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Japanese Invasion of China https://www.history.com/topics/chiang-kai-shek http://histclo.com/essay/war/ww2/stra/w2s-jap.html
China gained a new leader that unified their country in 1918 he (Chiang) wanted to focus on battling Communism and confronting Japanese aggression. A Civil War broke out between the two when China took Japan's spot in the Big Four when the Allies declared war on Japan. Communist forces won and a new reformation was built. Chiang then fled to Taiwan and he created economic modernization. This completely changed Taiwan which is good, but China was taken over by Communism leaders. -
Rape of Nanking https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanking_Massacre https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-rape-of-nanking
Japanese general ordered for the city of Nanking to be destroyed to break the spirit of the Chinese resistance. Much of the city was burned, the Japanese butchered an estimated 150,000 war prisoners massacred, an additional 50,000 civilian males, and raped at least 20,000 women and girls of all ages. Many were killed in the process, this really affected the entire city, just put a dark cloud over their heads when something that huge happens to your people. -
German Blitzkrieg http://sdimiami.com/ https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/blitzkrieg
Germans created this military tactic to use in war, first in the invasion of Poland, it's designed to create disorganization through the use of mobile forces and locally concentrated firepower. It preserves lives and ammunition. This impacted the war greatly for Germany because they made a huge advancement in strategy that no one could figure out, they changed the atmosphere and it was amazing, but also very difficult to be up against, it was challenging, created problems. -
Germany's Invasion of Poland http://stmarypncc.ca/?calendars=september-01-invasion-of-poland-september-01-2013 https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germans-invade-poland
Early in the morning, 1.5 million troops invaded Poland, bombing airfields, attacking naval forces, and declared it as a defensive act. Britain and France didn't fall for it and declared war. This invasion is important in history because this is where it was all initiated. Hitler justified it as getting living space for his people, his expansion had begun already, and he wanted to continue it. He didn't want it to be a big deal, but he was caught. -
Fall of Paris https://www.pinterest.com/pin/582371795537211629/ https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germans-enter-paris
People in Paris woke up on that morning listening to demands that they had to follow including a curfew as German troops occupied their city. Winston Churchill wanted to send aid, but couldn't receive clearance quick enough. 2 million people already fled, arrests, interrogations, and spying was on the agenda for the day. This was like a scene right out of Red Dawn. This event was important because America got the idea here too that Germany was on the wrong side, that they were bad. -
Operation Barbarossa http://holocaustonline.org/significant-events/operation-barbarossa/ https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/operation-barbarossa
Germany planned a massive invasion of the Soviet Union, they went for it, but Germany was weak, their logistics were unraveling. Counterattacks stalled them from the Soviet Union, they received new supplies to stock up. Moscow was left wide open for the Germans, but the weather was awful, the Germans struggled to stop the Soviets They conducted a slow retreat, this was a huge turning point in the war as well. It forced Germany to to fight a two-front war against superior resources. -
Pearl Harbor https://www.britannica.com/event/Pearl-Harbor-attack https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor
The Japanese planned a surprise attack on the United States on a naval base in Hawaii. This was a shock but the U.S. and Japan had been edging to war for decades. The U.S. didn't like how they were treating China, they declared war on china, then we cut off a lot of trade to burn them that way. Hundreds of Japanese fighter planes destroyed or damaged nearly 20 vessels, 8 battleships, and over 300 airplanes. 1,000 people were wounded, this is where the U.S. finally entered the war. -
Wannsee Conference https://www.britannica.com/event/Wannsee-Conference https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-wannsee-conference
Nazi officials met n this day to end the discussion over the "Jewish Question" and what hey were planning on doing. Men under Hitler's order brought the plan for what they wanted to accomplish. Various proposals were discussed including mass sterilization and deportation to the island of Madagascar. Or transporting them to concentration camps to work them to death. This meeting eventually led to the Holocaust and the "gas vans" that were killing 1,000 people a day. -
Bataan Death March https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/05/05/philippines-battle-corregidor-japanese-world-war-ii/100941248/ https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bataan-death-march
After Pearl Harbor, Japan captured Manila, the capital of the Philippines, and the American and Filipino defenders. The surrendered Filipinos and Americans were then rounded up and forced to march 65 miles. They were divided into groups of 100 and thousands of men died because of the brutality of their captors, who starved and beat them, others died from disease and starvation. Afterwards, America avenged its defeat and executed the commander of Japanese forces. -
Battle of Midway https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/battle-midway https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-midway
Japan desired to finish their job they couldn't at Pearl Harbor, they wanted to destroy the carriers that escaped destruction. They chose to invade a target close to Pearl Harbor to draw them out and then attack, but the Americans broke their codes and knew every detail of their plan. The battle continued with heavy losses on both sides. This was the turning point in Pacific theater of the war and the Americans went straight into Tokyo. -
