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Ribbentrop/Molotov Pact
Germany and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact so that the Soviet Union wouldn't interfere when Germany invaded Poland. Hitler and Stalin secretly agreed to split up countries into regions that they could control. As a result of this pact many people were deported or killed after Hitler and Stalin took over their regions.
https://www.rferl.org/a/molotov-ribbentrop-what-do-russians-know-of-key-wwii-pact/30123950.html -
German Blitzkrieg(Lighting War)
Blitzkrieg relies on speed, surprise and concentration of force. The strategy was to cause confusion in your enemy forces by using tanks, planes, and mobile artillery. Blitzkrieg was used so that war wouldn't be as slow as the Great War. Many people died and France fell very easily because of these Blitzkrieg attacks. (WWII-prelude and spring offensives) -
Fall of Paris
By early June Hitler had taken over most of Europe and had set his sights on France as the next target. The French army was unprepared for the German army and as a result had to surrender Paris after only a week of fighting. As a result France surrendered to Germany and Hitler gained more control in Europe as well as Frances resources and army.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/fall_france_01.shtml -
Pear Harbor
U.S. and Japan were fighting over land. As Japan took over more islands then the U.S America cut off all trades with Japan. Japan was now cut off from essential supplies and in order to get them back they had to invade more islands, so Japan bombed Pearl Harbor so the U.S. would be out of the majority of their navel ships. In retaliation to the bombing U.S. enlisted the help of the Allies who agreed to help as long as America joined the war.(Crimes Against Humanity) -
Bataan Death March
U.S. surrender of the Bataan Peninsula to the Japanese caused thousands of U.S. soldiers and citizens to make the 65 mile hick in intense heat to prison camps. The mistreatment of the prisoners caused thousands to die and those too weak to walk were killed. America avenged the defeat by capturing the island of Lyte and eventually recapturing Bataan.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bataan-death-march -
Wannsee Conference
Reinhard Heydrich called a conference for the Nazi party to discuss how to get rid of the Jews once and for all. "The Final Solution" was the code name for the systematic physical annihilation of European Jews. Hitlers belief that Jews were disgusting allowed these plans to go through and millions of Jews to die.
https://www.ushmm.org/learn/timeline-of-events/1942-1945/wannsee-conference -
Battle of Stalingard
As Hitler gained power in Europe he set his sights on the Soviet Union in hopes of destroying Communism and the Slavic people. Germany set its sights on the city of Stalingrad. Stalin put a no retreat order on the city as it would reflect badly if his namesake was captured. As a result of the no retreat policy put in by Stalin the battle turned into one of the longest and bloodiest war with many soldiers dying. Harsh winter allowed Stalin to gain control over the city. (WWII-prelude) -
Operation Gomorrah
After facing heavy bombing by Germany and had faced heavy civilian lose Britain decided it was time to turn the table. They launched Operation Gomorrah in which they launched 2,300 tons of incendiary bombs on Hamburg in just a few hours. 1,500 German Civilians died in this one attack. These attacks continued until November and at that point 30,000 people had died and Hitler had accepted defeat was imminent.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/operation-gomorrah-is-launched -
D-Day(Normandy Invasion)
D-day was launched to take the pressure off of the Soviet Union and cause a two front war for Germany. Some 150,000 allied soldiers landed on five beaches within a 50-mile radius. June 6,1944 thousands of paratroopers and glider troops on the ground had secured bridges and roads. The Normandy Invasion was thoroughly planned and was successful with only 4,000 lives lost. It resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day#section_4 -
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was Hitlers last big offensive in WWII against the western front. The goal was to split the allies in their drive towards Germany. The German troops failed to divide the Allies with the Ardennes offensive paved way for the Allies victory. As the German troops drove into Ardennes the Allied forces took on the appearance of a large bulge.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-the-bulge -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima was an epic battle between the U.S. Marines and the Imperial Army of Japan. The island of Iwo Jima had air forces that could act as a staging unit for future invasions of mainland Japan. America invaded the island and the battle lasted for five weeks. The strategic value of Iwo Jima came into question. Iwo Jima was not able to house a staging unit in WWII so the battle was all but useless.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-iwo-jima -
VE Day
VE Day was the day when the Nazi army finally laid down their arms and fighting stopped on the German front. More then 13,000 British POW were released and taken home. This event is significant because Nazi Germany was finally defeated after years of Hitlers reign.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/victory-in-europe -
Dropping the atomic bomb
The U.S. was losing the battle against the Japanese and they needed a large scale attack to get an advantage over the Japanese. The original plan would have cost more lives then it would have saved. They started the Manhattan project in hopes the bombs would make the Japanese surrender. The first atomic bomb was dropped August 6 on Hiroshima with the second being dropped on the 9th on Nagasaki. The amount of destruction caused by the bombs made the Japanese surrender.WWII-crimes against humanity -
VJ Day
VJ Day, or Victory over Japan Day, was August 14,1945. VJ Day was the day that Japan finally admitted defeat and surrendered to the Allies. The war was finally over and family's were being reunited. Some consider September 2 VJ Day as that is when the treaty was officially signed. (WWII-Crimes against humanity) -
Liberation of concentration camps
As Soviet Union soldiers came upon the concentration camps the sights they were met with were horrifying, piles of belongings such as shoes and eyeglasses were piled in storage sheds those who once owned them dead. After the German surrender the Allied soldiers came upon these horrifying camps and rescued the Jews from their horrifying conditions. Nazis had left them there to die after their surrender, hundreds of thousands of lives were saved from starvation as they had been abandoned. -
sources
https://www.history.com/news/auschwitz-liberation-soviets-holocaust
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/liberation-of-nazi-camps
https://www.everythingzoomer.com/arts-entertainment/2020/05/08/ve-day-remembering-distinctly-canadian-second-world-war-victory/
https://www.aarp.org/politics-society/history/info-2020/vj-day-wwii-japan.html
https://time.com/4346336/atomic-bombs-1945-history/
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Battle-of-Iwo-Jima -
picture sources
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ushmm.org%2Flearn%2Ftimeline-of-events%2F1942-1945%2Fwannsee-conference&psig=AOvVaw1m-HJCMeG-a0-1Kmhl4Rn9&ust=1603467761750000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCOC_tYvFyOwCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD
https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2017/04/08/ap_17097637865846_wide-4b1fdcc0dbd4d141587c191d5270c8c051847c63.jpg?s=1400
https://miro.medium.com/max/968/1*dhFy42Ajsr708wHWhZsZCA@2x.jpeg
https://scx2.b-cdn.net/gfx/news/hires/2019/fullmoonatno.jpg -
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picture sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_in_World_War_II
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c9/Molotov_with_Ribbentrop.jpg/220px-Molotov_with_Ribbentrop.jpg
https://cdn.britannica.com/s:800x450,c:crop/19/192919-138-6154BF1A/infographic-attack-Pearl-Harbor-December-7-1941.jpg
https://miro.medium.com/max/968/1*dhFy42Ajsr708wHWhZsZCA@2x.jpeg
https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/106CB/production/_102657276_gettyimages-613492562.jpg
