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Japanese Invasion of China
Fighting between Japanese and Chinese armies on the frontier led to a full-blown conflict. This constant battling sparked the second Sino-Japanese War. China received help from Germany, until they decided to make an alliance with Japan. Japan quickly took over all key Chinese ports and industrial centers. This occurred because the Chinese suffered territorial encroachment and the whole north of China was taken over. The economic sanctions against Japan would transform the direction of the war. -
Rape of Nanking
During the Sino-Japanese war, Nanking, was under Japanese forces. To stop the Chinese from resisting further, the Japanese general commanded that the troops destroy the city. Most of the city was burned and the Japanese forces launched a campaign of horror against the people. In the “Rape of Nanking”, the Japanese slaughtered about 150,000 male prisoners of war, massacred 50,000 male civilians, and raped 20,000 women and girls of all ages, many of which were mutilated or killed in the process. -
Germany's Invasion of Poland
The German army attacked Poland on land and from the air as Hitler regained his lost territory. The purpose was to colonize the territory and have the natives enslaved. He bombed and destroyed their railroads and communication lines. Once they made their way in and set up a base camp, he began annihilating all enemies of his Nazi ideology. Concentration camps were set up for slave laborers and the eradication of the civilians who did not fit into his principles. -
German blitzkrieg (Lightning War )
The German Blitzkrieg was a military tactic the German army employed to invade countries quickly and efficiently. This tactic was used to separate and capture other countries' forces without too many casualties or use of artillery on the German side. The impact it had on the war was significant, the german forces quickly invading and taking over countries quickky made Germany a threat. -
Fall of Paris
On June 14,1940 the Germans invaded France during WWII. Germany conquered France, Belgium and the Netherlands after they brutally invaded and were victorous. France was now under the power/comand of Germany. Between 50,000-90,000 were killed in this battle. -
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was an attack launched by Hitler to invade the Soviet Union. Although the German troops headed out during late June they were still caught in Russia's harsh winters. Hitler had made an agreement with Stalin early on in the war where they promise not to attack each other. Hitler broke the promise which caused Stalin to join the Allies. Hitler had plans to take over Russia since the war began. The event was one of Hitler's mistakes that helped him lose the war. -
Pearl Harbor
Japanese fighters planes attacked the naval base at Pearl Harbor which had devastating outcomes. They caused the death of more than 2,000 people while 1,000 soldiers were wounded.The Pearl Harbor attack occured because of it's intent to 'neutralize' the U.S. Pacific Fleet, and protect Japan to advance into Malaya and the Dutch East Indies, to get natural resources such as oil and rubber. -
The Wannsee Conference
On January 20, 1942 the Nazi officials had a conference to discuss the 'final solution' to Jews. This conference took place in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee. It intended to solve the problem of the Jews because to the Nazis, Jews didn't deserve to live. The effect of this confernce was the Holocaust. -
Battan Death March.
On April of 1942, the U.S General Edward King Jr. surrenders his 75,000 troops because they were weak from starvation and disease. The Americans were rounded by the Japanese and were forced to march 65 miles. Thousands of troops died because of their captors brutality. They were starved and beaten. America avenged their loss in the Philippines when they invaded the island of Leyte. After the war, Lietenant General Hommo Masaharu was tried and held responsible for the death march. -
Battle of Midway
On June 3- June 7,1942, the US defeated the attack of the Japanese imperial navy. The intention of this battle was to destroy any possible chances of the U.S' strategic power over the pacific because the Japanese already had plans for that land. The effect that this battle had was "that the victory allowed the United States and its allies to move into an offensive position." -
The Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was a successful battle in the eastern front in favor of the Allies.Later in the battle when the Germans were running low on soldiers and ammunition the Soviets launched a final attack that the Germans could've saved themselves from but Hitler ordered them to stand their ground whatever the cost. The effect of the battle was Hitler being humiliated and Stalin gaining more trust and faith in his military which prompted him to move on the offensive for the rest of the war. -
Operation Gomorrah
After Britain suffered from 167 civilian deaths as a result of German bombings, they raid Hamburg, Germany. On July 24, British aircrafts drop 2,300 tons of incendiary bombs on Hamburg. British bombers raided Hamburg at night, while Americans bomb it by day. British attacks continued until November. The raids killed about 30,000 people and destroyed 280,000 buildings. -
D-Day (Normandy Invasion)
D-day was the Allied invasion of the beaches along Normandy, France. Before the operation was carried out false information about where the Allies would be was passed to the Germans. The battle went on for about 3 months. The Allies won and were able to liberate Northern France. D-day was used to start the end of the war. The impact it had on the war was great, it's success played a key role in the liberation of western Europe and the defeat of the Nazis. -
Operation Thunderclap
Operation thunderclap was the bombing of German city Dresden. The city wasn't a majorly important city to the war but the allies planned to bomb it anyway, possibly to defeat any morale left in the germans. After the bombing many people thought it was unnecessary and only served to rack up more numbers on the death and casualty scale. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The American invasion of Iwo Jima derived from the necessity of a base near the Japanese coast. After precise preparatory air and naval bombardment, three United States divisions landed on the island that was defended by 23,000 Japanese navy troops. The U.S army defeated the Japanese troops after a month of fighting, earning a place in American lore with the release of a picture of the United States flag being raised in victory. -
Battle of Okinawa
This was the last and the biggest pacific island battle of World War 2. It involved 287,000 troops of the U.S army against 130,000 Japanese troops. THe Japanese army and navy used air attacks by planes on suicide missions to gain time. During this battle, commanding generals of both sides died. Japan suffered from the loss of 77,000 soldiers and the Allies suffered from 65,000 casualties, 14,000 of them being deaths. -
VE Day
VE Day means Victory in Europe Day. This date was significant to mark formal acceptance by the allies of WWII of Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces. It was made into a public holiday. It's effect was the celebration of the end of WWII in Europe. -
Dropping of the Atomic Bombs
On August 6, an America B-29 bomber dropped the world’s first atomic bomb, “Little Boy”, over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The explosion killed 90% of the city, instantly killed 80,000 people, and thousands more later died of radiation exposure. 3 days later a second bomb, “Fat Man”, was dropped on Nagasaki, killing about 40,000 people. Japan’s emperor disclosed his surrender on August 15. This occurred because Japan pledged that they would fight until the end of the war. -
VJ Day
The U.S military dropped an atomic bomb over Hiroshima in effort to get Japan to surrender. Instead of surrendering, the Japanese government debate on what to do, so the U.S dropped a second bomb. On August 14, Emeror Hirohito surrendered, and agrees to the terms of the Potsdam Declaration. With the Japanese surrender, the World War 2 ended. -
Battle of the Bulge
On this day, Germans attempted to push the Allied front line west from northern France to northwestern Belgium. Germans threw 250,000 soldiers into the assult and 14 German infantry divisions against 80,000 American soldiers. The Germans tricked Americans by using English-speaking Germans to sabatage communications. The battle went on for 3 weeks, resulting in the loss of American and civilian life.
