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Japanese Invasion of China
Japan begins a brutal attack on China. This is one of the first battles of the war. Conflict primarily between China and Japan. China fought Japan with some econimic help from Germany. China and Japan have been fighting a little bit since 1931 but this is the major battle of this war. -
Rape of Nanking
Huge massacre and war rape in the city of Nanking in China. The Japanese army brutally killed Chinese civilians and low class Japanese civilians. An estimated 250,000 to 300,000 people were killed. Widespread rape and looting also occured. -
Germany's Invasion of Poland
Started WWII in Europe. Germans invaded from the north, south, and west. Polish soldiers retreated to the east side of the country to establish a well fortified base. After being defeated in the east Polish forces retreated to the southeast and prepared for a long defense. -
Germany Starts Blitzkrieg Campaign
New fighting technique by the German. This technique was to go fight quickly through cities to capture them easily. -
Fall of Paris
The French decided not to battle for the capital and withdrawn south of the city. The French did not battle because they did not want to devestate the city and there would be no strategic advantage to the Germans having the city in their control. -
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was a code name for the Germans for the invasion of the Soviet Union. This was the biggest invasion in the history of warfare. Hitler did not get the vicotry he wanted but he greatly reduced the morality of the Soviet army. -
Pearl Harbor Attack
This was called Operation Hawaii by the Japanese. It was a surprise military attack conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy. The Japanese thought this would be a preventative attack to warn the United States to stay out of the war in the Pacific. -
Wannsee Conference
Meeting of senior Nazi officials. Meeting was primarily on immigration and evacuation to labor camps. -
Battle of Midway
This was the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign. The United States decisively defreated the Japanese at the Midway Atoll. -
Battle of Stalingrad
Major battle in which the Nazis and their allies fought the Soviet Union. The combat was close quarters and had no regard for civilian or soldier casualties. It is the bloodiest battle in the history of warfare. It was a Soviet victory and was one of the most strategically decisive battles in the war. -
Operation Gomorrah
British bombers raided Hamburg Germany during the night and Americans bombed the city during the day. 2,300 tons of bombing material were dropped on the city. -
D-Day
160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France. More than 5,000 Ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day invasion, and by day’s end on June 6, the Allies gained a foot- hold in Normandy. -
Battle of the Bulge
This was a major German offensive launched through the densely forested Ardennes region in Belgium. This battle was a decisive allied victory. -
Operation Thunderclap
This was a plan by the Allies to bomb Berlin and cause great travesty in the German Empire. The operation was never implemented because the Allies thought it would fail. If it were to happen it was projected that 220,000 casualties with 100,000 killed, many of them key Nazi personnel. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
Major battle in which the American Armed Forces fought and captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Japanese Empire. The goal of this battle was to capture the three airfields within the island for strategic purposes. This would allow Americans to fly bombers to Tokyo, Japan. -
Battle of Okinawa
This was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific Campaign. It was an 82 day long battle and consisted of island hopping. The Americans wanted this island because it was only 340 miles away from mainland and would serve as a base for air operations. -
Liberation of Nazi Camps
As Allied forces moved across Europe and Germans failed to hide the camps from Allied forces. Allied forces came across thousands of camps spread across the German Empire. Prisoners in the camps were suffering from starvation and disease. Hitler killed million of Jewish people within these camps. -
Victory in Europe Day
This was a public holiday to mark the end of Hitler's Third Reich. This marked the end of the war in Europe. -
Dropping of Atomic Bombs
These were conducted in the final stages of WWII. These two bombs killed over 200,000 people. -
Victory over Japan Day
This is the day in which Japan surrendered. This effectively ended WWII.
