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Period: to
World War 2
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Japanese Invasion of China
-The Japanese Invasion started in July 1937 when the Japanese made an exuse that they were fired on by Chinese troops in Beijing. After, the Japanese launched an invasion of China using Manchuria, which has been conqured by the Japanese, as a launching base for their troops. Cities in China, such as Shanghai and Nanjing fell into Japanese control in December 1937. -
Germany's Invasion of Poland
On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. The Polish army was destroyed weeks of the invasion. From East Prussia and Germany, German armies, with more than 2,000 tanks and over 1,000 fighter jets, broke through Polish defenses along the border and advanced on Warsaw in a massive attack. After heavy bombings, Warsaw gave up to the Germans on September 27, 1939. -
German Blitzkrieg
The blitzkrieg is a military tactic designed to catch the enemy forces by surprise through tanks, fighter jets, and ground troops. German armies tested out the blitzkrieg in Poland in 1939, which sparked the fire of WWII. -
Fall of Paris
France's Maginot Line failed to hold back the Nazi armies and the German Blitzkrieg advanced into France. Many of civilians fled before it. It wasn't long before the roads were unavailable to the French troops who were headed north in an attempt to reach the battlefield. -
Operation Barbarossa
On June 22, 1941, Adolf Hitler launched his armies east in a massive invasion of the Soviet Union: three great army groups with over three million German soldiers, and three thousand tanks smashed across the frontier into Soviet territory. -
Pearl Harbor
On December 7, 1941, Japanese fighter jets attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawaii. The Japanese managed to destroy nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight huge battleships, and 200 airplanes. More than 2,000 Americans soldiers and sailors died during the attack, and1,000 were wounded. The day after the attack, Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declar war on Japan. Congress approved with no one opposing. Japan soon joined Germany and Italy. -
Wannsee Conference
The Wannsee Conference was a meeting senior Nazi Germany officials had in order to determine the fate of European Jews. Here is where they planned out exacusion camps, and legalized discrimination of Jews. -
Battle of Midway
Six months after Pearl Harbor, the United States defeated Japan in one of the most decisive naval battles of World War II. Thanks to major advances in code breaking, the United States was able to counter Japan’s planned ambush of its few remaining aircraft carriers, giving permanent damage on the Japanese Navy. The victory allowed the United States and The Allies to move into an offensive position. -
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was the successful Soviet defense of the city of Stalingrad in the Soviet Union during World War II. Russians consider it to be their greatest battle, and most historians consider it to be the greatest battle of the entire war. It stopped the Germans from getting into the Soviet Union and marked the turning of the war in favor of The Allies. The Battle of Stalingrad was one of the bloodiest fight in World War II. -
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
German troops rushed into Warsaw, Poland. Germans wanted the people to leave, but they rebeled. Using weapons, the people fought off for a month before Germans were victorious. After, Germans took the remaining people to a concentration camp, -
Operation Gomorrah
Britain had gone through the deaths of 167 civilians as a result of German bombings in July. July 24 saw 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 bombings. More than 1,500 German civilians were killed in that first British bombing -
Allied invasion of Italy
Allies moved into the bottom of Italy in a stratagy to catch the Germans and defeat them. Once they began to advance up the boot, the Italian government switched to the Allies side. -
D-Day
On June 6, 1944, more than 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile 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 the end, the Allies gained a foot-hold in Europe. The cost in lives on D-Day was huge. More than 9,000 Allied Soldiers were killed or wounded. -
Operation Thunderclap
Operation Thunderclap was the name for a cancelled operation in August 1944 was put away. The plan was designed for massive attack on Berlin that would cause 200,000 casualties with 100,000 killed. It was later decided that the plan was unlikely to work. -
Battle of the Bulge
In December 1944, Adolph Hitler attempted to split the Allied armies in northwest Europe by surprise blitzkrieg through the Ardennes to Antwerp. American units fought desperate 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, the Allied line took on the appearance of a large bulge, giving rise to the battle’s name. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima was defended by roughly 20,000 Japanese army and navy troops. Despite the difficulty of the conditions, the marines wiped out the defending forces after a month of fighting, and the battle earned a place in American lore with the publication of a photograph showing the U.S. flag being raised in victory. -
Battle of Okinawa
Last and biggest of the Pacific island battles of World War II, the Battle of Okinawa 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 battle, Japan had lost more than 70,000 soldiers and the Allies had suffered more than 65,000 casualties—including 14,000 dead. -
VE Day
Both Great Britain and the United States celebrate Victory in Europe Day. Cities in both nations, as well as formerly occupied cities in Western Europe, put out flags and banners, rejoicing in the defeat of the Nazi war machine. -
Dropping of the Atomic Bombs
The Final Stage of WWII, U.S. drops a deadly atomic bomb over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which killed 129,000 Japanese Civilians. -
VJ Day
On August 14, 1945, it was announced that Japan had surrendered unconditionally to the Allies, effectively ending World War II.
