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world war II
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Japanese Invasion of China
Japanese Invasion of ChinaThe Japanese invasion of China was the result of the Marco Polo Bridge incident where the Japanese Imperial Army and China's Nationalist Army got into their first battle. This battle occured southwest of Beijing near a rail line. Shanghai was eventually attacked and fell quickly. Japan wanted to bring down the Kuomintang government. With assistance from their allies, including the US, China defeated the Japanese. Millions of Chinese were killed during this invasion. -
Ribbentrop/Molotov Pact
Ribbentrop/Molotov Pact
The Molotov-Ribbentrop Treaty was a pact signed by Hitler and Stalin. The treaty agreed that Russia would have control over Latvia, Estonia, and Finland. Germany would have control over Lithuania and Danzig. Poland would be broken up into 3 sections. The Warthland area would be given outright to the German Reich and 77,000 sq miles would become Russian. -
Germany's Invasion of Poland
Germany's Invasion of PolandOne of Hitler's first foreign policies was an nonagressive pact with Poland. This insured that France and Poland would not unify an alliance against Germany. Hitler soon negotiated a nonaggression pact with the Soviet Union which said that Poland was to be partitioned between the Soviet Union and Germany. This allowed Germany to attack Poland without the Soviet Union retaliating. Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939 and they defeated the Polish army within a short few weeks. -
Fall of Paris
Fall of Paris
The french built a wall on the german border to protect them in the war.The germans broke through the wall and headed north towards the English Channel.The French thought the Germans would be heading to Paris so they issued a curfew which turned into the masses fleeing south. Hitler made France surrender in the exact same place that Germany surrendered in 1918 ending WWI. -
German Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg A blittzkrieg, "lightning war", is an intense military tactic to cause disorganization among enemy forces by using fire power that is concentrated and mobile forces. Gernany tested blitzkrieg on Poland in 1939. They then succesfully invaded Belguim, the Netherlands and France in 1940 using blitzkrieg. Time Magazine was the first English publication to use the term "blitzkrieg" to describe the Polish invasion. -
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
On June 22, 1941, in Hitler's attempt to overtake the Soviet Union, he launched a massive invasion. The invasion covered the North Cape to the Black Sea. But, the Germans had underestimated their opponent and did not logistically plan well. By the time they reached Moscow in December, they were weathered. Germany had waged a two-front war that they could not win. They were defeated. -
Pearl Harbor
Attack FootagePearl HarborFollowing economic sanctions and embargoes, Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor Hawaii on December 7, 1941. The attack was just two hours long, but the Japanese was able to destroy almost 20 naval vessels, and more than 300 airplanes. More than 2,000 Americans soldiers died in the attack of Pearl Harbor, and around 1,000 were wounded. The day after, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan, they approved. -
Wannsee Conference
Wannsee ConferenceReinhard Heydrich held the Wannsee Conference in Berlin with 15 top Nazi bureaucrats to figure out the Final Solution (Endlösung) where the Nazis would try to kill the whole Jewish population of Europe. They discussed work camps and how they would handle those that would not be useful. -
Bataan Death March
Bataan Death MarchThe day after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, the Japanese invasion of the Philippines began.After capturing Manila, the Philipino and American troops were forced to the Bataan region. On April 9, U.S. General Edward King Jr. surrendered his almost 75,000 troops. The troops were rounded up by the Japanese and forced to walk 65 miles, which took around 5 days. They were beaten and starved. Thousands of troops died. General Douglas McArthur eventually got his revenge and took Bataan in Febuary 1945. -
Battle of Stalingrad
Battle of StalingradJuly 17, 1942 - February 2, 1943 The Battle of Stalingrad was the successful Soviet defense of the city of Stalingrad during World War II. Russians say it is the greatest battle of their Great Patriotic War. It stopped the German advance into the U.S.S.R. This is the battle where the Allies began to change direction and flourish. -
Operation Gomorrah
