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Japanese Invasion of China
This invasion was also called the Sino-Japanese War. July 5th, 1937 was the first day of the invasion and the war. The Sino-Japanese war lasted until 1945. China technically started the war by having resistance of Japanese expansion. www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/546188/Sino-Japanese-War -
Rape of Nanking
Japan soliders marched into China and murdered 300,000 people out of 600,000. This all took place in six weeks of torture and a horrible genocide.
http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/genocide/nanking.htm -
Germany's invasion of Poland
Hitler started this invasion claiming this was an act of defense, meanwhile Britian and France did not believe it. The invasion of Poland was to get more land and living space for the Germans, this was the basic spark to get Germany in WW2. On September 3rd, Britian and France delcared war on Germany. www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germans-invade-poland -
German Blitzkrieg
The Blitzrieg is a military tactic used by the Germans in WW2, which is also called "lightning war". Blitzkrieg is used agaisnt Poland and other countries that Hitler tries to invade, this method is used in many WW2 battles including Germany, Hitler believed this technique could get battels fought much quicker. www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/blitzkrieg -
Fall of Paris
Paris fell to the Germans when the French decided not to fight for the capital and withdrew. Meanwhile the west of Paris had Allied troops, but on the east were German troops.
http://www.theguardian.com/century/1940-1949/Story/0,6051,128218,00.html -
Operation Barbarossa
German armies tried to invade Soviet territory. Germany was very overwhelmed and realized they could not take on Russia. The main point of this operation was to gain Soviet ground and more power.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/operation-barbarossa -
Pearl Harbor
Japanese invaded Pearl Harbor which was the main reason America got into war. Japan killed over 2,000 soliders meanwhile another 1,000 were injured. Three days later FDR declared war on Japan and was included in WW2.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor -
Wannsee Conference
This conference was to discuss the "Final solution" for the Jews. Hitler wanted to find a good, fast way to get rid of the Jews. Hitler blamed all of Germany's problems on the Jews; Hitler then had a mass genocide of the Jews.
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/635490/Wannsee-Conference -
Battle of Midway
This battle took place six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor. America broke Japan's secret codes and were ready for battle and this was one of the biggest naval battles in WW2.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-midway -
Battle of Stalingrad
This battle was a successful defense by the Soviets to defend the city of Stalingrad. This battle was a good turning point because it stopped Germans from advancing and helped the Allies become more successful in the war.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-stalingrad -
Operation Gomorrah
Operation Gomorrah is when the British bomb Hamburg, Germany. This was retaliation for Germany bombing Britian in July. Britian's bombing was much worse. More than 1,500 German civilians and soliders were killed by bombing raids.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/operation-gomorrah-is-launched -
D-Day (Normandy Invasion)
Over 160,000 troops landed in Normandy France. More than 5,000 ships and 13,000 aircraft equipment was used. Only 9,000 Allied troops died, but more than 100,000 men started the invasion to Europe to assist in WW2.
http://www.army.mil/d-day/ -
Liberation of concentration camps
Many countries nations such as Great Britian, the Soviet Union and the U.S. liberated the death camps made by Hitler. This took place because Germany was on the loosing end and had to leave the camps to escape death. The Soviet Union shut down the biggest camp, Auschwitz.
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005131 -
Battle of Iwo Jima
America invaded the island of Iwo Jima, which was a very important island. The U.S. military bombed and tried to surround it and attack it. Over 23,000 Japanese soldiers attempted to defend Iwo Jima.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-iwo-jima -
Operation Thunderclap
Operation Thunderclap was an operation discussed by the Allied forces to bomb certain parts of Germany to stop infrastructure. Churchill promised to back Soviet forces and help bomb Germany. One city was left unharmed because they wanted to keep one city of Germany functional.
http://ww2today.com/13-february-1945-operation-thunderclap-raf-start-firestorm-in-dresden -
Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa was the last and the biggest battle of the Pacific island in WW2. This battle involved 287,000 U.S. Army against 130,000 Japanese soliders. 14,000 Allied soliders died meanwhile Japan lost over 70,000 soliders
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-okinawa -
VE Day
VE day is Victory in Europe day, both Great Britian and the U.S. had defeated the Nazi war machine.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/victory-in-europe -
Dropping of the atomic bomb
America bombs Hiroshima; America was the first and only nation to use the A-Bomb. Dropping the A-Bomb on Japan basically marks the end of WW2, but some say it was the first spark of the Cold War. Three days later the A-Bomb was dropped in Nagasaki. Thousands of people died from the blast but many more were infected, after the bombs were dropped, Japan annouced their surrender.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/atomic-bomb-dropped-on-hiroshima -
VJ Day
Japan annouces their surrender to the world, which marks the end of WW2. VJ day means Victory in Japan Day.
http://www.holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/September/vjday.htm -
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge is an attempt by Hitler to split the Allied Armies in Europe by using a surprise blitzkrieg. The Germans had the upper hand since the U.S. Army had over 100,000 casualties and were basically fighting in frozen cold territory.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-the-bulge
