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Japenese Invasion of China
ReferenceChina at the time was a split country and very weak. Japan was looking for more natural resources and more land for their growing population. Japan knew China was weak and had what they needed so they invaded China in what is knows as the Sino-Japanese war and Japan gained control of Manchuria -
Rape of Nanking
ReferenceJapanese Imperial Army marched into China's capital city of Nanking to murder over 30,000 people. Following the invasion of Manchuria, the Japenese had bragged that they would conquer China in just three months mainly because they wanted China natural recourses. China surprisingly put up a resistance to Japenese attacks and for the sake of revenge Japan invaded Chinese city of Nanking for a massacre. -
Germany's Invasion of Poland
ReferenceHitler had a nonaggression pact with the soviet union in 1939. The German-Soviet pact of August 1939, stated that Poland was to be partioned between the two powers. The nonaggression pact enabled Nazi Germany to attack Poland without the fear of the Soviet Union intervening. -
German Blitzkreig
ReferenceGerman term for "lightening war" Blitzkreig is a military tactic used to create disorganization between enemy forces by using mobile forces and concentrated firearms. Germany first tried out this new strategy in Poland 1939. -
Pearl Harbor
ReferenceJust before 8 a.m hundreds of Japenese planes attacked the American naval base of Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawaii. The Japenese destroyed 20 naval vessels, including eight enourmous battleships. More than 2,000 American Soldiers died in the attack. Three days later, The allies of the Japenses, Italy and Germany, declared war on the U.S. -
Bataan Death March
ReferenceU.S surrender to Japenese of the Bataan Peninsula on the main Phillipine island, 75,000 troops that were stationed there were forced to march 65 miles to prison camps. The marchers were in intense heat and suffered through the Harsh treatment by the Japenese. Thousands died. -
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
ReferenceBetween July 22nd and September 12, 1942 the Germans deported or murdered 300,000 jews in the warsaw ghetto. They tried to resume deportions on January 18, 1943. A group of Jewis, armed with pistols, infiltrated a column of Jews being forced to the transfer and fought their German escorts. Most of the Jews ended up dying, but the battle disoriented many of the Germans and gave many of the jews in the column a chance to disperce. -
D-Day
Reference
On June 6, 1944, more than 160,000 Allied troops landed on the French coastline to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France. Dwight D. Eisenhower called the plan a crusade and said “we will accept nothing less than full victory.” The US used more than 5,000 ships and 13,000 aircrafts. By the end of the day, the Allies gained a foot-hold in continental Europe -
Liberation of Concentration Camps
ReferenceAs Allied troops moved across Europe, they came across many concentration camp prisoners. The Soviet Union were the first to approach a major Nazi camp, reaching Majdanek by Lublin, Poland, in July 1944. Nazi Germany was surprised by this and tried their best to cover the evidence of mass murder. Camp staff set fire to the cremotorium but unfortuantely, gas chambers were still left. In January, 1945,The Soviets liberated Auschwitz, the largest killing center of them all -
Battle of Iwo Jima
ReferenceThe Americans invaded Iwo Jima in February, 1945, in need of a base near the Japenese coast. Three U.S. marine divisions landed on the island which was defended by roughly 23,000 Japanese army and navy troops, who fought from an elaborate network of caves, dugouts, tunnels and underground installations. However, after a month of fighting the Marines won. -
VE Day
ReferenceOn this day in 1945, both Americans and Europeans celebrate victory. Cities in both nationput out flags and banners, rejoicing in the defeat of the Nazi Germany. Germans surrendered to their Soviet antagonists, after the latter had lost more than 8,000 soldiers. -
Battle of Okinawa
ReferenceReference
The last and biggest battle of the Pacific Island Battles of WWII, the Okinawa Battle involved 287,000 troops from the U.S tenth army versus the 130,000 soldiers from Japan. By the end of the 82-day campaign, the Japenese lost more than 77,000 soldiers and the Allies suffered more than 65,000 casualties. -
Dropping of the Atomic Bombs
ReferenceSince 1940, the united States has been working on developing an atomic bomb after having been warned by Albert Einstein that Nazi Germany was already conducting research into nuclear weapons. By the time the US conducted a succesful test, Germany was already defeated. However, the war in Japan continued to rage. On August 6, 1945, the American bomber Enola Gay dropped a five-ton bomb over a major Japenese city. -
VJ Day
ReferenceOn August 14, 1945 it was announced that Japan surrendered unconditionally to the United States, ending World War II. Since then, both August 14th and 15th are known as "Victory Over Japan Day" -
Battle of the Buldge
VideoReferenceThree German armies launched the deadliest battle of the war in the west in the poorly roaded, rugged, heavily forested Ardennes. The region became bedlam because American troops were caught flat-footed and fought desperately to stop German forces from advancing. As the German Army went further and further in the Ardennes, Allied forces took a stance in a large population that they called the buldge. This is why this battle became known as the Battle of the Buldge.
