road to war

Japanese expansionism

Increased territorial claims by Japan, including the invasion of Manchuria in 1931 and war with China, driven by a need for resources.

Nanking Massacre

A mass murder and war rape committed by Japanese troops against the residents of Nanking during the Second Sino-Japanese War, resulting in approximately 300,000 deaths.

Tripartite Pact

An agreement formed in 1940 that established an alliance between Japan, Germany, and Italy.

Pearl Harbor

The December 7, 1941 surprise military strike by the Japanese naval forces on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, leading to U.S. entry into World War II.

Bataan Death March

The forced transfer of 80,000 Filipino and American prisoners of war by the Japanese army after the U.S. surrender of Bataan Peninsula in April 1942, resulting in 5,000-10,000 deaths.

Battle of Midway

A decisive naval battle in June 1942 where the U.S. Navy defeated an attacking fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy, turning the tide of the war in the Pacific.

Island-Hopping Strategy

A military strategy employed by the Allies in the Pacific Theater during World War II, involving bypassing heavily fortified islands and capturing strategically important ones.

Executive Order 9066

A U.S. government order issued in 1942 that led to the internment of approximately 120,000 Japanese Americans, many of whom were U.S. citizens.

Operation Torch

The British-American invasion of French North Africa in November 1942, which marked the beginning of the Allied campaign against Axis forces in North Africa.

Casablanca Conference

A 1943 meeting where Allied leaders declared their policy of unconditional surrender for Axis powers.

Battle of Coral Sea

A battle in May 1942 that marked the first aircraft carrier versus carrier battle and halted the Japanese advance towards Australia.

Guadalcanal

The first major Allied offensive in the Pacific Theater from August 1942 to February 1943 that secured an airfield and marked a shift to Allied offensive strategies.

Midway

A pivotal naval battle where U.S. forces broke Japanese codes, destroyed four Japanese carriers, and became a major turning point in the war in the Pacific.

North Africa Campaign

A series of battles in North Africa during World War II, culminating in the defeat of Axis forces in Tunisia in 1943 and securing Allied control of the region.

Invasion of Italy

The military campaign that began in Sicily in 1943, leading to the capitulation of Italy and the slow Allied advance to capture Rome by June 1944.