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Japanese invasion of China
in 1937 a skirmish between Chinese and Japanese troops begun. This later became known as the Marco Polo Bridge incident. this skirmish eventually evolved into a full-blown battle between the two nations. This battle was known as the Second Sino-Japanese War. This marked the beginning of Japan's involvement in World War 2. Source: history.co.uk -
Rape of Nanking
In a 6 week period Japanese Imperial Troops brutally murdered hundreds of thousands of people in the Chinese city of Nanking. It is said that 20,000-80,000 women were sexually assaulted during this span of six weeks. Nanking was the capital of Nationalist China and it took decades for them to recover from this travesty. Source: History Channel -
German Blitzkrieg
This was a German method of battle used during World War 2. This strategy included using an abundance of armored and motorized infantry. This method of warfare was used to disorganize enemy forces during battle. Blitzkrieg was used in the invasions of Poland, Belgium, Netherlands, and France. This made the German military very difficult to defend against for the Allied Powers. Source: History Channel -
Germany's invasion of Poland
On September 1st, 1939, 1.5 million German troops invade Poland at 4:45 a.m. This invasion of Poland was meant to bring a living space to the people of Germany. Hitler considered Germans to be "racially superior" and everyone else would be enslaved. This resulted in Britain declaring war on Germany on September 3rd, 1939, which officially started World War 2. Source: History Channel -
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa occurred on June 22nd, 1941, when Hitler launched a massive invasion of the Soviet Union. Over 3 million German Troops and 3,000 tanks were used in this invasion. This broke the the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact. this caused the Soviet Union yo declare war on Germany and get involved in World War 2. Source: History Channel -
Pearl Harbor
on December 7th, 1941, Japan launched a surprise attack on the the U.S naval base Pearl Harbor. The attack occurred just before 8 a.m., hundreds of Japanese fighter planes were involved in the attack. The Japanese destroyed nearly 20 american naval vessels and 300 airplanes, also about 2,000 soldiers and sailors were killed and another 1,000 were injured. This attack led to the United States declaring war on Japan which got them involved in World War 2. Source: History Channel -
Wannsee Conference
On January 20th, 1942, Nazi officials met to discuss the details of the "Final Solution". This would forever change the world and the life of the Jewish people. The "Final Solution" was the German plan for the Extermination of the Jews during World War 2. This meeting directly led to the beginning of the Holocaust. Source: History Channel -
Bataan Death March
On April 9th, 1942, the U.s surrendered at the Bataan peninsula on the Philippine island of Luzon. 75,000 American and Filipino troops were forced to march 65 miles to the Japanese prison camps. The soldiers were marching in extreme eat and they were treated horribly by the Japanese Military and thousands of these soldiers died during the march. Source: History Channel -
Battle of Midway
The United states Defeated Japan in on of the most decisive naval battles in World War 2 only 6 months after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Due to advances in code breaking the U.S was able to predict the Japan's planned ambush of its final few aircraft carriers and was able to launch a counter attack and cause permanent damage to the the Japanese Navy. Source: History Channel -
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was the successful defense of the Soviet city of Stalingrad in the Soviet Union during World War 2. This battle is considered by many to be the turning point in the war, where the Allies were now in favor. During the battle Soviet forces surrounded and obliterated an entire German Army. Source: History Channel -
Operation Gomorrah
On July 24th, 1943, British bombers raided Hamburg, Germany during the night and the Americans bombed it during the day. Over 1500 German civilians were killed in only the first British raid. Very few planes were shot down due to a new radar jamming device called "window". This attack made German officials realize that they were not going to win this war. Source: History Channel -
D-Day
on July 6th, 1944, The Allies launched Operation Overlord which was meant to liberate Western Europe from Nazi control. Nearly 160,000 soldiers landed on 5 beaches across a 50-mile coast. This coast was heavily fortified and the Allies suffered heavy casualties. However this succeeded in opening a new front for the war causing attention to be spread by Germany which led to their downfall. Source: History Channel -
Liberation of concentration camps
The allies started to push into German controlled area in the summer of 1944. The soviet Union was the first to encounter the concentration camps. When they arrived there were hundreds of sick and disease-ridden victims in the camps. The swift move through this territory startled Germany and they tried to hide their crimes but did not have enough time to do so. Source: History Channel -
Battle of The Bulge
On December 16th, 1944, Adolf Hitler tried to split the Allied forced in northwest Europe by means of surprise Blitzkrieg attacks. As Germany pushed to gain control of bridgeheads the Allied forces took on the appearance of a bulge, which resulted in the name of the battle. The Allies thwarted the counteroffensive but at the high cost of losing 100,000 American lives. Source: History Channel -
Operation Thunderclap
On February 13th, 1945, the allied forced bombed the city of Dresden in Germany. The initial purpose of this attack was to assist the Soviet union and their advance into Germany. Almost all of the buildings in this city were destroyed, including houses. hospitals, and schools. The German military promised a quick response to the attack but it never happened. Many people argue over whether this operation could be considered a crime of war. Source: newworldencyclopedia.org -
Battle of Iwo Jima
On February 19th, 1945, The United States launched an amphibious invasion of Iwo Jima. 23,000 Japanese soldiers defended the island. The United States wiped out the defending forces in only 1 month of fighting. This victory gave the U.S position to begin a land invasion of Japan. Source: History Channel -
Battle of Okinawa
On April 1st, 1945, the last and largest Pacific island battle of World War 2 begun. The Battle of Okinawa involved 287,000 U.S troops and 130,000 Japanese troops. Both sides suffered serious casualties by the end of the 82 day battle, including 14,000 dead. This battle gave the U.S air bases that were vital to the projected invasion of Japan. Source: History Channel -
VE Day
ON May 8th, 1945, the United States and Britain celebrate the Victory in Europe Day. On this day the German troops throughout Europe put down their arms. flags were put up to celebrate this great accomplishment by the Allied Forces. Over 2 million prisoners were taken by Russia right before and after the surrender of Germany. Meanwhile, 13,000 British POW's were sent back to Great Britain. Source: History Channel -
Dropping the atomic bombs
On August 6th, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. This was done in an attempt to make Japan surrender. After they refused to do so, on August 9th, 1945, the U.S Dropped a second atomic bomb on the Japanese City of Nagasaki. This caused the Empire of Japan to surrender unconditionally to the U.S. This officially marked the end of World War 2 for the U.S. Source: History Channel -
VJ Day
On August 15th, 1945, The news of the Japanese surrender was announced to the world. This created giant celebration over the final ending of World War 2. On September 2nd, the japnese made a formal surrender meeting and that day was marked as VJ Day (or Victory Over Japan Day). This was the official end of The Second World War. Source: holidayinsights.com
