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Japanese Invasion of China
Before the Japanese invasion of China on July 7, 1939, there was an attempted invasion of China in 1931 called the "Mukden Incident". In between and previously, there were other "incidents". When Japan moved into China, there was so much conflict between the two that it wasn't surprising to anyone. source -
Blitzkrieg of 1939
Blitzkrieg, in German means 'lightning war'. Essentially, Nazis would rapidly attack to destroy the enemy's defenses. Early in the morning, 1.5 million German troops attacked Poland while Polish airfields were bombed by the Luftwaffe. Poland was intended to be a "living space" for German people. On September 28, forces in Warsaw were forced to surrender to the Nazis banging on their front door. source -
German Invasion of Poland
In 1934, Hitler signed a nonaggression pact with Poland so the French-Polish military alliance would not get in the way of Germany taking the country once the Nazis rearmed Germany. In August of 1939, Russia and Germany made an agreement to split Poland called the German Soviet Pact. This allowed Hitler to take Poland without fearing their intervention. Afterwards, Poland fell within a few weeks of the invasion's beginning.
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Fall of Paris
Citizens of Paris were notified in the morning of a new curfew set by the Germans planning to invade. By the time tanks had rolled in, around 2 million people had fled the city. This invasion caused America to freeze the assets of the Axis powers, Germany and Italy. source -
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was a German offensive. It was launched against the Soviet Union, catching the leaders completely by surprise. The movement consisted of three fronts; one coming up through southern Poland, another battling through Leningrad into Moscow, and the last one going through Ukraine. source -
Pearl Harbor
December 7, 1941, a Japanese fleet attacked the U.S. naval base in Hawaii, Pearl Harbor. The attack was a complete surprise, even though the radar caught it, because a group of B-17s were supposed to report in around that time. Most of the naval and air vehicles were destroyed or damaged beyond repair, leaving only three aircraft carriers. source -
Wannsee Conference
Nazi officials(SS) and German leaders gathered in a suburb of Berlin, Wannsee. In short, they planned "the final solution of the Jewish question", a genocide of a predicted amount of 11 million Jews. -
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
In 1942, Nazis had begun deporting and murdering Jews in the Warsaw ghetto. Two main Jewish groups formed, the "Jewish Combat Organization"(ZOB) and the "Jewish Military Union"(ZZW). In 1943, able-bodied Jews began to be deported to labor camps. This is when the groups began to rise up. Of course, the Nazis crushed the resistance and turned the ghetto into rubble. source -
Operation Gomorrah
British bombers raided Hamburg, Germany while Americans bombed Hamburg as well, except during the day. Both countries' fleets used incendiary bombs. Around 1500 civilians died in the initial attack, but Hamburg continued to burn days after. source -
Allied Invasion of Italy
Italy surrendered the day British soldiers hit the beaches. This wasn't made public until September 8th. Weeks later, Mussolini was rescued from prison and made the leader of Northern Italy. source -
D-Day, Normandy Beaches
156,000 combined forces from Canada, America, and Britain stormed 5 beaches along Normandy in one of the largest amphibious attacks in the war. By late August, all of Northern France was liberated. This attack was called the "beginning of the end of the war." [source[(http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day) -
Battle of the Bulge
A German counteroffensive to the attack on Normandy, this was intended to regain Hitler's hold on France. 200,00+ soldiers marched into the middle of the Allied forces, trying to split them. American reinforcements rushed in to assist.(Fun fact: when asked to surrender, the 101st Airborne commander responded with "Nuts!") In the end, it was an American victory. source -
Operation Thunderclap(The Firebombing of Dresden)
An allied firebombing of the city of Dresden, Germany left 135,000 civilians and American POWs dead. Known as the single most destructive bombing of the war, little was accomplished strategically since the Germans were believed to already be close to surrendering. Many believed the attack was only made to "punish" the Germans. source -
Battle of Okinawa
This was the largest and last battle of the Pacific in World War II. There were 287,000 Allied forces and 130,000 Japanese soldiers. The battle lasted 82 days, April 1, 1945 to June 22, 1945. source -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The amphibious invasion of Iwo Jima was because the U.S. needed a base near Japan. The island was defended by 23,000 Japanese soldiers who used caves and tunnels to fight from. All in all, the battle took about a month for the Marines to take over. source -
VE(Victory in Europe) Day
VE Day was the celebration of German surrender. it was realized that they were surrendering in a final ceasefire in northern Latvia on the Channel Island of Sark. Final surrender documents were signed in Berlin and eastern Germany. source -
Potsdam Declaration
The declaration was a product of the Potsdam Conference. It was written by the leaders of Britain, China, and America. It called for the Japanese unconditional surrender. If they did not comply, there would be "prompt and utter" destruction of the country Japan. source: LDA paper -
Dropping of the atomic bomb(Hiroshima)
This was the first attack on Japan. 80,000 died. This was meant to make Japan surrender. Shortly after, Japan did surrender a few days after. source -
Dropping of atomic bomb(Nagasaki)
This was the second atomic bomb dropped on Japan. About 40,000 people died, in addition to the 80,000 that died in the first bombing. -
VJ(Victory over Japan) Day
Two months after VE Day, the Allies celebrated Victory over Japan Day. Japan officially and unconditionally surrendered to the U.S. This was the moment that everyone in America had been waiting for since Pearl Harbor.
