| 1940 | Battle of Britain | This military campaign of the Second World War, in which the German Air Force failed to defeat the Royal Air Force defending the United Kingdom, changed the course of war. |
| 1941 | Attack on Pearl Harbor | This sudden military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States marked the U.S. entry into World War II. |
| 1942 | Battle of Stalingrad | One of the deadliest battles in history, it marked a turning point in World War II as the German forces were defeated by the Soviet Union. |
| 1943 | Tehran Conference | The first World War II conference between the Big Three (Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill) where they discussed coordination of the war against Germany. |
| 1944 | Normandy Invasion (D-Day) | The largest amphibious invasion in history led by Allied forces marked the beginning of the end for Germany in World War II. |
| 1945 | End of World War II | Two devastating atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki by U.S. led to Japan’s surrender and ultimately the end of World War II. |
| 1946 | Nuremberg Trials | A series of military tribunals held after World War II to bring Nazi war criminals to justice. |
| 1947 | Partition of India | The division of British India into two independent dominions, India and Pakistan, led to significant geopolitical change in South Asia. |
| 1948 | Establishment of Israel | The creation of an independent Jewish state, Israel, in Palestine triggered the Arab-Israeli conflict. |
| 1949 | Chinese Communist Revolution | The Communist Party of China, led by Mao Zedong, took control over mainland China establishing People’s Republic of China. |
