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Japanese Invasion of China
Japan, seeing the abundance of resources China has to offer, deicded to invade in 1931 and continued to push the limits of this with China till Emperor took the issue to the League of Nations which resulted in the Lytton Report which attempted to condemn the Japanese aggression but was extremely unsuccessful and only ended Japan's cooperation in the League of Nations. In a rebellious counter to this report, Japan took it upon itself to finally attack China brutally and without remorse. -
Rape of Nanking
WHAT: Imperial Japanese Army forces brutally murdered hundreds of thousands of people–including both soldiers and civilians–in the Chinese city of Nanking (or Nanjing). The horrific events are known as the Nanking Massacre or the Rape of Nanking, as between 20,000 and 80,000 women were sexually assaulted. Nanking, then the capital of Nationalist China, was left in ruins, and it would take decades for the city and its citizens to recover from the savage attacks.
WHY: Following the bloody victory -
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German Blitzkreig
WHAT: Blitzkreig was a wartime method used by Germany that was designed to have dsastrous, quick, and extreme fatalaties and it was very successful in its goal of total annhilation by use of means such as tanks, planes, and artillery
WHY: Germany wanted to avoid a long drawn out war and wanted to achieve this by harsh, short campaigns of extreme violence resulting in the immediate defeat of their enemies.
E/S: It introduced a completely new idea of warfare and set a precendent for its time. -
Operation Barbarossa
WHAT: Operation Barbarossa was a crucial turning point in World War II, for its failure forced Nazi Germany to fight a two-front war against a coalition possessing immensely superior resources.
WHY: They severely underestimated their opponent; their logistical preparations were grossly inadequate for the campaign; and German industrial preparations for a sustained war had yet to begin.
E/S: It forced Germany to face yet again, a two-front war resulting in it's ultimate defeat. -
Attack On Pearl Harbor
WHAT: Following their attack on China, Japan attacks Pearl Harbor after our refusal to trade war supplies with them.
WHY: As a violation of the conditions of the League of Nations, Japan once again attacked China and therefore we refused trade, creating a startling halt in the progress of the Japanese militia.
E/S: America enters in the War, a formidable force in the allied powers of World War II. -
Wannsee Conference
WHAT: The wannsee conference was a meeting planned by the higher levels of nazi regimes to discuss what would come to be known infamously as the final solution.
WHY: The German Nazi party badly needed an escape goat and used the Jewish as the all encompassing detriment to the world, insisiting that nothing bad of the world would have happened if not for the existence of the Jews and the conference was made to discuss the “Final Solution” of how to exterminate them.
E/S: The impact of this event -
Bataan Death March
WHAT: After the US surrendered the Bataan peninsula to the Japanese, 75,000 filipino and american troops were forced to trek 65 miles to a prison camp through rigorous harsh conditions.
WHY: There was a lack of naval and air support on the Allies side and as Japan had very recently bombed the US, they had a headstart on the phillippines.
E/S: Due to this event, the US would eventually avenge the loss of these thousands of people by executing the commander who ordered this and liberating all th -
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Battle of Stalingrad
WHAT: It stopped the German advance into the Soviet Union and marked the turning of the tide of war in favor of the Allies. The Battle of Stalingrad was one of the bloodiest battles in history, with combined military and civilian casualties of nearly 2 million.
WHY: Stalin wouldn’t have the city named after himself taken as it was a prominent city to the nation as a culture and trade hub.
E/S: Due to the loss of so many troops in the battle, the Nazi invasion was pretty much ended. -
Operation Gomarrah
WHAT: Operation Gomarrah was a war tactic that was devastatingly successful designed by the Allied powers to bring about mass destruction to Germany. They did this by having Britain attacking violently and intelligently during the night by using aluminum foil as a way to divert the German radar of potential bombers and the U.S. would attack during the day, creating a never ending cycle of explosions and destruction.
WHY: Germany, gaining more power prior to this, was destroying civilians in Bri -
D-day; Invasion of Normandy
WHAT: D-day was the invasion of Normandy and the liberation of Paris by the Allied powers and they used massive deception tactics to sway the Germans from the real goal of D-Day which ultimately was successful as Hitler gave the wrong orders due to the false diversions and this resulted in the loss of Paris and Normandy.
WHY: The Allied powers had planned this long in advance and as a chance to gain back France and liberate it from germany, it was well worth the struggle to deceive Germany.
E/S: -
Operation Thunderclap
WHAT: ‘Operation Thunderclap’ had been under discussion within the Allied Command for some time, the proposal was to bomb the eastern-most cities of Germany to disrupt the transport infrastructure behind what was becoming the Eastern front. The Allied forces began bombing Germany mercilessly and successfully accomplishing their goal of destroying the infrastructure and the fight of the German people.
WHY: The allied forces wanted to show Germay that their Nazi government had failed them and tha -
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Battle of Iwo Jima
WHAT: The Battle of Iwo Jima was a major battle in which US troops captured the island from Japanese forces. This island had some of the roughest conditions that the United States troops had ever seen.
WHY: This battle took place in efforts to secure the territory and gain control in the war.
E/S: This was another victory that lead, ultimately, to the end of the war. -
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Battle of Okinawa
WHAT: The last and biggest of the pacific battles of WWII. This battle involved over 317,000 troops and lead to a total of 91,000 dead. This battle is known for be the bloodiest as well as most violent of the battle in efforts for victory.
WHY: This battle took place as a turning point in the war in the US’ favor. New tactics were taken by Japan that ultimately failed but did indeed surprise.
E/S: This was the last war of the Pacific island and lead to the atomic bombing. -
VE Day
WHAT: May 8th, otherwise “Victory in Europe Day”, is a day that is celebrated and recognized by both the United States and Europe.
WHY: VE Day is celebrated because that was the day that the German forces were overthrown.
E/S: This was a factor that brought an end to the war. -
Dropping of the Atomic Bombs
WHAT: August 6, 1945, was the day that President Truman signed off on the atomic bombing of Japan. Two atomic bombs were dropped on two cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and killed over 100,000 people instantly not to mention the other citizens that endured the radiation poisoning from the bombing.
WHY: President Truman saw bombing as the most effective way to bring an end to the war, and he was right. After the citizens of Japan saw what the US was capable of doing, they surrendered.
E/S: This -
VJ Day
VJ Day (August 14-15, 1945)
WHAT: August 14th and 15th are now known as VJ Day or “Victory over Japan Day”
WHY:This is because that was the day that it was announced that Japan had surrendered unconditionally to the allies.
E/S: This was a factor that brought an end to the war. -
Battle of The Bulge
WHAT: The deadliest, costliest, most desperate battle of the war. It determined the true force of the war at the time and Hitler’s refusal to surrender even a battle concluded Germany’s demise in this instance.
WHY: Hitler’s initial scheme was to divide and conquer the allied armies by using surprise Blitzkrieg but due to weather conditions, weapons and fuel shortage, and strategic placement, the Germans failed miserably and the Americans arose victorious despite the German counter offenses.
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