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Rape of Nanking
Japanese Army forces brutally killed hundreds of thousands of people and between 20,000 and 80,000 woman were sexually assaulted. The Japanese decided to do this after a bloody war victory in Shanghai. After the end of the war Matsui and his lieutenant Tani Hisao were tried and convicted of war crimes. To this day there are still many people angry over the Nanking massacre. https://www.history.com/topics/japan/nanjing-massacre -
Germany's invasion of Poland
About 1.5 million German troops invaded Poland all along its boarder. Nazi leader Adolf Hitler claimed his invasion of Poland was a defensive action but Britain and France were not convinced, therefore being the official start of World War II. Eventually Warsaw surrendered to the Germans.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germans-invade-poland -
German Blitzkrieg
This was a new war tactic the Germans used in battle. They used this to win battles quickly. This ultimately had no impact on the war, Germany still lost. -
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor is a U.S. naval base where Japanese forces descended on the base where they destroyed/damaged 20 naval vessels and killed about 2,400 Americans. Japan did this to destroy important American fleets so there was no interference for when they try to concur Southeast Asia. This caused America to enter the war and left many even to this day devastated by the attack. There are many memorials and museums set up there. https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor -
Warsaw Ghetto uprising
Many Jews in the ghettos all along eastern Europe tried to organize resistance against the Germans with homemade weapons. After a few small victories they got more and more pride until the Germans had slowly crushed the resistance. The Jews wanted to escape the ghettos and stand up for themselves and what they knew was right. After this the Jews kept hope for the future of being free again.https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-warsaw-ghetto-uprising -
D-Day
Many American, British and Canadian forces invaded 50 beaches coast of France's Normandy region. We wanted to end the spread of Nazi Germany. A month after German troops retreat, Adolf Hitler commits suicide and many people say without this huge turning point in the war our lives would be very different today. We still remember our troops we lost in battle at memorials.https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day -
Battle of the Bulge
The Germans launch the last major offense of the war. It was an attempt to push the Allied front line west from northern France to northeastern Belgium. Many American men were either hurt or lost their lives but the Germans suffered the most casualties of the war. Even Adolf Hitler committed suicide before the Germans surrendered. https://sites.google.com/site/ww2battleofthebulge/sources
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-the-bulge -
Battle of Iwo Jima
American forces invaded Iwo Jima. Said to be one of the bloodiest battles of WWII. About 200 of the 21,000 troops died as were 2,000 marines. This battle lasted 5 weeks. The American military knew Iwo Jima was suffering damages from earlier in WWII so they planned the attack. The ones that lost their lives in this battle still have great significance to this day. There is even a memorial set up in Iwo Jima. https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-iwo-jima -
Battle of Okinawa
This was the last major battle of WWII. The Navy's Fifth Fleet and more than 180,000 U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps troops descended on the Pacific Island of Okinawa. The U.S. wanted one more push towards the Japanese. Both sides suffered many losses and the U.S. would soon make a huge decision to try and make a swift end to the war.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-okinawa -
Dropping of the atomic bombs
The United States ended the war by dropping two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The atomic bomb dropped in Hiroshima instantly killed 80,000 mostly innocent civilians and the atomic bomb dropped in Nagasaki killed 40,000 more people instantly. The U.S. wanted to swiftly bring an end to the war and ultimately did. A few days after the dropping of the bombs Japan surrendered. We greatly remember these two dates (August 6 and 9) for it was a heavy day in history. -
VJ Day
This day officially marked the end of WWII. This was a very good day for many people in the U.S. We still talk about this day in 2019 and will forever remember it for many years. https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/v-j-day
