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The Rape of Nanking
As a way to break the spirit of the Chinese resistance, the Japanese general ordered that Nanking be destroyed. They burned most of the city and then didi a campaign of atrocities on the civilians. An estimated 150,000 male "war prisoners" were butched, 50,000 male civilians were massacred, and 20,000 women were raped and/or killed. -
Germany's Invasion of Poland
SourceAs a way to gain more territory, Hitler ordered German forces to bombard Poland. Using the "blitzkrieg" strategy, he took over Poland in no time at all.This is also what started World War 2. -
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World War II
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German Blitzkrieg
Source"Blitzkrieg" was the german term for "Lightning war" during the war. The blitzkrieg strategy was first used on Poland in 1939. With its sucess, Germany continued to use it on Belgium, the Netherlands and France in 1940. -
Fall of Paris
sourceThe people of paris woke up to the sound of the loud-speaker saying that curfew would now be at 8 P.M. This is when the Parisians knew that Germany was coming. by the time 2 german tanks got into paris, 2 million parisians already fled the city. Germany now then occupied paris and there was nothing the prime misnister could do but to ask the USA for help. -
Battle of Britain
sourceThe battle of Britain was mainly an air battle between the German Airforce and the British Royal AirForce. Due to Britains large number of planes, they were able to subdue the attcks form German. On September 15, 1940, the Germans retreated due to the Luffwaffe's ablility to not sucessfully take down the British Airforce. -
Pearl Harbor
sourceAt around 8 am on December 7, 1941, the japanese Airforce attcked the American Naval Base On Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawaii. The japanese destroyed 20 naval vessels( which included 8 giant battleships) and almost 200 planes. and estimated 2,000 soldiers and sailors were killed and 1,000 were injured. President Roosevelt asked congress to declare war on Japan, thus making the US, after 2 years of conflict gone by, enter the war. -
Battle of Midway
sourceOne of the most decisive naval battles in WWII, and lasting only for 4 days, the american defeated the Japanese 6 months after pearl harbor in the Battle of Midway. Thanks to US code breaking, they were able to preempt and counter the japanese forces from bombing their remaining carriers and destroyed 4 of the carriers in the process. They permanently damaged the Japanese Navy by destroyong 322 of their aricrafts and killing 5,000 of there sailors. -
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Battle of Stalingrad
sourceThe battle of Stalingrad was the sucessful soviet defense of the city Stalingrad (now know as Volgograd). The battle against the german lasted for 9 months. The soviets plan after the germans took over stalingrad was to surround the city, thereby cutting of supply lines and kept them from getting out of the city. It was the soviets best defensive war in WWII. -
Allied Invasion of Italy
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D-Day
sourceOn D-Day, the Allies invade Western Europe in the largest amphibious attack in history. The US and Britain sent thousand of troops on the beach of Normandy (Also known as the Normandy Invasion). This was only the start of the Battle of Normandy, as it went on for 2 months. -
Battle of the Bulge
sourceAs a way to split the Allies in the northwest, Hitler order his troops to do a surprise blitzkrieg on the Allies on there way to Ardennes and Antwerp.As the Germans drove deeper into the Ardennes in an attempt to secure vital bridgeheads, the Allied line took on the appearance of a large bulge, giving rise to the battle’s name.. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
Since the US needed a base, they invaded the island of Iwo Jima so they could get one near the japanese coast. After a month of fightong, the US wiped out the 23,000 troops defending the island. They had 1,083 prisoner (2 who did nt surrender until 1951) and the US loss 5,900 men and 17,400 were woumded. -
Dropping the Atomic Bombs
sourceOn August , 1945, the US sent a B-29 bomber name Enola Gay to drop the fisrt atomic bomb on Hiroshima. 90 percent of the city was wiped out and 80,000 people died (10,000 later due to radiation exposure). 3 days later, the US dropped another atomic bomb on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 40,000. On August 15, Japan gave the US its unconditional surreneder, thereby ending WWII.
