The Second World War

By Kenneth Flores

  • Japanese invasion of China (1937)

    The Japanese invaded China proper, launching the Second Sino-Japanese War. In this war Japan was invading China and it all started from the Marco Polo Bridge Incident which was a little fight that sparked to a full-blown conflict. The Rape of Nanking also occurred because of this war. The Japanese seized most of Eastern China due to this event. (http://histclo.com/essay/war/ww2/camp/pac/china/w2c-inv.html)

  • Germany's invasion of Poland (1939)

    Nazi Germany invaded Poland, the act that started World War II. Germany broke through all of Poland's defense and their polish army was defeated. Warsaw surrendered to Germany because of all the massive attacks that were happening to Poland so the capital surrendered to Germany. (https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005070)

  • Germany Blitzkrieg (1939-1940)

    Germany overran much of Europe and was victorious for more than two years. Germany used a new tactic called the Blitzkrieg and that means Lightning war. This tactic required a lot of offensive weapons such as tanks, planes, and guns. Blitzkrieg is also a military tactic designed to create disorganization among enemy forces through the use of mobile forces and locally concentrated firepower. (https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005437)

  • Fall of Paris (1940)

    Nazi Germany was a small army but had a lot of weapons and better vehicles. Holland, Belgium, and the French were defeated by Germany's forces. On 11 May the French cavalry retreated over the River Semois; on 13 May the Germans crossed the River Meuse into France at Sedan, aided by waves of dive-bombers. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/timeline/factfiles/nonflash/a1057286.shtml)

  • Operation Barbarossa (1941)

    Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II.Three million German soldiers, 150 divisions, and three thousand tanks attacked North Cape to the Black Sea and invading Russia. (http://www.history.com)

  • Pearl Harbor (1941)

    Japanese planes attacked the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Territory. The bombing killed more than 2,300 Americans. This happened because Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto insisted on a surprise attack on the US fleet based at Pearl Harbor when Japan had resolved to broaden the war into the Pacific by invading Malaya, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Singapore and other targets.The effects that occurred after the Pearl Harbor attack was that people cried.(https://www.quora.com)

  • Wannse Conference (1942)

    What happened at Wannsee, decisions were taken that led directly to the Holocaust the setting up of death camps to eradicate Europe’s Jews, gypsies and other religions. This happened because SS chief Heinrich Himmler's head deputy, held the meeting for the purpose of discussing the final solution to the Jewish question in Europe. The effects that happened from this conference was that many peopled died at these camps and to be exact 11 million people died. (https://www.ushmm.org)

  • Bataan Death March (1942)

    What happened at this death march was that approximately 75,000 Filipino and American troops on Bataan were forced to make an arduous 65-mile march to prison camps. This happened because it was to demoralize or kill as many of the captives as possible along the way to wherever on foot.The effects that occurred after this march was vengeance from its defeat in the Philippines with the invasion of the island of Leyte in October 1944.(http://www.history.com)

  • Warsaw Ghetto uprising (1943)

    Residents of the Jewish ghetto in Nazi-occupied Warsaw, Poland, staged an armed revolt against death camps. This happened because the Jews resisted Nazi Germany and they fought with underground resistance movements.The effects of the uprising had a large impact on the Jews as a people it became a symbol of hope.(http://www.history.com)

  • Operation Gomorrah (1943)

    What happened on that day was that British bombers raid Hamburg, Germany, by night in Operation Gomorrah, while Americans bomb it by day in its own Blitz Week. This happened because they were at war and the Allied bombing of Hamburg during World War II included numerous strategic bombing missions and diversion/nuisance raids. The effects of this were Britain had suffered the deaths of 167 civilians as a result of German bombing raids in July. (www.history.com)

  • Allied invasion of Italy (1943)

    The Allied invasion of Italy was the Allied amphibious landing on mainland Italy that took place on September 3, 1943.This happened because of the terms of the agreements, the Italians would be treated with leniency if they aided the Allies in expelling the Germans from Italy. The effects that occurred because of this event was that the Badoglio government declared war on Germany. (http://www.history.com)

  • D-Day (Normandy Invasion - 1944)

    It is the day the Allied powers crossed the English Channel and landed on the beaches of Normandy, France, beginning the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi control during World War II.Why this happened was because Allies knew that a successful invasion of the continent was central to winning the war. The effects that happened was that by the end of June, the Allies had 850,000 men and 150,000 vehicles in Normandy and were poised to continue their march across Europe.

  • Battle of Iwo Jima (1945)

    The Battle of Iwo Jima was a major battle in which the U.S. Marines landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II. The American amphibious invasion of Iwo Jima during World War II stemmed from the need for a base near the Japanese coast.The effect this had on us was that now the Japanese do not have their bases.

  • Battle of Okinawa (1945)

    The battle of Okinawa was a series of battles fought in the Ryukyu Islands. This happened because the Japanese navy and army mounted mass air attacks by planes on one-way “suicide” missions; the Japanese also sent their last big battleship, the Yamato, on a similar mission with a few escorts. The effects are that U.S. losses a lot of soldiers in ground combat included 7,374 killed, 31,807 wounded, and 239 missing in action.

  • Liberation of concentration camps (1945)

    What happened was that soviet soldiers were the first to liberate concentration camp prisoners in the final stages of the war. This happened because they didn't want more innocent people to die so they liberated all the camps. The effects are that many people survived and now live a long life and a better life than staying at the camps.

  • Dropping of the atomic bombs (1945)

    The United States drops an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima during WW2. This happened because the U.S. claims to the contrary, these actions were neither justified nor decisive in Japan's surrender. The effects were that over two-thirds of Hiroshima’s buildings were demolished. The hundreds of fires, ignited by the thermal pulse, combined to produce a firestorm that had incinerated everything within about 4.4 miles of ground zero.

  • VJ Day (1945)

    On August 15, 1945, news of the surrender was announced to the world. This sparked spontaneous celebrations over the final ending of World War II. This happened because of all the wars that were happening during WW2 and all the deaths. The effects are that there was a surrender ceremony that was held in Tokyo Bay aboard the USS Missouri.

  • Operation Thunderclap

    What happened is that Operation Thunderclap was a plan envisaged a massive attack on Berlin in the belief that would cause 220,000 casualties with 110,000 killed, many of them key German personnel, which would shatter German morale.This happened because the proposal was to bomb the eastern-most cities of Germany to disrupt the transport infrastructure behind what was becoming the Eastern front. The effects were a lot of death to the enemies.

  • Battle of the Bulge (1945)

    The battle of the Bulge was In December 1944, a major German offensive is launched against the Allies in the Ardennes Mountains region on the Western Front in this battle.This happened because Adolph Hitler attempted to split the Allied armies in northwest Europe by means of a surprise blitzkrieg thrust through the Ardennes to Antwerp.The impact that this has had was that this was Nazi Germany's last fight and if they would have won the Germans would have pushed through allied lines.

  • VE Day (1945)

    VE day was a formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces. This happened because Germany was at war with Europe. The effects were Germany's surrender and a victory in Europe.