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Japanese Invasion of Manchuria
Between Japan wanting to industrialize, expand their military, and eventually control all of East Asia, the Japanese Empire invaded China. After Japan took over China, specifically Manchuria, war mobilization allowed Japan to now look like an intimidating empire to other world powers. This war occurred without an official declaration of war and this made China upset. China asked the League of Nations to drive Japan out of China yet they did nothing, illustrating they didn't have much power. -
Local resistance movements
The local resistance played a huge role in defeating the Nazi's on the battle field. European powers gathered valuable information from Allies to use against the German soldiers. They also destroyed communication lines so nobody could interact or send warning of attacks. These acts were vital for Russia and the Allies to be successful. The Blitzkrieg attacks Germany pursued gave little time for other countries to react. The use of resistance was simply an irritant that people could join in on. -
Dunkirk
Germany invaded countries on the northern part of France which include: Belgium and Netherlands. The British Expeditionary Force along with the allied powers attempted to fight back but front line broke and German tanks plowed through. The only option was to retreat to Dunkirk and wait for help. Multiple naval ships and civilian boats came to the rescue the people. 300,000 lives were saved and was seen as a miracle to Britain because at this point they've had multiple causalities in the past. -
Battle of Moscow
German forces invaded the Soviet Union through Operation Barbarossa. The plan was once Hitler's army was able to capture Moscow, Russia would fall. In the beginning the Germans were winning then the Russian winter hit which stalled the Nazi's and because they were commanded to stay their all winter many died. Russians counterattacked and the Nazi's never made it to Moscow and the Soviet Union won the war. This was a huge victory for them because their capital could've been destroyed. -
Pearl Harbor
Before this event there was tension between the United States and Japan for years due to how poorly Japan treated China. After Japan declared war on China, the United States responded with battery of economic sanctions and trade embargoes. After these regulations were put in place this made Japan more steadfast in there ways. As time went on Washington D.C. and Tokyo couldn't agree. Japan responded with having planes dropping bombs on pearl Harbor in Hawaii. As a result the U.S. entered the war. -
Second Sino-Japanese War
Chiang Kai-Shek, the leader of Japan, was kidnapped by the commander of Communist forces. He was forced agree to have a common anti-Japanese front and then the Chinese would let him go. To get revenge Japan declared war with China after Pearl Harbor. At the end of the war Japan's goal was to control the Asian mainland. The United States intervened and launched nuclear weapons over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Although Japan surrendered, it was now known they were a major world power. -
Tunisia Campaign
An allied ship with many soldiers on board landed in Tunisia with the intention for them to fight the axis powers. Between the US and British soldiers on the other, the German general tried to stall the US advances. Allies pushed through the detour and got to the north central Tunisia coast. The allied powers then captured the capital and last port and then Axis powers surrendered. The win made Allied powers look powerful to other countries. This was the first large scale meeting between the two -
Kamikaze
A Kamikaze is a member of the Japanese air attack corps in World War II assigned to make a suicidal crash on a target. Kamikaze planes had lots of bombs and gasoline on board to properly destroy the specific target This was used the most at the Battle of Leyte Gulf and onward. At the end of World War II 300 ships were sank from Kamikaze planes. At Okinawa 5,000 men from the U.S. Navy were killed. 2,800 Kamikaze pilots were killed at the end of the war overall. -
D-Day (Normandy Invasion)
This was a battle between the Allied forces and Germany in Normandy France. The fight began with paratroopers gliding in despite the bad weather and planes dropping bombs followed. Many US soldiers died at Omaha beach were the battle was intense. 150,000 Allied force soldiers pushed their way inland and eventually got rid of all the Germans that were in France. The Germans suffered greatly from this loss with lots of debit which satisfied the winners. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
United States Marines went over to Japan to engage in combat. The Japanese set up multiple obstacles to delay the United States. Therefore when the first U.S. solider landed on the island they weren't attacked. The Japanese solider were in the underground tunnels waiting quietly to attack. After 36 days the United States won and secured a flag on the island. This was the first battle fought on Japanese territory and this win finalized the U.S. defeating Japan. Iwo Jima had a tactical importance.
