-
Japanes Invasion of China
In 1931, Japan, eager for the vast natural resources to be found in China and seeing her obvious weakness, invaded and occupied Manchuria. It was turned into a nominally independent state called Manchukuo, but the Chinese Emperor who ruled it was a puppet of the Japanese. When China appealed to the League of Nations to intervene, www.theguardian. -
German Blitzkrieg
On 17 September 1939, Soviet troops entered Poland from the east, carrying out the pact between Hitler and Stalin, just signed on 23 August. Poland was crushed between the Red Army moving westward and the Wehrmacht moving east. Although completely surrounded, Warsaw held out heroically until 27 September when, out of food and ammunition. WWW.2worldwars2.com -
Germany Invasion of Poland
To Hitler, the conquest of Poland would bring Lebensraum, or “living space,” for the German people. According to his plan, the “racially superior” Germans would colonize the territory and the native Slavs would be enslaved. German expansion had begun in 1938 with the annexation of Austria and then continued with the occupation of the Sudetenland and then all of Czechoslovakia in 1939.ww.bc.co.uk/history/worldwars.com -
Fall of Paris
Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933, leading Winston Churchill to remark, shortly afterwards, 'Thank God for the French Army'. To Churchill at that time, France's army seemed a powerful bulwark against possible Nazi aggression towards other European nations. The defeat of this powerful army in a mere six weeks in 1940 stands as one of the most remarkable military campaigns in history. www.history.com -
Operation Barbossa
, original name Operation Fritz, Barbarossa, Operation: German soldiers fighting in the Soviet Union, 1941 [Credit: NARA/U.S. Department of Defense]
during World War II, code name for the German invasion of the Soviet Union, which was launched on June 22, 1941. The failure of German troops to defeat Soviet forces in the campaign signaled a crucial turning point in the war. www .history.learning site -
Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise, but Japan and the United States had been edging toward war for decades. The United States was particularly unhappy with Japan’s increasingly belligerent attitude toward China. The Japanese government believed that the only way to solve its economic and demographic problems was to expand into its neighbor’s territory and take over its import market; to this end, Japan had declared war on China in 1937. www.history.com -
Wannsee Conference
In July 1941, Herman Goering, writing under instructions from Hitler, had ordered Reinhard Heydrich, SS general and Heinrich Himmler’s number-two man, to submit “as soon as possible a general plan of the administrative, material, and financial measures necessary for carrying out the desired final solution of the Jewish question.” www.history.com -
Bataan Death March
There was nothing left to do but surrender. On April 9, 1942, U.S. General Edward P. King signed the surrender document, ending the Battle of Bataan. The remaining 72,000 American and Filipino soldiers were taken by the Japanese as prisoners of war (POW). Nearly immediately, the Bataan Death March began .www.history/1900s.about.com -
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway, fought in June 1942, must be considered one of the most decisive battles of World War Two. The Battle of Midway effectively destroyed Japan’s naval strength when the Americans destroyed four of its aircraft carriers. www. history learning site.com -
Operation Torch
Operation Torch was the name of the Allied invasion of northwest Africa in the hopes and goal of removing the Axis presence on the continent. The operation marked the first time that British and American forces worked together on an invasion plan and would take place from November 8-16, 1942.www.sitesortinghistory. -
Warsaw Ghetto uprising
On April 19, 1943, the Warsaw ghetto uprising began after German troops and police entered the ghetto to deport its surviving inhabitants. By May 16, 1943, the Germans had crushed the uprising and left the ghetto area in ruins. Surviving ghetto residents were deported to concentration camps or killing centers. www.mysteryhistory.com -
Allied invasion of Italy
With the conclusion of the campaign in North Africa in the late spring of 1943, Allied planners began looking north across the Mediterranean. Though American leaders such as General George C. Marshall favored moving forward with an invasion of France, his British counterparts desired a strike against southern Europe. As it became increasingly clear that resources were not available for a cross-Channel operation in 1943, www.u.shistory.com -
D day(normandy invasion
In 1942, Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt issued a statement that the western allies would work as quickly as possible to open a second front to relieve pressure on the Soviets. Though united in this goal, issues soon arose with the British who favored a thrust north from the Mediterranean, through Italy and into southern Germany. -
Battle of The Bulge
In December 1944, Adolph Hitler attempted to split the Allied armies in northwest Europe by means of a surprise blitzkrieg thrust through the Ardennes to Antwerp. Caught off-guard, American units fought desperate battles to stem the German advance at St.-Vith, Elsenborn Ridge, Houffalize and Bastogne. www.army/mil.com -
Batttle of iow Jima
Twitter Google The American amphibious invasion of Iwo Jima, a key island in the Bonin chain roughly 575 miles from the Japanese coast, was sparked by the desire for a place where B-29 bombers damaged over Japan could land without returning all the way to the Marianas, and for a base for escort fighters that would assist in the bombing campaign. www.iow jima -
battle of iow jima
The American amphibious invasion of Iwo Jima during World War II stemmed from the need for a base near the Japanese coast. Following elaborate preparatory air and naval bombardment, three U.S. marine divisions landed on the island in February 1945. Iwo Jima was defended by roughly 23,000 Japanese army and navy troops, who fought from an elaborate network of caves, dugouts, tunnels and underground installations. www.iowjima.com -
FDR Death -Truman becomes president
On the afternoon of April 12, 1945, Vice President Harry S. Truman was just starting to relax after a day of presiding over the Senate when he was urgently summoned to the White House. There he received the unwelcome news that President Franklin Roosevelt had died and that he, Truman, was now president. www. history.com -
VE day
Victory in Europe Day (VE Day) was on May 8th 1945. VE Day officially announced the end of World War Two in Europe. On Monday May 7th at 02.41. German General Jodl signed the unconditional surrender document that formally ended war in Europe. Winston Churchill was informed of this event at 07.00. www.infoplease.com -
Battle of Okinawa
Cite Last and biggest of the Pacific island battles of World War II, the Okinawa campaign (April 1—June 22, 1945) 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. www.historysitelearning.com -
Dropping the atomic bombs
The atomic bombings of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan were conducted by the United States during the final stages of World War II in August 1945. The two bombings were the first and remain the only use of nuclear weapons in wartime. www.history.com -
VJ day
On 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. www.infoplease.com -
Nuremberg trials
The Nuremberg Trials is the general name for two sets of trials of Nazis involved in crimes committed during the Holocaust of World War II. The first, and most famous, began on November 20, 1945. It was entitled the Trial of the Major War Criminals before the International Military Tribunal, which tried the most important leaders of Nazi Germany. The second set of trials, for less war criminals. www.historyforever.com
