-
Executive Order 9066
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9066. Its neutral tone authorizes the War Department to designate "military areas" and then exclude anyone from them whom it felt to be a danger. But it has a specific target: the more than 110,000 Japanese-Americans, living along the West Coast. They were about to be forced from their homes and moved inland. -
Doolittle Raid
In the first American raid on the Japanese mainland, 16 B-25 carrier-launched bombers led by Lt. Col. James Doolittle strike Tokyo, Kobe, Yokohama, Nagoya, and Yokosuka. This was a top-secret mission that the pilots trained months in advance. The danger was getting the heavy bombers off of the deck of an aircraft carrier. To achieve this they dramatically lightened the aircraft. On the day of the raid, they even removed the tail guns and replaced them with painted broomsticks. -
Battle of Midway
The Japanese suffered the loss of four carriers, one heavy cruiser, and 248 aircraft, while American losses were one carrier, one destroyer, and 98 planes. This American victory at Midway was the turning point of the Pacific war. America was able to seize the strategic initiative from the Japanese, who had suffered irreplaceable losses. -
Calculator
Two University of Pennsylvania professors, John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert, build the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator (ENIAC). Considered the grandfather of digital computers, it fills a 20-foot by 40-foot room and has 18,000 vacuum tubes -
Nagasaki
After Japan refuses to surrender a second bomb is dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki. This devastates the Japanese and the Supreme Council for the Direction of the War remains split between those still determined to fight on and those willing finally to give up. That evening all six members of the Council call upon the Emperor, who breaks the deadlock. -
Battle of Berlin
The bombing of the German capital would begin on November 18th, 1943, and would continue to March of the following year. Many American lives would be lost over this time in the skies above Germany as they attack the city and military strongholds -
D Day Invasion
Operation Overlord, the invasion and liberation of north-west Europe, began on D-Day, June 6th, 1944. That day, under the overall command of US General Dwight Eisenhower, British, Canadian and American troops, supported by the Allied navies and air forces, came ashore on the coast of Normandy. By the end of the day, 158,000 men, including airborne troops, had landed -
Beginning of Victory in France
American and Free French forces land in the south of France and begin driving northward. The following day, Hitler reluctantly agrees to pull his battered Seventh Army out of Normandy. It begins a desperate retreat toward Germany. -
Paris, France liberated
The city of Paris is finally free from its German invaders. The fall of the Axis powers grows more with the liberation of France. -
Iwo Jima
Marines land on Iwo Jima to capture the Japanese airfield. This battle would last for a month and many American and Japanese lives would be lost. In the end, American forces are victorious in the capturing of the airfield. -
Battle of Okinawa
The battle to take Okinawa commences. Okinawa — 60 miles long and home to almost half a million civilians — was the gateway to Japan. The Allies had to take it before they could move on to the home islands. This would be the greatest loss of life in the pacific theater. -
FDR Dead
The fourth term President Roosevelt is found dead from a stroke following his health decline. -
Hitler Dead
After the Russians invade Berlin and all hope for the Nazis was fleeing. Hitler is found dead in his bunker, assumed to be a suicide. Marking the end of his reign and "thousand-year Reich." -
Germany Surrenders
After the death of Hitler and the invasion of American and Russian forces, Germany waves the white flag. Officially ending the reign of terror from Hitler's Nazis and "thousand-year Reich -
Victory V-E
V-E Day is proclaimed for the victory in Europe, marking the end of the war in the European continent. -
The Atomic Bomb
The United States becomes the first country to unlock the power of the atom. Created through the top-secret Manhattan Project, who was tasked with creating an atomic weapon before the Germans, the first successful test of the devastating new weapon was conducted. Originally designed to be used on Germany to end the war in Europe, the atom bomb would now become a viable option for victory in the Pacific theater. President Truman would now have to decide to drop the bomb or not on Japan -
Potsdam Conference
The Big Three, U.S. President Harry S. Truman, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Josef Stalin, would meet until early August to decide the post-war plan for Europe, decide the fate of Germany, and plan to receive unconditional surrender from Japan. -
Hiroshima
After multiple attempts to seek surrender from Japan. The first atomic bomb to be used in warfare is dropped on the city of Hiroshima, Japan. In an instant, thousands of Japanese would be vaporized in the blast, while others would die of radiation in the coming days and years after the blast. This would shock the entire world as well as American allies such as the Soviets. The world would never be the same. Japan still refused to surrender. -
Japan Surrenders
After failed attempts of seeking conditional surrender. the Japanese finally accept the terms for their unconditional surrender. -
Official Surrender
the Japanese onboard the U.S.S Missouri "Might Mo" sign ceremonial surrender terms. This would officially end the war in the Pacific. -
Truman Doctrine
President Truman promised to help any country facing a Communist takeover. -
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation formed with member states Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States -
Korea War
The Korean war begins as the communist north invades the south. -
Dwight Eisenhower (R)
Dwight Eisenhower, the famous former WWII general, is elected the 34th President of the United States. -
End Of Korean Conflict
The war ends with the separation of the Korean peninsula. The north remained affiliated with the USSR and the south with the United States
