Event that led up to and/or during WWII

  • Invasion of Mancharia

    The Japanese Army, Kwantung, invaded the city of Mancharia in China. The Japanese controlled the Munchurian railway which was located in that China. It was claimed that the Chinese soldiers vandalized the railway. As a result, the Chinese Army decided to not fight back since the Japanese Army has been looking for a reason to fight the Chinese. Now they had a reason to fight China. This event was a reason to start WW2.
  • Tri-Partite Agreement

    The Tri-Partite Agreement dealt with money. This agreement involved the United States, France and Great Britain. This agreement helped support any economic problems dealing with money. Basically, the United States and Great Britain had a greater economy than France so this was beneficial to France, but in other ways it was beneficial to both the U.S. and Great Britain. his even occured one year before the start of WW2. It helped the U.S. stay out of all of the conflict.
  • Rape of Nanjing

    This event was a massacre that occurred in Nanjing, China. After the Japanese Army seized Nanjing, they went on a killing spree and murdered a large number of Chinese citizens. They later went to destroy and burned the building of many cities located near Nanjing. After WWII ended, two men were accused of murder and rape and were found guilty. This caused the Japanese to be viewed in a bad way before WW2 even started.
  • Anschluss

    Hitler, who was at the time in control of the German government, decided that he wanted to gather all German-speaking nations and combine them into one whole Germany. Hitler wanted to add Austria, his homeland, to Germany. According to the Treaty of Versailles, it was forbidden that these nations such as Austria were to be united with Germany.
  • Munich Pact

    The leaders of Great Britain and French get together to sign this pact with the German leader, Hitler. This agreement prevented the outburst of war but it also resulted in giving up Czechoslovakia. Czechoslovakia was given to Germany. This is what Hitler wanted.
  • Kristallnacht

    Nazi soldiers went into Jewish towns and began destroying and demolishing Jewish homes and Jewish stores without warning. This occurred in many locations of Germany. This was organized violence in an unorganized way. Which means that this was planned but was chaotic. Hitler disliked Jews which is why at first it was part of his plan to get rid of Jews in Germany.
  • Non-Aggression Pact

    This was an agreement that was signed between Germany and the Soviet Union shortly before WWII. This agreement stated that no fighting would take place between these two nations. In addition, there was a 10 year time-span in this agreement that said that neither Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union will start fighting.
  • Invasion of Poland

    Germany invades Poland. According to Hitler, this invasion was a defense act.Because Britain and France did not believe this was a defense act, they declared war on Germany. This was the start of WWII.Hitler wanted to rule Poland as well.
  • Evacuation of Dunkirk

    An evacuation of Allied soldiers in the shores on Dunkirk. Many vessels were used to evacuate. British and Allied soldiers were being circled by the Germans and attacked vigorously. About 68 thousand soldiers died.
  • Lend Lease Act

    This act allowed the U.S. to help other nations during WWII. President Roosevelt signed this act. The U.S. provided supplies such as food, weapons and other equipment. In return these other nations would pay back with peace and kindness.
  • Operation Barbarossa

    This was Hitler's plan to invade the Soviet Union. This was something Hitler had planned for a while now, to invade the Soviet Union. Unfortunately for Hitler, the Germans failed to defeat Soviet forces. This even was a huge turning point during WWII.
  • Pearl Harbor

    The Japanese sent airplanes to attack Pearl Harbor. This was unexpected and was an unexpected attack. Bombs were dropped on the U.S. naval base. Many U.S. soldiers died on this attack. Aircraft and ships were destroyed as well. This was a significant event because it resulted in the U.S. joining WWII.
  • Battle of Midway

    This battle was mostly fought in the air. This battle was between the United States Navy and a Japanese who were on their way to attack Midway Atoll, an island that belongs to the U.S. This was a turning point in the Pacific War. The United States won.
  • D-Day Invasion

    This was the largest land and sea attack in history. The British, American, French, and Canadian troops went broke into the beaches. Germans had machine guns and other weapons. They stood behind really thick walls as protection. The U.S. lost about 2,700 men that say at the beaches. This event was important because it was the first time Germany was threatened for their control over Europe.
  • Liberation of Paris

    This was a military battle that took place in Paris, France. This battle occurred during WWII. At this battle, the French capital was given up. The U.S. and the British wanted to break up all of the German forces. The German garrison finally decided to surrender Paris.
  • Battle of the Bulge

    This battle was the last German fight before they completely finished their part in WWII. Hitler wanted to break these allies and by doing so he demanded a fight. This resulted in the second most deadly battle the U.S. fought in this war.
  • Hitler's Suicide

    Hitler, leader of the Nazi Party in Germany, committed suicide. He shot himself. As a result, his wife later committed suicide as well. Following Hitler's death, Germany and Russia were slowly left into ruins.
  • Surrender of Germany

    Two groups of Soviet soldiers were coming towards Berlin to attack.Germany finally surrenders.This stops the fighting and the European conflict.This also occurred after Hitler committed suicide.
  • Hiroshima/Nagasaki

    The United States drops two bombs on Japans capitals. Two of Japans capitals were Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As a result, Japan surrendered. This was another victory for the U.S.