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Japanese Invasion of China
CiteConflict broke out when China began full-scale resistance to the expansion of Japanese influence in its territory (which had begun in 1931). In an effort to unseat the Nationalist government of Chiang Kai-shek, the Japanese occupied large areas of eastern China in 1937–38. -
Nanking Massacre
CiteIn late 1937, Imperial Japanese army forces brutally murdered hundreds of thousands soldiers and civilians in the Chinese city of Nanking over a period of six weeks. It is also known as the rape of Nanking because between 20,000 and 80,000 women were sexually assaulted. The city was left in ruins, it would take decades for the city to rebuild and try and move on from the terrible events of that day. -
German Blitzkreig
CiteMay 10th marks the day that Germans unleashed their Blitzkreig against the Netherlands and Belgium. The attack surprised defending troops, and thousands of refugees fleeing the front overflowed the streets. French and British troops rushing to the rescue were caught in the headlong retreat and pushed back. The Allies fought valiantly but in vain. -
Germany's invasion of Poland
CiteOn Thursday, August 31, 1939 Adolf Hitler gave the final order for the invasion of Poland. On September 1st, 1.5 million troops invaded Poland, bombing air fields, and attacking Poland's naval forces in the Baltic Sea. Adolf Hitler claimed that the attack was a defensive action. -
Operation Barbarossa
CiteHitler’s intention was always to invade the Soviet Union. It was, along with the destruction of the Jews, fundamental to his core objectives – living-space in the east and the subjugation of the Slavic race. Operation Barbarossa was a massive invasion attempt on the Soviet untion. Its failure was a huge turning point in the war, because it forced Nazi Germany to fight a two-front war against a coalition possessing immensely superior resources. -
Pearl Harbor
President Roosevelt Speech "A date which will live in infamy" - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. Within two hours, five battleships had been sunk, another 16 damaged, and 188 aircraft destroyed. Over 2,400 americans were killed, and another 1,178 were injured. Japan saw it as "neutralizing a threat"
Source: BBC -
Wannsee Conference
Cite15 high-ranking Nazi Party and German government officials gathered at a villa in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee to discuss and coordinate the implementation of what they called the "Final Solution of the Jewish Question." the aim of the Wannsee Conference was clear to its participants: to further the coordination of a policy aimed at the physical annihilation of the European Jews.
SOURCE: BBC History -
Bataan Death March
CiteThe Battle of Bataan ended on April 9, 1942, when U.S. General Edward P. King surrendered to Japanese General Masaharu Homma. At that point 75,000 soldiers became Prisoners of War: about 12,000 Americans and 63,000 Filipinos. What followed was the Bataan Death March. A 65 mile march that took about 5 days to complete, with between 7,000 to 10,000 deaths by heat exhaustion, dehydration, etc. or murder by guards. -
Battle of Midway
CiteThe Battle of Midway represents the strategic high water mark of Japan's Pacific Ocean war. Prior to the battle, Japan possessed general naval superiority over the United States. After Midway, the two opposing fleets were essentially equals, and the United States soon took the offensive. -
Battle of Stalingrad
Video The Battle of Stalingrad was the successful soviet defense of the city, it is considered by many the greatest battle of WW2 because it stopped the German advance into the Soviet union and also turned the war in favor of the allies. It was one of the bloodiest battles in History, military and civillian casualties added up to 2 million -
Operation Gemorrah
CiteBritish bombers raided and bombed Hamberg Germany at nightime. The attack was revenge on Germany, after they bombed a British city, taking the lives of 167. More than 1,500 German civilians were killed in that first British raid, which continues until November. -
D-Day (Normandy Invasion)
Video In the Spring of 1940, the allies planned an invasion to retake Germany and defeat Hitler's Third Reich. The invasion was launched early in the morning of June 6, 1944, the famous D-Day, barely a day after U.S. troops had liberated the Italian capital of Rome. It took almost a full year to reach and defeat Germany, but it marked the beginning of the end for Hitler.
Source: BBC Histor -
Battle of the Bulge
Video Hitler attempted to split the allies in Northwest Europe with a surprise blitzkrieg thrust through the Ardennes to Antwerp. Americans fought to keep Germany advance, at St.-Vith, Elsenborn Ridge, Houffalize and Bastogne. the Allied line took on the appearance of a large bulge, giving the battle’s name. leading to the neutralization of the German counteroffensive despite heavy casualties. Source:HISTORY -
Liberation of concentration camps
The soviet union and united states liberated (or freed) many of Germanys concentration camps.The Soviets liberated Auschwitz, the largest killing center and concentration camp, in January 1945. In the following months, the Soviets liberated additional camps in the Baltic states and in Poland. Shortly before Germany's surrender, Soviet forces liberated the Stutthof, Sachsenhausen, and Ravensbrueck concentration camps. US forces liberated the Buchenwald concentration camp.
Source: History -
Operation Thunderclap
Operation Thunderclap was the bombing of Dresden, this was to be the first in a series of large bombing raids on the principal cities of eastern Germany, designed to deliver the final blows to German morale. Operation "Thunderclap," the code name for all the raids, was just another step in the British War Cabinet's planned campaign of area bombing -- to Harris, the best way to end the war.... -
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Battle of Okinawa
Video The Okinawa campaign was the last and biggest of the Pacific Island battles. It involved the 287,000 troops of the U.S. Tenth Army against 130,000 soldiers of the Japanese Thirty-second Army. Casualties totaled more than 38,000 Americans wounded and 12,000 killed or missing, more than 107,000 Japanese and Okinawan conscripts killed, and perhaps 100,000 Okinawan civilians who died in the battle. -
VE Day
citeBoth 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.
The eighth of May was the day when German troops throughout Europe finally laid down their arms: In Prague, Germans surrendered to their Soviet antagonists. -
Dropping of the atomic bombs
CiteA plane called the Enola Gay dropped a bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. 70,000 died immediately, and another 100,000 died later on from radiation burns and sickness. On August 9th the Soviet Union dropped a bomb on Nagasaki where 80,000 perished. The bombs were dropped to force Japan to surrender. -
VJ Day
CiteOn August 14, 1945, it was announced that Japan had surrendered unconditionally to the Allies, effectively ending World War II. Since then, both August 14 and August 15 have been known as “Victoryover Japan Day,” or simply “V-J Day.” The term has also been used for September 2, 1945, when Japan’s formal surrender took place aboard the U.S.S. Missouri.
