-
Japanese invasion of China
The Lugoubridge (Marco Polo Bridge) Incident. The Japanese asked the Chinese to cross the bridge to serch for a missing soldier in the town of Wanping. Chinese military refused and the Japanese attacked the bridge which was the only passing into the town. Chinese fought back and was able to protect the bridge. -
Germany’s invasion of Poland
The Invasion of Poland was a joint invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Free City of Danzig, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent, that marked the beginning of World War II in Europe -
Fall of Paris
The German advance continued to sweep southward after British and Franch troops are pushed back to the English Channel. The French abandon Paris, declaring it an open city, allowing the Germans to enter the French capital without resistance. -
German Blitzkrieg
“Lightning war.” 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 then Belgium, the Netherlands and France in 1940. The Blitz was the period of strategic bombing of the United Kingdom -
Atlantic Charter
A pivotal policy statement that, early in World War II, defined the Allied goals for the post-war world. The leaders of the United Kingdom and the United States drafted the work and all the Allies of World War II later confirmed it. -
Pearl Harbor
A surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, in the United States Territory of Hawaii. The attack led to the United States' entry into World War II. -
Battle of Midway
The United States Navy decisively defeated an attacking fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy near Midway Atoll, inflicting devastating damage on the Japanese fleet that proved irreparable. -
D-Day
The Normandy landings were the landing operations of the Allied invasion of Normandy during World War II. The operation began the liberation of German-occupied northwestern Europe from Nazi control, and contributed to the Allied victory on the Western Front. -
Liberation of Consentration Camps
Soviet soldiers were the first to liberate concentration camp prisoners in the final stages of the war. They entered the Majdanek camp in Poland, and later overran several other killing centers. They entered Auschwitz and there found hundreds of sick and exhausted prisoners. The Germans had been forced to leave these prisoners behind in their hasty retreat. The Americans were responsible for liberating Buchenwald and Dachau, while British forces entered Bergen-Belsen.. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The U.S. Marines landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Japanese Imperial Army. U.S. goal was capturing the entire island, including the three Japanese-controlled airfields, to provide a staging area for attacks on the Japanese main islands. Battle lasted five weeks. -
VE Day (Victory in Europe Day)
Victory in Europe Day was the public holiday to mark the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces. It marked the end of World War II in Europe. -
Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa was a series of battles fought in the Ryukyu Islands, centered on the island of Okinawa, and included the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War during World War II. 82-day-long battle. The Allies were approaching Japan, and planned to use Okinawa, as a base for air operations on the planned invasion of the Japanese mainland. -
Dropping of the Atomic Bombs
The United States, with the consent of the United Kingdom, dropped nuclear weapons on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the final stage of World War II. The two bombings killed at least 129,000 people, and remains the only use of nuclear weapons for warfare in history. -
VJ Day (Victory over Japan Day)
Victory over Japan Day is the day on which Japan surrendered in World War II, in effect ending the war. The term has been applied to both of the days on which the initial announcement of Japan's surrender was made (August 15, 1945) and when the signing of the surrender document occurred (September 2, 1945).
