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Germany Invades Poland
German forces bombard Poland on land and from the air, as Adolf Hitler wanted to regain lost territory and ultimately rule Poland. This started WWII -
Sitzkrieg
Phony War, a name for the early months of World War II, marked by no major hostilities. -
Manhattan Project
research and development undertaking during World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada. -
France Fell to Germany
German forces defeated Allied forces by mobile operations and conquered France. -
America First Committee Launched
Was the foremost United States non-interventionist pressure group against the American entry into World War II. -
Congress Instituted the Draft
President Roosevelt signed the Selective Training and Service Act. The draft continued through war and peacetime until 1973. More than 10 million men entered military service through the Selective Service System during World War II alone. -
Battle of Britian
The Royal Air Force defended the United Kingdom against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force, the Luftwaffe. It has been described as the first major military campaign fought entirely by air forces. -
Destroyers-for-Bases Deal
Fifty Caldwell, Wickes, and Clemson class US Navy destroyers were transferred to the Royal Navy from the United States Navy in exchange for land rights on British possessions. -
Lend-Lease
Formally titled An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States, was an American program to defeat Germany, Japan and Italy by distributing food, oil, and materiel between 1941 and August 1945. -
Four Freedoms
Speech that proposed four fundamental freedoms that people "everywhere in the world" ought to enjoy: Freedom of speech. Freedom of worship. Freedom from want. Freedom from fear. -
USS Kearny Attacked
Torpedoed by a German U-boat in October 1941, before the U.S. had entered the war. She survived that attack, and later served in North Africa and the Mediterranean. -
Reuben James Sank
Was the first United States Navy ship sunk by hostile action in the European theater of World War II -
Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor
Surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor. Brought America into WWII -
Battle of Bataan
Represented the most intense phase of Imperial Japan's invasion of the Philippines during World War II. -
Bataan Death March
Forcible transfer by the Imperial Japanese Army of 60,000–80,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war from Saysain Point, Bagac, Bataan and Mariveles to Camp O'Donnell, Capas, Tarlac, via San Fernando, Pampanga, where the prisoners were loaded onto trains. -
Island Hopping Campaign Begins
Was a military strategy employed by the Allies in the Pacific War against Japan and the Axis powers during World War II. -
Battle of Coral Sea
It was the first pure carrier-versus-carrier battle in history as neither surface fleet sighted the other. Though a draw, it was an important turning point in the war in the Pacific because, for the first time, the Allies had stopped the Japanese advance. -
Battle of Midway
Decisive naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II, with America coming out on top. -
Battle of El Alamein
Marked the culmination of the North African campaign between the forces of the British Empire and the German-Italian army commanded in the field by Erwin Rommel in World War II. -
Casablanca Conference
To plan the Allied European strategy for the next phase of World War II. In attendance were United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British prime minister Winston Churchill. -
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was the largest confrontation of World War II, in which Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in Southern Russia. -
Tehran Conference
Strategy meeting of Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill, after the Anglo-Soviet Invasion of Iran. It was held in the Soviet Union's embassy in Tehran, Iran. -
D-Day
Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D-Day, it was the largest seaborne invasion in history. -
MacArthur Returned to the Philippines
A few hours after his troops landed, MacArthur waded ashore onto the Philippine island of Leyte. That day, he made a radio broadcast in which he declared, “People of the Philippines, I have returned!” -
FDR Elected to a 4th Term
This resulted in the Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution being ratified in 1951, limiting all future presidents to two elected terms. -
Battle of the Bulge
Last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. -
Yalta Conference
Three leaders agreed to demand Germany's unconditional surrender and began plans for a post-war world. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
Major battle in which the United States Marine Corps landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. -
Battle of Okinawa
Major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Marine and Army forces against the Imperial Japanese Army. The Americans won. -
Harry Truman Became President
Vice president for just 82 days before Roosevelt died and Truman became the 33rd president. -
VE Day
Marked the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces. -
Potsdam Conference
Failed to settle most of the important issues at hand and thus helped set the stage for the Cold War that would begin shortly after World War II came to an end. -
Little Boy Dropped on Hiroshima
United States dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. The bomb was known as "Little Boy", a uranium gun-type bomb that exploded with about thirteen kilotons of force. -
Fat Man Dropped on Nagasaki
It was the second of the only two nuclear weapons ever used in warfare, the first being Little Boy, and its detonation marked the third nuclear explosion in history. -
VJ Day
Day on which Imperial Japan surrendered in World War II, in effect bringing the war to an end. -
Nuremberg Trials
Series of military tribunals held by the Allied forces under international law and the laws of war after World War II. -
Japanese War Crime Trials
On November 4, 1948, the trial ended with 25 of 28 Japanese defendants being found guilty. Of the three other defendants, two had died during the lengthy trial, and one was declared insane.
