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Japanese Invasion of China
Japan, after joining the axis with Germany, and wanting more materials and land, declares war on China with intent to conquer. Starting from Japanese Manchuria and going from there. With much of China coming under Japanese rule because the Chinese army sucked. With countless Chinese people killed and a fair amount of Japanese casualties. This resulted in souring Japans international reputation and a subsequent US embargo on Japan, cutting off the oil they needed. Souring US/Japanese relations. -
Rape of Nanjing
When the Japanese invaders came across the city of Nanjing(aka Nanking). They were given pretty much free reign to do as they please to the inhabitants and the city. With widespread looting,shooting, raping, burning, and various human rights violations. With little to no disciplinary action taken against those responsible, and even denial of the events existence souring relations between Japan and other countries even to this day. This would set a pattern for how Japan would treat china. -
Blitzkrieg
Germany Invades all of Poland, a fair amount of eastern Europe, the Netherlands, France, and conquers them all fairly quickly because quite frankly, most of those countries military's sucked and France surrendered in like 2 weeks. With a spearhead of tanks preceded by artillery and bombings then followed by an infantry/ cavalry charge allowing for them to go in and conquer faster than the enemy can get reinforcements. Put Germany in a very good position for the early part of WW2 -
Molotov/ Ribbentrop
Stalin and Hitler meet up and sign a non-aggression pact. Since they don't really want to fight each other and Hitler probably read a history book once.They also agree to split up Poland amongst themselves. This came as a surprise to the western allies, who kinda just counted on Russia being in this war. Though this pact was inevitably broken because Hitler wanted Lebenschraum and Caucasian oil. It bought the Russians precious time to industrialize and get something other than WW1 gear. -
Fall of Paris
After Germany did the shocking maneuver of rolling through countries nobody cared about to go around the Maginot line, in WW1, Hitler did about the same but went through the Argonne instead. Punching through the Line and going towards Paris. The French lasted about 2 weeks before surrendering, with Vichy France being established and Philip Petain gaining a reputation as a traitor.With a swift blow, knocking France out of the war, Hitler was pretty much free to sit there until he invades Russia. -
Pearl Harbor
After a bunch of training, the Japanese go for the real thing, with their aims being the US pacific fleet and its carriers to cripple US naval capabilities and to try and scare the US out of war. With some of our destroyers and battleships destroyed/damaged but our carriers intact. This attack back fired very fast and very hard, with war support being pretty high and the military out for blood, this would enter the US in WW2 and the axis would regret knowing Japan. -
Wannsee Conference
This is when Hitler and other top officials came together to decide what to do with the Jews once and for all. Leading to the implementation and planning of the Final Solution to wipe the Jews off the planet through the use of death camps and slave labor that cared little for the safety of its workers. With head Nazi officials all coming together in an office in Berlin, to discuss further planning and all that for the war and the ultimate goals of the nazi party. -
D-Day
The Allies want a western front to sandwich Germany, and so they land in Normandy, because nobody expected them to land there. Then a bunch of Allied troops land and a fair amount die to the massive line of bunkers that the Nazi's built there. Though a beach head is established by the Allies and then they push from there with the eventual liberation of France, With the beginning of the end for Germany and Italy too I guess. -
Stalingrad
A bunch of cold German guys try to attack a bunch of already cold Russian guys in a city named after their leader to secure a propaganda victory for the Reich. Backfires into a massive urban war of its own. Supplies run out on both sides, though Russians are used to starving to death and are able to come out on top by throwing enough men at the Germans. After getting rid of the smell of kraut, the soviets then push the Germans back to Germany, all the way back to Berlin. -
Battle of the Bulge
In an attempt to counter attack the Allied front, German troops attacked the Allied front lines, carving a nice dent in the lines which came very close to breaking through the line, hence the bulge in the name. Though like most things that they did around this time, it doesn't work and just depletes what little Germany had. Allowing the Allies to push even further and faster into a pretty much boned by this point Germany -
Battle of Iwo Jima
On the island of Iwo Jima, US marines went to get the Japanese out of the island so that they can use it as a staging ground in the upcoming invasion/bombing runs on Japan. Though the Japanese were dug in into the rocks and caves of the island and it was some of the toughest fighting in the war in the pacific.With a US victory the island was taken and used to stage bombing runs and as a staging ground. -
Liberation of Concentration Camps
As the Allies push in from both sides, they start finding the camps. With the western allies coming upon the more tame work camps, which were based in Germany proper. While the Eastern front uncovers the more sinister side of the camps. With much of the official Nazi papers burnt, and the camps being hastily dismantled, the Russian's caught them red handed and with their pants down so to speak. With the liberation of many people after about 11 million had died in these camps. -
VE Day
With the taking of Berlin by allied forces, and the suicide of Hitler and his wife Eva Braun. Germany was forced to surrender, due to the entire country being occupied and its armed forces all dead or surrendered. With soviet troops storming the fuhrer bunker and getting the corpses of both those officials. And with Himmler calling in the surrender, with little other choice, leading way to the Nuremberg trials and the whole East/West Germany situation. -
Atomic Bombs
The Japanese cities Nagasaki and Hiroshima were destroyed under nuclear fire. With the atomic bombs fat man and little boy dropped to force Japan to surrender. With the resulting show of force forcing the Japanese to surrender, despite many in the country speaking against this. So the dropping of the second bomb was needed to push it over the edge, resulting in the surrender of Japan and the result was VJ day, and Hiroshima and Nagasaki not being there anymore -
VJ day
After the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan had surrendered to the allies as ordered by Emperor Hirohito, in one of the few times he had even been seen by the public, as asked by the US so as to dispel the whole "god emperor" thing that Japan had built up in its history by making the Emperor as a regular man. Though he was able to keep his position with many other Japanese officials put on trial for the war crimes that they had committed. -
sources pt 1
https://www.britannica.com/event/Second-Sino-Japanese-War
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-rape-of-nanking
https://www.britannica.com/event/German-Soviet-Nonaggression-Pact
www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/fall_france_01.shtml
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/.../wannsee-conference-and-the-final-solution
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/blitzkrieg -
sources pt 2
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-stalingrad
https://www.army.mil/botb/
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-iwo-jima
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/liberation-of-nazi-camps
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/victory-in-europe
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/v-j-day -
Period: to
other sources
