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Japanese invasion of China, http://www.britannica.com/event/Sino-Japanese-War-1937-1945
Sino-Japanese War, (1937–45), conflict that broke out when China began full-scale resistance to the expansion of Japanese influence in its territory (which had begun in 1931). In an effort to unseat the Nationalist government of Chiang Kai-shek, the Japanese occupied large areas of eastern China in 1937–38. A stalemate then ensued, and Japanese forces were diverted to Southeast Asia and to the Pacific theatre of World War II against the Western Powers and their allies. -
Germany's invasion of Poland, https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005070
Germany invaded Poland and the Polish army was defeated within weeks of the invasion. From East Prussia and Germany in the north and Silesia and Slovakia in the south, German units, with more than 2,000 tanks and over 1,000 planes, broke through Polish defenses along the border and advanced on Warsaw in a massive encirclement attack. After heavy shelling and bombing, Hitler invaded Poland violating the appeasment to seize power and show his strong dictatorship. -
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German Blitzkrieg, http://olive-drab.com/od_history_ww2_ops_battles_1940blitzkrieg.php & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ha0qKquG2E
Germany's Blitzkrieg tactics overwhelmed Poland in September 1939, then, after a pause, crushed Denmark, Norway, and the Low Countries in April-May 1940, and finally France in June 1940. Blitzkriegs were held as a solution to the trench warfare of World War I. he British and French declared war on Germany in September 1939 as a result of the aggression against Poland. Later Hitler tried to blitzkrieg the Soviet Union but failed unexpecting the cruel cold Russian winter. -
Fall of Paris, http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/fall_france_01.shtml
The defeat of the powerful french army happened in a mere six weeks in 1940 stands as one of the most remarkable military campaigns in history. Hitler was eager to follow up his victory over Poland in 1939 by attacking in the west. he proposed a subsidiary attack through neutral Holland and Belgium, with the main blow against France to be launched a little later through the Ardennes. The French collapse was as sudden as it was unexpected. It ripped up the balance of power in Europe. -
Operation Barbarossa, http://www.history.co.uk/study-topics/history-of-ww2/barbarossa
On 22 June 1941 Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Codenamed Operation Barbarossa, it was the largest military operation in history, involving more than 3 million Axis troops and 3,500 tanks. the Germans had failed to land a decisive blow. They had underestimated both the resources of the Soviet Union and its willingness to accept massive losses. Hitler invaded the Soviet Union seeking more power. German military suffered due to the harsh Russian winter, with thousands of casualties. -
Pearl Harbor, http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3e99lfmmDN0
Hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawaii. The Japanese managed to destroy nearly 20 American naval vessels. More than 2K Americans soldiers and sailors died in the attack, and another 1K were wounded. The Japanese attacked pearl harbor because the US held an embargo upon them banning them from trade. Japan wanted revenge. Roosevelt declared war on Japan, starting WWII and the cause of Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs. -
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Battle of Midway, http://www.nationalww2museum.org/learn/education/for-students/ww2-history/at-a-glance/midway.html & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1v4I6RGRW50
A Japanese aircraft attacked & severely damaged the US base on Midway. Unaware Japanese, US carrier forces were ready for battle. Japan wanted to remove the US as a Pacific power to gain territory in East Asia. Japanese lost 48K men, 4 carriers, 1 cruiser, and 100s of aircraft, while the US lost 307 men, 1 carrier, 1 destroyer, and over 100 aircraft. This US victory stopped the growth of Japan in the Pacific and put the United States in a position to begin shrinking the Japanese empire. -
Manhattan Project, http://www.britannica.com/event/Manhattan-Project & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IqKdf6In_k
Alamogordo: first atomic bomb test, 1945 U.S. government research project 1942–45 that produced the first atomic bombs.American scientists, many of them refugees from fascist regimes in Europe, took steps to organize a project to exploit the newly recognized fission process for military purposes. After the US entry into WWII, the War Department was given joint responsibility for the project. The explosive materials then had to be produced and be made suitable for use in an actual weapon. -
D-Day (Normandy Invasion), http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wg5x5WaZPo
Battle of Normandy resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany’s control. D-Day was the first step of a massive military campaign to free Europe from Nazi control, and trapping Germany between the Soviet Union, US and UK. By forcing Hitler's armies back, the Allies reduced the pressure Germany was putting on the Soviet Union. It prevented Hitler from sending troops from France to build up his Eastern Front against the advancing Soviets. -
Operation Gomorrah, http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/operation-gomorrah-is-launched & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCYPrur6ssU
British bombers raid Hamburg, by night while Americans bomb by day. Britain suffered the deaths of civilians as a result of German bombing raids in July, now the tables were going to turn. More than 15K German civilians were killed in the first British raid. 170K bomber sorties dropped more than 9K tons of explosives, killing more than 300K people and destroying 2800K buildings. Hitler refused to visit the burned-out cities, as the ruins bespoke nothing but the end of the war for him. -
Allied invasion of Italy, http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/allies-invade-italian-mainland & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iRuxW5NOCc
