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Nanjing Massacre
After weeks of marching/killing their way across China, the Japanese military arrived at the city of Nanjing on the 13th. Upon arrival, the soldiers torture & mutilate the men, and rape the women and children, hence "Rape of Nanjing", and both outcomes typically resulted in death. Following this massacre, the Japanese controlled the city till the end of WW2.
Death total:200,000-300,000
Rapes: 20,000-80,000
https://www.history.com/topics/asian-history/nanjing-massacre -
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German Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg, or "Lightning War", is the term used to describe the German strategy of using fast and targeted military strikes to take down their opponents. These attacks consisted of quick moving tanks, ample aerial and artillery based support along with motorized infantry.
https://spartacus-educational.com/2WWblitzkreig.htm -
Paris Surrender
Crumbling under the force of the Nazi army, France was forced to surrender to Germany within only a 2 months. In fact, the very man who they gave power in the hopes of boosting French moral, Philippe Pétain, was the one who signed the armistice and officially orchestrated for France's surrender. He believed the French had already lost (they had).
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/france-to-surrender -
Bombing of Pearl Harbor
Following the US's oil embargo placed upon them Japan began to plan a surprise attack on us. Their goal was to severely cripple the US's naval fleet in the hopes of preventing us from engaging in a prolonged war with them, as they felt this was the type of engagement they would lose.
https://spartacus-educational.com/2WWpearl.htm -
The Wannsee Conference
The Wannsee Conference was a meeting between German officials focused on solving the "Jewish question", which is to say they were attempting to figure out how to best exterminate the Jewish population. This then led to the creation of the "Final Solution", in which the Jews would be rounded up, forced to work on their journey east and then executed in large numbers upon their arrival at "extermination camps" in the east.
https://spartacus-educational.com/GERwannsee.htm -
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Bataan Death March
Immediately after the bombing of Pearl Harbor the Japanese attacked the Philippines, and won within a month. The U.S force surrendered and the Japanese took them in a prisoners of war, however the soldiers were mistreated. They were forced to walk 65 miles to prison camps, a trip that took most groups 5 days, and were beaten before, during, and after the trip. Many didn't survive the tortuous trek.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bataan-death-march -
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Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
The Warsaw ghetto was the area in which around 400,000 Jews were forcibly confined. The Jews were eventually notified that they were being moved to "work camps", which they learned were actually death camps. After a majority of them had been shipped to death, those who remained decided to fight back. Resistance was met with tanks and artillery, and once the Germans quelled the rebellion, the blew up the ghetto.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/warsaw-ghetto-uprising -
Operation Gomorrah
Operation Gomorrah was the British & American plan to enact their own version of the German "Blitkrieg" upon the Germans. They did so by having British planes bomb Germany at night, while American planes did the same during the day. Their target was the city of Hamburg, and the ploy was successful, damaging both German military might and morale.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/operation-gomorrah-is-launched -
D-Day
Russia had been requesting the Allied forces open up a war front in Europe for a while, and D-Day was when they finally got their wish. D-Day is known as one of the largest amphibious war operations ever, and it was a combination of ground, aerial, and marine forces.Taking place on the Beaches of Normandy, it began with an aerial bombardment followed by paratroopers and navy landings all culminating in an Allied Victory.
https://spartacus-educational.com/2WWdday.htm -
Battle of the Bulge
D-Day gave Allied forces a foothold within Europe, allowing them to push back German forces. In the hopes of turning the tides, the Germans devised a surprise attack to split the allied forces and cripple their supply lines. The Germans initiated with a large artillery bombardment and followed up with their ground forces. The attack caught the allied forces off guard, but they eventually recovered and repelled the German offensive.
https://www.secondworldwarhistory.com/battle-of-the-bulge.php -
Liberation of Concentration Camp: Auschwitz
What the Russians found upon arriving at Auschwitz was unsettling: hundreds of personal items such as glasses and shoes, with no owner in sight. The reason? Their owners had been executed. Despite its large size Auschwitz seemed empty, all Germans had long since fled after trying to cover up their crimes, though they left the jews to rot. These prisoners began to cry upon seeing the soldiers, knowing their suffering was over.
https://www.history.com/news/auschwitz-liberation-soviets-holocaust -
Battle of Iwa Jima
The battle of Iwo Jima focused on the push to take the titular Island, specifically the three airstrips present on the island. The battle began on February 19th, and the first airstrip at Mount Suribachi three days later. The second airstrip at Motoyama wasn't captured until the 28th, while the final one wasn't taken till March 10th. Some soldiers continued to fight back even after the bases were "taken", but by the end of March the Allies had won.
https://spartacus-educational.com/2WWjima.htm -
Victory in Europe Day
Victory in Europe Day roughly marks the date upon which Nazi Germany surrendered. Nazi Germany surrendered on May 7th, and the general populace were made aware the very next day by Winston Churchill. This day quickly became a national holiday.
https://spartacus-educational.com/2WWveday.htm -
Hiroshima
Upon being briefly tested in New Mexico on the 16th of July Hiroshima is the site of the first nuclear bomb dropping. While many scientists, including some of those who took part in its creation, were opposed to the usage of the Nuke Harry Truman ignored their pleas and called for the bomb dubbed "Little Boy" to be used on Hiroshima (though he initially wanted to attack Kyoto, an ancient capital of Japan)
https://spartacus-educational.com/2WWhiroshima.htm -
Nagasaki
Three days after the dropping of "Little Boy" and Japan had still not surrendered, so America decided to drop a second nuclear bomb, dubbed "Fat Man" on Nagasaki. Just the day before the Japanese had called a council amongst themselves to decide whether they should surrender, however the dropping of the second bomb quelled any need for discussion. Japan officially surrendered on August 15th. The estimated death count from both bombs is 210,000.
https://spartacus-educational.com/2WWnagasaki.htm -
Victory over Japan Day
The day/day after Japan officially surrendered in response to the dropping of two nukes upon their cities, VJ day occurs on either the 14th or 15th depending on who you ask. It is intended to celebrate the Allied Powers defeat of Japan along with the end of the war, as by this point both Germany and Japan had surrendered.