Operation GomorrahIn the still of the night, British bombers raided Hamburg, Germany in Operation Gomorrah in retaliation of 167 British deaths. Over 1500 German civilians were killed. Britain lost only 12 aircraft out of 79, due to a new radar-jamming device called “Window,”. Strips of aluminum foil were dropped by the bombers. These Window strips confused German radar. -
D-Day
D-DayD-Day VideoD-Day is the day the Allied forces crossed the English Channel and landed on the beaches of Normandy, France. The invasion was code named, Neptune. 155,000 Allied troops successfully stormed the beaches, but 2,000 were killed. This began the liberation of Western Europe from the Nazis. It took three months for the northern part of France to gain freedom. -
Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the BulgeOperation Mist, also known as the Battle of the Bulge, was an attempt to push the Allied front line west from northern France to northwestern Belgium and was the last major German offensive of the war. It was called The Battle of the Bulge because the Germans created a “bulge” around the area of the Ardennes forest. This was the largest battle on the Western front. The battle ended 3 weeks later with the US's second largest surrender of 7,500 troops. -
Liberation of Concentration Camp Auschwitz
The Liberation of AuschwitzOn January 27, 1945, Soviets entered the concentration camp of Auschwitz. Knowing that the Soviets were coming, the German Gestapo began a murder spree. They shot sick prisoners and burned crematoria in an attempt to destroy evidence of their crimes. The Germans left many prisoners behind as they quickly fled. The Soviets found 648 corpses and more than 7,000 starving survivors. -
Operation Thunderclap
Operation Thunderclap - DresdenAllied forces firebombed the German city of Dresden, killing as many as 135,000 people and reducing the town to rubble. Operation Thunderclap was the single most destructive bombing of the war. Dresden was a major communications center and the bombing destroyed the German's ability to send messages to their army. Some believe the attack was an attempt to punish the Germans and weaken their morale since they were on the verge of surrender. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
Battle of Iwo JimaIwo Jima videoThe American amphibious invasion of Iwo Jima happened because a placewas needed for damaged B-29 bombers to land without returning all the way to the Marianas. A base was also needed for escort fighters that would assist in the bombing campaign. The Japanese used an elaborate network of caves, tunnels, and underground units that were difficult to find and destroy. After a month of fighting, the marines wiped out the Japanese forces. -
Battle of Okinawa
Battle of OkinawaThe biggest and last battle of the Pacific island happened in Okinawa. Air bases vital to the projected invasion of Japan were needed to be captured here. The campaign lasted 82 days. It was the bloodiest battle of the war. After capturing Okinawa, the Allied forces planned to infiltrate Japan, but it was unnecessary. The US bombed Hiroshima and Nagasake, causing the Japanese to surrender. Both the US (shot) and Japanese General (suicide) died during the Battle of Okinawa. -
V-E DAY
V-E DayGreat Britain and the United States both celebrated Victory in Europe Day (VE Day) May 8, 1945. Cities in both nations rejoiced in the defeat of Nazi Germany. German troops throughout Europe finally laid down their arms. V-E Day was not celebrated on the ninth in Moscow, with a radio broadcast from Stalin: “The age-long struggle of the Slav nations… has ended in victory. Your courage has defeated the Nazis. The war is over.” -
Dropping of the Atomic Bombs - Hiroshima
Bombing of Hiroshima and NagasakeAtomic Bombing of HiroshimaOn August 6, 1945, the US, the only country to use atomic warfare during war, dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima from the Enola Gay. A blast equal to the power of 15,000 tons of TNT ruined four square miles of the city and killed approximately 80,000 people immediately. Tens of thousands more died in the following weeks from wounds and radiation poisoning. Three days later, another bomb was dropped on Nagasake killing 40,000. The Japanese surrendered a few days later. -
V-J Day
V-J DayJapan surrendered unconditionally to the Allies, ending World War II on 15 August 1945. This day has been known as “Victory over Japan Day,” or simply “V-J Day.” President Harry S. Truman announced Japan’s surrender in a press conference: “This is the day we have been waiting for since Pearl Harbor. This is the day when Fascism finally dies, as we always knew it would.” On September 2, the official Japanese surrender was signed aboard the U.S. battleship Missouri, effectively ending WWII.