The British Army begins the Allied invasion of the Italy. Italian government secretly agreed to the Allies terms for surrender, but not publicly announced till Sep. 8. German military in Italy threatened to resist having opposition groups in Italy to unite to overthrow Mussolini & make peace with the Allies. Montgomery’s 8th Army began the invasion of surrendered Italian mainland. Mussolini was captured and summarily executed. German forces in Italy surrendered on May 1. -
Battle of the Bulge, http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-the-bulge & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8a8fqGpHgsk
Germans launch the last major offensive of the war, an attempt to push the Allied front line west from northern France to northwestern Belgium. Its objective was to split the Allied armies as a surprise blitzkrieg through the Ardennes to Antwerp. Germans were short of fuel and American troops fighting proved fatal to Hitler’s ambition to snatch, notoriously. This Battle was the costliest action ever fought by the U.S. Army, which suffered over 100,000 casualties. -
Liberation of Concentration Camps, https://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007724
Soviet soldiers were the first to liberate concentration camp prisoners in the final stages of the war. They entered Auschwitz and there found 100s of sick & exhausted prisoners. Although the Germans attempted to empty the camps of surviving prisoners & hide all evidence of their crimes, Allied soldiers came upon 1000s of dead bodies. Allied troops, physicians, and relief workers tried to provide nourishment for the surviving prisoners. More than 100K die of malnutrition or disease within weeks. -
Operation Thunderclap, http://ww2today.com/13-february-1945-operation-thunderclap-raf-start-firestorm-in-dresden & http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Bombing_of_Dresden_in_World_War_II
It was a proposal to bomb the eastern-most cities of Germany to disrupt the transport infrastructure behind what was becoming the Eastern front. There were many factors influencing a ‘successful’ bombing raid, the weather, the fighters, the air defences, the target marking, how quikly the fire services got into action on the ground. Out of 28,410 houses in the inner city of Dresden, 24,866 were destroyed. Out of 28,410 houses in the inner city of Dresden, 24,866 were destroyed. -
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Battle of Iwo Jima, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBuXgQRz3II & http://www.nationalww2museum.org/focus-on/iwo-jima-fact-sheet.pdf
U.S. Marines invaded Iwo Jima on February 19, 1945, after months of naval and air bombardment. The Japanese defenders of the island were dug into bunkers deep within the volcanic rocks. Approximately 70,000 U.S. Marines and 18,000 Japanese soldiers took part in the battle. The U.S. determined that Iwo Jima must be captured. After the battle, Iwo Jima served as an emergency landing site for more than 2,200 B-29 bombers,
saving the lives of 24,000 U.S. airmen. -
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Battle of Okinawa, http://www.historynet.com/battle-of-okinawa-operation-iceberg.htm & http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/world-war-two/the-pacific-war-1941-to-1945/the-battle-of-okinawa/
Largest battle of World War II, that resulted in the largest casualties. This battle undertaken by Allied forces in the Pacific War under U.S. Navy command. The capture of Okinawa was part of a three-point plan the Americans had for winning the war in the Far East as well as the Americans wished to destroy what was left of Japan’s merchant fleet launching bombing raids on Japan’s industrial heartland. The effect of this battle was a mass number of Japanese casualties and Allies casualties. -
VE Day, http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/events/ve_day & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEavcsrMoMw
Great Britain and US celebrate Victory in Europe Day. The eighth of May spelled the day when German troops throughout Europe finally laid down their arms. The Nazi's surrendered because after Hitler's suicide. Huge crowds gathered in London on the following day. All over the country people sung and danced in the streets, and went to church to give thanks to God for victory. VE Day drew a line under the past, the defeat of Churchill in the July 1945 General Election signaled a new beginning. -
Potsdam Decleration, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LI-p1dm3ocI & http://pwencycl.kgbudge.com/P/o/Potsdam_Declaration.htm
The Potsdam Declaration was issued on 26 July 1945 in the name of the governments of the United States, the Republic of China, and the United Kingdom. The Declaration was thus an ultimatum falling short of a demand for unconditional surrender, since it included guarantees that ordinary Japanese soldiers would not be interned indefinitely; that Japanese industry would not be eliminated. -
Dropping of the atomic bombs, http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/atomic-bomb-dropped-on-hiroshima
US becomes the first & only nation to use atomic weaponry during wartime when it drops an atomic bomb on the Japanese. US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima & Nagasaki in justification to saving American lives & wanting the Japanese to surrender. American bomber Enola Gay dropped a 5 ton bomb over Hiroshima, immediately killing 800K people. Tens and thousands more died in the following weeks from wounds and radiation poisoning. 3 days later, Nagasaki was bombed killing nearly 400K more people. -
VJ Day, http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/v-j-day & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zR3b6x9iqDc
When Japan had surrendered to the Allies. Japan’s attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor capped a decade of deteriorating relations between Japan and the US that led to declaration of war the following day. August 14, Truman announced Japan’s surrender in a press conference at the White House. Japan surrendered because of the US dropping continuous atomic bombs. Japanese government issued a statement accepting the terms of the Potsdam Declaration. VJ Day marked the end of World War II.
