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Japanese invasion of China
Japan, eager for the vast natural resources to be found in China and seeing its obvious weakness, invaded and occupied Manchuria. It was turned into a nominally independent state called Manchukuo, but the Chinese Emperor who ruled it was a puppet of the Japanese. When China appealed to the League of Nations to intervene, the League published the Lytton Report which condemned Japanese aggression. http://factsanddetails.com/media/2/20080218-japansoldier rape of nan hist wiz.jpg -
German Blitzkrieg
A German term for “lightning war,” blitzkrieg is a military tactic designed to create disorganization among enemy forces through the use of mobile forces and locally concentrated firepower.
German forces tried out the blitzkrieg in Poland in 1939 before successfully employing the tactic with invasions of Belgium, the Netherlands and France in 1940.
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http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/blitzkrieg -
Germany's invasion of Poland
The German invasion of Poland was a primer on how Hitler intended to wage war–what would become the “blitzkrieg” strategy. This was characterized by extensive bombing early on to destroy the enemy’s air capacity, railroads, communication lines, and munitions dumps, followed by a massive land invasion with overwhelming numbers of troops, tanks, and artillery.http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/72827000/jpg/_72827546_hitler.jpg
https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005070 -
Operation Barbarossa
Over the course of the operation, about four million soldiers of the Axis powers invaded the Soviet Union along a 2,900-kilometer (1,800 mi) front, the largest invasion force in the history of warfare. In addition to troops, the Germans employed some 600,000 motor vehicles and between 600,000 and 700,000 horses.
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http://www.history.co.uk/study-topics/history-of-ww2/barbarossa -
Pearl Harbor
hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawaii. The barrage lasted just two hours, but it was devastating: The Japanese managed to destroy nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight enormous battleships, and more than 300 airplanes.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor -
Wannsee Conference
The Wannsee Conference, a meeting of senior officials of Nazi Germany, held in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee. The purpose of the conference, called by director of the Reich Main Security Office, was to ensure the cooperation of administrative leaders of various government departments in the implementation of the final solution to the Jewish question.
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https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005477 -
Bataan Death March
U.S. surrender of the Bataan Peninsula on the main Philippine island of Luzon to the Japanese during World War 2, the approximately 75,000 Filipino and American troops on Bataan were forced to make an arduous 65-mile march to prison camps. The marchers made the trek in intense heat and were subjected to harsh treatment by Japanese guards. Thousands perished in what became known as the Bataan Death March.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bataan-death-march -
Battle of Midway
The operation sought to eliminate the United States as a strategic power in the Pacific, giving Japan a free hand in establishing its Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. Luring the American aircraft carriers into a trap and occupying Midway was part of an overall "barrier" strategy to extend Japan's defensive perimeter, this operation was also considered preparatory for further attacks. The United won and defeated the Japanese. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-midway -
Battle of Stalingrad
The battle stopped the German advance into the Soviet Union and marked the turning of the tide of war in favor of the Allies. The Battle of Stalingrad was one of the bloodiest battles in history, with combined military and civilian casualties of nearly 2 million.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-stalingrad -
Operation Gomorrah
British aircraft drop 2,300 tons of incendiary bombs on Hamburg in just a few hours. The explosive power was the equivalent of what German bombers had dropped on London in their five most destructive raids. More than 1,500 German civilians were killed in that first British raid.
http://www.annefrankguide.net/en-GB/content/bombing-hamburg.jpg
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/operation-gomorrah-is-launched -
Allied invasion of Italy
began with the invasion of Sicily in July 1943. After 38 days of fighting, the U.S. and Great Britain successfully drove German and Italian troops from Sicily and prepared to assault the Italian mainland. allied forces prevailes and On July 25, the day after Mussolini’s arrest, the first Italian troops began withdrawing from Sicily.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/invasion-of-sicily -
D-Day (Normandy Invasion)
156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified coast of France’s Normandy region. The invasion was one of the largest amphibious military assaults in history and required extensive planning.
https://www.dday.org/images/stories/Images/dday_landing.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normandy_landings -
Liberation of Concentration Camps
Soviet soldiers were the first to liberate concentration camp prisoners in the final stages of the war. They entered the Majdanek camp, and later overran several other killing centers. They entered Auschwitz and found hundreds of sick and exhausted prisoners. The Germans had been forced to leave prisoners behind. Also left behind were victims' belongings: 348,820 men's suits, 836,255 women's coats, and tens of thousands of shoes.
https://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007724 -
Battle of the Bulge
Hitler attempted to split the Allied armies in northwest Europe by a surprise blitzkrieg thrust through the Ardennes to Antwerp. Caught off-guard, American units fought battles to stem the German advance at St.-Vith, Elsenborn Ridge, Houffalize and Bastogne. As the Germans drove deeper into the Ardennes in an attempt to secure vital bridgeheads.http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/12/17/article-0-0F3546E200000578-263_964x641.jpg
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-the-bulge -
Operation Thunderclap
code for a cancelled operation planned in August 1944, The 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. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Lancaster_I_NG128_Dropping_Blockbuster_-_Duisburg_-_Oct_14,_1944.jpg/220px-Lancaster_I_NG128_Dropping_Blockbuster_-_Duisburg_-_Oct_14,_1944.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderclap_plan -
Battle of Iwo Jima
American amphibious invasion of Iwo Jima during World War II stemmed from the need for a base near the Japanese coast. Three U.S. marine divisions landed on the island in February 1945. Iwo Jima was defended by roughly 23,000 Japanese army and navy troops, who fought from an elaborate network of caves, dugouts, tunnels and underground installations.
http://www.nationalww2museum.org/assets/images/iwo-jima-flag-raising.jpg
http://www.iwojima.com/battle/battlec.htm -
Battle of Okinawa
The Okinawa campaign involved the 287,000 troops of the U.S. Tenth Army against 130,000 soldiers of the Japanese Thirty-second Army. At stake were air bases vital to the projected invasion of Japan. By the end of the 82-day campaign, Japan had lost more than 77,000 soldiers.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ea/OkinawaMarineCaveDemolition.jpg/220px-OkinawaMarineCaveDemolition.jpg
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-okinawa -
VE Day
the public holiday celebrated, marked the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War 2 of Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces. It thus marked the end of World War 2 in Europe.
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/03196/veday_3196655b.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_in_Europe_Day -
Dropping of the atomic bombs
the American bomber Enola Gay dropped a five-ton bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. A blast equivalent to the power of 15,000 tons of TNT reduced four square miles of the city to ruins and immediately killed 80,000 people. Tens of thousands more died in the following weeks from wounds and radiation poisoning.
https://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/bomb/large/
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki -
VJ Day
news of the surrender was announced to the world. This sparked spontaneous celebrations over the final ending of World War 2. There was great rejoice and celebration.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/War_Ends.jpg/203px-War_Ends.jpg
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/v-j-day
