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1 CE
SOURCES 1
https://www.britannica.com/event/Second-Sino-Japanese-War
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germans-invade-poland
https://www.britannica.com/topic/blitzkrieg
https://www.britannica.com/event/Operation-Barbarossa
https://www.britannica.com/event/Pearl-Harbor-attack
https://www.britannica.com/event/Wannsee-Conference
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/operation-gomorrah-is-launched -
1 CE
SOURCES 2
https://www.britannica.com/event/Normandy-Invasion
https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-the-Bulge
https://codenames.info/operation/thunderclap-ii/
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-iwo-jima
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Battle-of-Okinawa
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/victory-in-europe
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/v-j-day -
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Japan Invades China
Before the war actually initiated, the tension between Japan and China broke out into an all-out Asian war between the two countries. Japan had a presence in China. Nationalists and Communists alike team up to drive Japan out of China. A stalemate had been produced by the start of 1939. After the amount of life lost in China from excessive battling with Japan, Japan was still not driven out of china as of yet. Though, the amount of fighting went on disrupted the political environment in China. -
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Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg is a war strategy which was used by Germany during the 1930s. This method includes psychological warfare, paired with mass bombings and rushing the opponent with tanks and soldiers. Germany tested this method in the Spanish Civil War and against Poland, where its effectiveness was observed. This method was later used against France, the Netherlands, and many more countries. Many countries had fallen to Blitzkrieg, due to the sheer force, This method gave Hitler the upperhand in combat -
Period: to
Invasion of Poland
On September 1 through September 28, 1939, Hitler sent his army into Poland. While he went in on the west side of Poland, the Soviet Union came in and attacked from the east side. Hitler wanted more space for the German people, so his conquest led him to Poland. He made a non-aggression pact which split the country between them. As a result of such an aggressive of an attack, many countries announced war against Germany. The main countries being Britain and France. -
Period: to
Operation Barbarossa
Hitler has brought it upon himself to invade Russia in Operation Barbarossa. Hitler wanted to gain the resources of Russia, and also wanted to remove a potential opponent off the battlefield to make way for his world domination. While Germany did take Moscow, the official capital of Russia, Hitler wanted to go further and take over Stalingrad. Upon attempting to do so, however, Hitler failed to realize the winter would render his army incredibly weakened, forcing his advances to retreat. -
Pearl Harbor
On December 7th, 1941, Japanese aircrafts launched a bombing on a naval base in Hawaii. The US had cut any and all shipments of resources the Japan, thus disrupting Japan’s inflow of essential supplies. In response to this, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in hopes to neutralize the American front, leaving the rest of the Pacific for conquering. Instead of neutralizing the American front, it only saw to bring in America into the war. Shortly after the bombing, America declared war on Japan. -
Wannsee Conference
The Wannsee conference was a Nazi gathering between several Nazi bureaucrats to talk about their plan of the “final solution”, which had its main focus of “taking care” of the Jewish population. This plan was to exterminate all Jews from the European population, as at the time it was held a common belief that the Jewish were part of the problem of Germany’s economy after world war 1. Many innocent lives were lost in concentration camps. This loss of life was titled the Holocaust. -
Operation Gomorrah
Britain and American aircrafts bomb the German city of Hamburg in its own version of “The Blitz”. The Americans bombed the city in daylight, while Britain bombed them during the nighttime. It was mainly a “comeback” for the Blitz set upon London by Germany. However, this was much more devastating for Germany than it was for Britain. Many German civilians were killed by the bombing raids, along with the severely diminished German morale which came about from it. -
Operation Thunderclap
An unrealized plan in which another allied “Blitz” would be initiated over Berlin. It didn’t happen, as it was considered impractical. As a result, there were many smaller raids on the German front, rather than the large ones which were proposed. -
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Battle of Iwo Jima
America made their move on Japan, striking at 3 islands which had airfields with good potential. The islands of Iwo Jima made for a perfect advance into the Japanese front, as many of Japan’s airplanes were lost in the past months. This made it an opportune time for the United States to take the islands. Due to Japan’s lack of resources and being outnumbered, the islands were easily taken by the American forces, further allowing American advancement to the Japanese mainland. -
Period: to
D-Day
The allies make a move on France, landing on a beach on Northern France known as Normandy. It was an attempt to liberate France from German control, and finally have access to the German mainland as a result. All of Northern France was liberated in D-Day, and it made way for an entry into the German mainland. -
Period: to
Battle of the Bulge
The last German offensive battle on the western front as the allies finally engage into German territory. In an attempt to make it into the German mainland, the allies moved in on Germany during the summer, but it began to slow in fall. However, it soon picked back up once German forces were scrambling for more tanks. The German offensive was to no avail as the allied forces moved in. At this time, the allied forces were planning to meet with Soviet forces to end the Nazi regime. -
Period: to
Battle of Okinawa
Another battle between the Japanese and the Americans, this time its theatre being present at the largest of the Ryukyu islands, Okinawa. This was, again, to advance the American advancement to the Japanese mainland. As of last time, Okinawa was taken from Japanese and gave America a huge platform for America’s advancements. -
VE Day
The war in Europe is finally over. With Nazi Germany’s surrender and Italy having been liberated, Europe celebrates its end of world war 2. This came the day after Hitler suicided on May 7th. Being relieved of pushing on in an inevitable defeat, Germany finally surrendered on May 8th. The European front of WW2 was finally closed, the turmoil in Europe was ended. However, while the European front was put to an end, the Pacific theatre was still on-going. -
Period: to
The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
On August 6th, 1945, an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima by America. Three days later, on August 9th, another was dropped on top of Nagasaki. This effectively destroyed both cities. The president at the time, Harry Truman, had decided that, over the loss of life, dropping the atomic bombs on Japan would prove swifter and safer for the American people. The damage done to both cities and the defeat which came along with it caused an informal surrender by Japan on August 15th. -
VJ Day
On this day was the formal surrender of the Japanese, officially ending the war for America in the Pacific theatre. The raging war of WW2 was officially over for the world. After the damage sustained from the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, an informal surrender was issued on the 15th of August. Soon after, a formal one was released on September 2. The surrender was what put WW2 to an end for the world, closing out the battle on the pacific theatre.
