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Japanese invasion of China
The Japanese Kwantung Army turned a small incident into a full-scale war. Japan had a modern, well-equipped army. China did not. During the massacre 300,000 chinese were killed including civilians. One reason why Japan invaded China was because of China's resources. Japan did not have the natural types or resources that Japan did, therefore, the decision was made to invade. This would give Japan access to these resources. -
Germany invades Poland
On Spet. 1, 1939 1.5 million German troops invade Poland all along its 1,750-mile border with German-controlled territory. To Hitler, the conquest of Poland would bring Lebensraum, or "living space," for the German people. The Polish army was able to mobilize one million men but was hopelessly outmatched in everything. -
German Blitzkrieg
"Blitzkrieg" (lightning war). Germany successfully used the Blitzkrieg tactic against Poland (attacked in September 1939), Denmark (April 1940), Norway (April 1940), Belgium (May 1940), the Netherlands (May 1940), Luxembourg (May 1940), France (May 1940), Yugoslavia (April 1941), and Greece (April . Germnay wanted to take over many areas in a short amout of time so there wasnt a long war. -
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was based on a massive attack based on blitzkrieg. Hitler had said of such an attack that “when the attack on Russia starts the world will hold its breath.” The initial attacks involved numbers never seen before – and the success rate must have even taken Hitler by surprise even if Hitler had proclaimed “We have only to kick in the front door and the whole rotten Russian edifice will come tumbling down.” -
Pearl Harbor
On December 7, 1941 Japense fighter plans bombed a U.S naval base on the Hawaiian island Oahu. Over 2,000 American soldiers were killed while another 1,000 were wounded. June 1941 through the end of July 1941 America froze Japans assets. Pearl habor started the hunger for war in America. -
Wannsee Conference
On January 20, 1942, a crucial meeting was held in Wannsee (a suburb of Berlin), chaired by Reinhard Heydrich with the participation of 15 officials and representatives of the Reich authorities. At this meeting, the Reich Security Main Office coordinated the extermination plans vis-à-vis the relevant ministries and authorities. Heydrich spoke about the inclusion of 11,000,000 Jews in the Nazi program for the “Final Solution to the Jewish Question.” -
Operation Gomorrah
On this day in 1943, British bombers raid Hamburg, Germany, by night in Operation Gomorrah, while Americans bomb it by day. Britain had suffered the deaths of 167 civilians as a result of German bombing raids in July. While a total of 791 aircrafts flew Britain only lost 12 in this raid. The evening of July 24 saw British aircraft drop 2,300 tons of incendiary bombs on Hamburg in just a few hours. The explosive power was the equivalent of what German bombers had dropped on London in their five -
D-Day
On June 6, 1944 some of 160,000 allied troops landed on heavily-fortified French coastline to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy. The D-Day happened in order to end World War II in Europe. This was done by making Germany surrender in order to remove Hitler from power. Germany was weakened by bombing from the air and the war was won by having troops on the ground to control the territory. -
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge, fought over the winter months of 1944 – 1945, was the last major Nazi offensive against the Allies in World War II. The battle was a last ditch attempt by Hitler to split the Allies in two in their drive towards Germany and destroy their ability to supply themselves. It was the biggest and bloodiest single battle American soldiers ever fought -- one in which nearly 80,000 Americans were killed, maimed, or captured. -
Operation Thunderclap
Between February 13th and February 14th 1945, between 35,000 and 135,000 people were killed by Allied bombing in Dresden. Historians still argue over the number of deaths. However, there were so many refugees in the city at the time that the real figure will almost certainly never be known. Dresden was a target because Arthur Harris, head of Bomber Command, had always held the view that any city that had anything to do with the Nazi war effort was a target. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima was protected by around 23,000 Japanese army and navy troops, On the first day of the battle 30,000 US marines landed on the shores of Iwo Jima. The first soldiers that landed weren't attacked by the Japanese. They thought that the bombings from US planes and battleships may have killed the Japanese. They were wrong. After 36 days of brutal fighting, the US had finally secured the island of Iwo Jima. They placed a flag on top of Mount Suribachi. When they raised the flag a picture was
