World War II was more significant than World War I in several ways. It involved total warfare that impacted societies on an unprecedented scale and marked the end of European colonial empires. It diminished the power of countries like the United Kingdom and France while elevating the United States as a new global superpower through its use of atomic weapons against Japan, which also ended the war. The document provides context on the events leading up to World War II and lists key turning points and battles between 1931 to 1945.

1. World War II: More significant than World War I? AP World History Richard Smart Oakland Mills High School

2. Context… World War I: Unfinished business. Great Depression: World Crisis Continued Imperialism/ Western Dominance Conflict

3. Timelines and Turning points…

4. 1931: Manchuria 1937: Sino-Japanese War 1941: Pearl Harbor 1942: Battle of Midway 1945: Atom Bombs

5. 1939: Invasion of Poland 1940: Fall of France 1940: Battle of Britain 1944: D-Day 1941: Operation Barbarossa 1943: Stalingrad 1942: El-Alamein 1945: Fall of Berlin