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Japanese Invasion of China
Japan wanted the natural resources in abundance in China to fulfill their Imperialistic goals while China wanted to protect their land from Japanese Control. Confusion on a border one night lead to a skirmish known as the Marco Polo Bridge Incident. This lead to the Second Sino-Japanese War.
Japan’s invasion of China and the resulting conflicts were known as the Pacific War. http://www.history.co.uk/study-topics/history-of-ww2/sino-japanese-war -
German Blitzkrieg
Between 1939 and 1940, the German Blitzkrieg emerged This is was a new concept of war fighting used by the Germans relying on the use of tanks and dive-bombers to support quick and strong attacks. This was an alternative to previously used trench warfare in World War I which lead to a lot of disease. Such a new concept was unexpected by their opposition. This tactic lead to many of their successes.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/blitzkrieg_01.shtml -
German Invasion of Poland
Lasting until Oct 6th, 1939 Germany invaded Poland in order to achieve their goals of gaining the land and ruling Poland. Ruling Poland gave Germany access to the Baltic Sea and East Prussia. This event started World War II as Britain and France sided with Poland after it was invaded. On October 6th, Poland surrendered. http://www.secondworldwarhistory.com/invasion-of-poland.asp -
Fall of Paris
Paris surrendered to German forces on June 22nd after Germany successfully overpowered them using the Blitzkrieg fighting style. Germany conquered France to gain power and fight their opposition. This marked the completion of Germany’s conquest of western Europe.
http://www.secondworldwarhistory.com/invasion-of-france.asp -
Operation Barbarossa
Launched on June 22, 1941, this was the name of Germany’s plan to conquer the Soviet Union. Germany was successful initially in their attack, destroying big cities and killing many people. However, the Soviet “Red Army” was able to retaliate and Operation Barbarossa failed. Germans did take many prisoners whom they starved, some of them Jews. This was the largest military operation despite its failure.http://www.secondworldwarhistory.com/operation-barbarossa-the-drive-on-smolensk.asp -
Pearl Harbor
On December 7th, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. They caught the naval base by surprise, resulting in many American casualties. Japan knew that they would be unable to win a long battle with the United States so they resorted to taking out the whole US Naval Fleet by surprise. However, the carrier fleet were not in Hawaii. This attack caused the United States to declare war on Japan the next day and start their involvement in World War II. http://www.secondworldwarhistory.com/attack -
Wannsee Conference
On January 20th, 1942, German leaders had a conference to answer the question about the Jews. They formed to deal with the problem of emigration and to ensure that Jews were dealt with in the manner they choose. The idea of concentration camps and forced labor camps emerged from this conference as well as many other ideas that made up the Final Solution.
http://spartacus-educational.com/GERwannsee.htm -
Operation Gomorrah
On July 24th, 1943 British bombers launched an attack on Germany. This was a powerful attack with the amount of explosive power used equaling what German bombers had dropped on London in their five most destructive attacks. Britain used a new device called “Window” to jam and confuse German radios. This gave them an advantage. Operation Gomorrah continued on Hamburg for several months and were highly successful. This marked a major defeat for Germany.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/o -
Allied Invasion of Italy
September 3rd 1943 marked the beginning of Italy’s invasion. Following the invasion of Sicily, Operation Avalanche ensured the conquering of Italy and the destruction of Fascism which was spreading there. The allies negotiated with Italy and got them to help push Germans out of Italy. Gaining Italy was important for the Allies because they planned on reaching Germany through it.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/allies-invade-italian-mainland -
D-Day/Normandy Invasion
The battle began on June 6th 1944 in Normandy France. This was the Allies attempt to liberate France from Germany. Using window and bad weather, the Germans were caught by surprise and were pushed back. This is the largest invasion that has ever occurred and it contributed significantly to the Allies’ power and success later in the war.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/dday_beachhead_01.shtml -
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge (was originally called Autumn Mist by the Germans) began on December 16th, 1945 and was a surprise attack on the Americans by the Germans. Using spies to harm American communication, the Germans captured many American soldiers. This battle went on for more than a week and cost the Germans many troops and prevented them from going to help the eastern front. This battle did not disrupt the Allies plan to invade Germany.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/battle_b -
Liberation of the Camps
After Germany surrendered, there was much effort to save and liberate those in the concentration camps. Many died even after receiving medical care. Many of the concentration camps were rampant with disease so they were burned down, destroying history to be found.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/liberation_camps_01.shtml -
Operation Thunderclap
In order to bring down German morale, the allies proposed Operation Thunderclap or the Bombing of Dresden. Allied forces used incendiary bombs with chemicals to start fires as more bombs were dropped. It is estimated that between 35,000 and 100,000 people were killed in the bombing.
http://spartacus-educational.com/2WWdresden.htm -
Battle of Iwo Jima
This battle lasted from February 19th to the 28th. The Allies aimed to defeat the strong Japanese force on the island of Iwo Jima. They also wanted these islands for the air strips that the Allies could use for their attack on the Japanese mainland. The Allies success in conquering this island aided them in their attacks in Japan.
http://spartacus-educational.com/2WWjima.htm -
Battle of Okinawa
Beginning on April 1st, the Americans wanted the island of Okinawa for the same reasons they wanted Iwo Jima. However this island was much closer to the Japanese mainland. This battle lasted four days and the Allies successfully gained this island, greatly aiding their later attacks on Japan.
http://spartacus-educational.com/2WWokinawa.htm -
VE Day
On May 8th, a radio broadcast from the Germans delivered their surrender. VE, victory in Europe, day was declared a national holiday in Europe by Winston Churchill.
http://spartacus-educational.com/2WWveday.htm -
Dropping of the Atomic Bombs
In order to entice Japanese surrender, Americans dropped two atomic bombs on Japan. On August 6th they bomb Hiroshima and on August 9th they bombed Nagasaki. There is no doubt that this caused the Japanese to surrender on August 15th.
http://spartacus-educational.com/2WWhiroshima.htm -
VJ Day
VJ Day, or September 2nd, marked the official surrender of Japan in World War II. Japan was basically forced to surrender after being hit with atomic bombs twice. VJ Day marked the end of all of World War II.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/ff7_vjday.shtml
