Important Events During World War II

World War II started in 1939 and ended in 1945, it was the largest and bloodiest war in history with over 40 million deaths. It resulted in the extension of the Soviet Union’s power to nations of eastern Europe, allowed a communist movement to achieve power in China, and marked the change of power in the world away from western Europe and toward the U.S. and the Soviet Union. There were many important events that took place during World War II including The Peace of Paris, The Battle of the Bulge, and The Attack of Pearl Harbor.
At the end of World War I in 1919, representatives from various nations gathered in Paris to impose the peace. The agreements did not even satisfy the victors, Italy and Japan left the peace conference very dissatisfied. Italy felt as though it deserved more territory than what was offered and vowed to take action on their own. Japan took over German territories in the Pacific and thereby sent a program of expansion. Japan felt slighted by

navy had the power to shut down Japan’s expansion in Asia. This gave them the idea to try to destroy the U.S. Pacific Fleet at anchor in Pearl Harbor. The Attack on Pearl Harbor occurred on December 7, 1941, where Japanese ships and airplanes attacked the U.S. naval base in Hawaii. The attack became known as the “Pearl Harbor sneak attack” because at the time the Japanese launched the attack, the secretary of state met with two Japanese diplomats in Washington.
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed Congress on December 8th. He called December 7th “a date which will live in infamy.” Congress then declared war on Japan. Roosevelt later that day announced in a radio speech that he urged Americans to back the war effort and avenge Pearl Harbor. He stated “Every single man, woman, and child is a partner in the most tremendous undertaking of our American history.” “Remember Pearl Harbor” became an outcry in the