Operation Gomorrah https://www.examlover.com/todayhistory/operation-gomorrah-is-launched https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/operation-gomorrah-is-launched
Britain and America worked together here while Britain bomb raided Germany by night and America did it by day. Britain would drop 2,300 bombs within just an hour. They figured out how to jam the German's system to not be able to detect their airplanes. When it was over, more than 9,000 tons of explosives were dropped, killing more than 30,000 people and destroying over 280,000 buildings. Hitler thought to accept defeat, he couldn't use the ruins because it looked like the end of it all -
Liberation of Concentration Camps http://albumwar2.com/the-liberated-prisoners-of-the-dachau-concentration-camps/ https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/dachau-liberated
Dachau was the first concentration camp that was liberated from the Nazi grasp, this camp was established about five week after Hitler became chancellor. It held about 5,000 prisoners, then the number grew drastically as other groups were brought into the camp like homosexuals and Jehovah's Witnesses. After this camp was liberated, it allowed for the possibility of other camps to be free, it got the snowball rolling which was highly important. -
D-Day http://pdxretro.com/2011/06/d-day-began-on-this-date-in-1944/ https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day
America and Britain were panning another attack across the English Channel because they were cut off in Dunkirk. Hitler was aware of their plan and notified his general to prepare. 156,000 Allied troops had successfully stormed the beaches at Normandy, about 4,000 troops lost their lives though. This lasted for weeks and the Allied troops slowly pushed on and on They eventually reached Paris and liberated it, they then prepared to enter Germany. This turned the tide against the Nazis. -
Battle of the Bulge http://warfarehistorynetwork.com/daily/wwii/the-end-of-the-battle-of-the-bulge/ https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-the-bulge
Three german armies launched the deadliest and most desperate battle in the forested Ardennes. We were easily annihilated, the Germans drove deeper and deeper. The Germans had a fuel shortage and the courage of the Americans proved fatal to Hitler's plans. Over 100,000 casualties were taken in this battle and the Americans took heavy losses mentally. They were going in the right direction to having Germany surrender until they cam back with a huge jab. -
Operation Thunderbird https://75nzsquadron.wordpress.com/tag/richard-james-harris/ https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/firebombing-of-dresden
The allies made a series of firebombing raids on the German city of Dresden killing as many as 135,000 people. The motive for this was the fact that Germany was already on the verge of surrendering, it was the most destructive bombing of the war besides Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We wanted to bring the Nazis to a steeping halt, more than 3,400 tons of explosives were dropped. Mass burials became necessary and this event pushed the Germans to surrender even more. -
Battle of Iwo Jima https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/iwo-jima-and-okinawa-death-japans-doorstep https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-iwo-jima
This was sparked by the desire for a place to store B-29 bombers damaged over Japan could land without returning all the way to the Marianas. It was defended by roughly 23,000 Japanese army and navy troops, it was attacked by three marine divisions after air and naval battle. The Japanese fought from caves, dugouts, tunnels, they were difficult to find and destroy. America took losses up to 5,900 dead and 17,400 wounded. This was good for the people to see the U.S. flag in victory. -
Battle of Okinawa https://www.preceden.com/timelines/317234-battle-of-okinawa https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-okinawa
The U.S. Army and Marine Corps descended on the island of Okinawa for the final push towards Japan. By the time this was happening, most of the Nazi occupied Europe was liberated. . Kamikaze warfare injured the Americans greatly, Hacksaw Ridge was very back and forth, until Japan's General noticed that any further fighting would be futile. So two Generals and the Chief of Staff committed suicide ending the battle. This led to the decision of dropping the bomb on Hiroshima. -
VE Day http://www.playbuzz.com/abighj10/70th-anniversary-ve-day-trivia https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/victory-in-europe
Great Britain and the United States both celebrated this day because the Nazi war machine was defeated. Germans finally laid down their arms, surrender documents were signed in Berlin and in eastern Germany. The Germans and Soviets didn't actually stop fighting until the next day because they finally surrendered all forces. This was an incredibly important event and a celebration for every American living, a deadly war was over and done with. -
Dropping of the Atomic Bombs http://time.com/4954082/hydrogen-bomb-atomic-bomb/ https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki
This all stated with the Manhattan Project where scientists worked tirelessly to build a bomb big enough to kill thousands of people if need be. They created the atomic bomb. A B-29 bomber dropped the first atomic bomb over Hiroshima that immediately killed 80,000 people, tens of thousands would die later from radiation exposure. Then, three days later, another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki killing 40,000 people. This horrific event had to be done and it furthered America in being safe. -
VJ Day http://www.historynet.com/v-j-day-1945-the-world-rejoices.htm https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/v-j-day
On August 14th, 1945 it was announced that Japan had totally surrendered to the Allies ending World War II. This day is celebrated as the "Victory over Japan Day." It is also celebrated on September 2nd, 1945 because that was when the official surrender took place. This was the best event of all of them because it ended everything, no more battles, no more casualties. America just earned a huge victory that united everyone together.
