gave the US yet another reason to enter the war and angered the American people towards Germany. -
USS Reuben James Sunk
Being the first American ship sunk during the war, this sinking convinced many Americans that war was a good idea as Germany had sunk and killed American troops although the two sides were not officially at war. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The Japanese attack on the American base at Pearl Harbor caused the US to enter WWII, declaring war on Japan followed by a declaration of war from Germany against the US in response. -
Battle of Bataan Begins
Although US and Filipino troops were eventually forced to retreat and surrender, the troops successfully held off the Japanese for three months, delaying the Japanese advance and buying the US time to mobilize. -
Manhattan Project Begins
The Manhattan Project was a project to create a powerful weapon for the Allies which ended up creating the first atomic bomb, leading to the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end the war in 1945. -
Bataan Death March Begins
Following the surrender of US and FIlipino troops, the death march led to the deaths of hundreds of Americans and thousands of Filipinos, helping establish the Japanese Military as cruel towards POWs and leading to the conviction of many Japanese soldiers following the war. -
Battle of the Coral Sea
Besides being the first sea battle fought entirely by planes, this battle averted the invasion of Port Moresby, serving as a strategic victory for the US. -
Battle of Midway
US codebreakers were able to decipher where the Japanese attack would be, leading to a decisive victory for the US and was the turning point in the Pacific Campaign. -
Battle of Stalingrad Begins
This battle was a decisive victory for the Soviets and the turning point in the war on the Eastern Front, leaving huge casualties for both sides. -
Battle of El Alamein
This battle was very significant in the Mediterannean offensive, forcing German Panzer divisions to retreat and allowed Allied forces to beat the Axis in the Mediterannean. -
Casablanca Conference
This conference allowed Churchill and Roosevelt to decide the means to begin invading Europe and open supply lines in Asia, and create the idea of unconditional surrender for the Axis after the war was won. -
Leapfrogging Strategy Begins
This campaign of hopping from island to island allowed the US to isolate Japanese troops at strategic islands, attack, and then move to the next island, making for a quicker Pacific Campaign and more efficient use of supplies and man power. -
Tehran Conference
The three major Allied leaders decided to keep in contact on European operations, found a date to launch Operation Overlord (D-Day) and to support Yugoslavian Partisans and to try and get Turkey to join the Alllies. -
D-Day
With the successful Allied Invasion of Normandy through airborne drops and beach landings, the Allies had a foothold in France and could now continue to invade Europe, leading to many Allied victories and a majpr turning point in the Western Front. -
MacArthur Return to the Philippines
With MacArthur's return to the Philippines, the US continued to regain control of the islands, although most of the original US forces were destroyed, the islands were a moral and strategic victory for the US. -
FDR Wins 4th Presidential Term
Although his fourth term was short, as he died in office within a year, the winning of his fourth term convinced congress to limit the amount of presidential terms to two. -
Battle of the Bulge Begins
Although the Germans had initial success with their counter-offensive, it was ultimately a failure and the German military was essentially crushed and forced to retreat for the rest of the war. -
Yalta Conference
The Big Three discussed the unconditional surrender of Germany and how Germany would pay reperations, along with the demilitarization of the country and split of occupation zones. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The American victory in Iwo Jima was the first battle on the Japanese home islands and left almost the entire Japanese forces on the island dead. -
Battle of Okinawa
After the American victory at Okinawa, the US had a strategic location from which to launch attacks against Japan and it is believed this led to the atomic bombings against Japan. -
FDR DIes
With FDR's death, Truman became the president and later allowed for the atomic bombing of Japan to end the war quickly. -
Victory In Europe Day
On this public holiday, Adolf Hitler's successor surrendered to the Allies and ended WWII in Europe. -
Potsdam Conference Begins
Among many other agreements, the Potsdam Conference concluded that Germany would be split into four seperate occupation zones, reduce the German borders and led to the Potsdam Declaration, which outlined the terms of Japan's surrender. -
Little Boy Dropped on Hiroshima
Killing thousands of Japanese civillians, the atomic bomb Little Boy destroyed the city of Hiroshima, but Japan still refused to surrender, forcing the US to drop Fat Man. -
Fat Man Dropped on Nagasaki
The dropping of the Fat Man convinced Japan that the US could continue to drop atomic bombs and led to their surrender in fear of further destruction. -
Victory over Japan Day
On this day, Japan signed to surrender to the Allies, officially ending WWII. -
Nuremburg Trials Begin
These trials before a military tribunal charged many Naxis with war crimes and led to the creation of an International Criminal Court. -
Tokyo Trials Begin
This trial convicted many Japanese military members of war crimes, although some were given shortened terms and even parole later on.
