Recent Event Highlights: Germany invades Poland; France and Great Britain declare war on Germany, and 4 more...
Created by mnatsis on Apr 22, 2010
Last updated: 05/04/10 at 04:48 PM
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The atomic bomb, or A-bomb, was a powerful new weapon during WWII. It was created by the top-secret Manhattan Project and headed by chief scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer and General Leslie Groves. President Truman had to decide whether or not he was going to use it during his invasion on Japan. First, an atomic bomb was exploded in New Mexico in a desert, then President Truman warned the Japanese that if they didn't surrender, this would happen to them too. Since there was no reply from the Japanese, an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. A second bomb was dropped three days later in Nagasaki. This caused the Japanese to finally surrender to General Douglas MacArthur.
The Soviet Union and U.S. decided they would temporarily put aside their differences and the United Nations could finally be formed, with the Soviet Union and U.S. added to the other 48 countries. It was an international organization that was to be based in New York and was supposed to protect its member from aggression. In order for the organization to be formed, the General Assembly, a large body, and teh Security Council, an 11-member body had to be established.
The Battle of the Bulge led to the rapid decline of the war in Europe. Soon after this, the Allies moved across the Rhine River into Germany. Berlin was being closed in by the Allies and Soviet troops were approaching. The capital was surrounded and Hitler was preparing for the end. He decided to marry Eva Braun, his longtime companion, and together they committed suicide in underground headquarters beneath the capital. Their bodies were burned once they had been carried outside. This ended with the unconditional surrender of the Third Reich from the German military and the surrender of the Nazis.
Admiral Isoruku Yamamoto was Japan's greatest naval strategist and he called for an attack in Hawaii on the U.S. fleet. The Pearl Harbor attack took place early morning on December 7, 1941. U.S. military leaders knew that Japan had a plan to attack because they had learned of the attack from decoding one of Japan's secret messages, but they were unsure when and where the attack would take place. Then, after the war,the U.S. delcared war on Japan and its allies.
Germany had already moved into Rhineland, Austria, and Czechoslovakia, but its next move was set for Poland. Since World War I had ended, the Polish Corridor had been cut by the Allies from German territory, so that Poland would be able to access the sea. This angered Hitler and he demanded for the corridor to be returned to Germany. Stalin and Hitler had signed a nonagression pact together that stated that Poland would be divided between Germany and the Soviet Union. After this, Hitler quickly moved forward with his plans to conquer Poland. He launched a surprise attack across the Polish border with tanks and troop trucks and a bombing on Poland's capital, Warsaw with aircraft and artillery. Hitler's victory lead to him annexing the western half of Poland.
Mao Zedong was originally just an assistant librarian at Beijing University, but then he became one of the founders of the Chinese Communist Party and later he would become the greatest revolutionary leader that ever lead China. He would also lead the Long March of the Chinese Communists. This march was from the south of China to Shaanxi caves in north China. It was 6,000 miles long and crossed many miles of swampland. The Communists crossed 24 rivers and 18 mountain ranges in total during their yearlong flight from the Nationalist forces. In the end, thousands of members of the Communist Party died of exposure, battle wounds, cold, and hunger.

