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Japanese Invasion of china
The Japan-China War started in July 1937 when the Japanese claimed that they were fired on by Chinese troops at the Marco Polo Bridge near Beijing. Using this as an excuse, the Japanese launched a full-scale invasion of China using the conquered Manchuria as a launching base for their troops. -
rape of nanking
In December of 1937, the Japanese Imperial Army marched into China's capital city of Nanking and proceeded to murder 300,000 out of 600,000 civilians and soldiers in the city. The six weeks of carnage would become known as the Rape of Nanking and represented the single worst atrocity during the World War II era in either the European or Pacific theaters of war. www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/nanking.htm T -
Germanys invasion of Poland
On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. The Polish army was defeated within weeks of the invasion http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germans-invade-poland -
Germany Blitzkrieg
The period between Germany's defeat of Poland in October 1939 and her invasion of Norway in April 1940 is often referred to as the "Phony War." Not much happened. The French stiffened their defenses while the British moved troops to the continent. The British wanted to send their air force to bomb targets inside Germany but were persuaded not to by the French who feared German reprisal. http://www.2worldwar2.com/blitzkrieg.htm -
operation Barbarossa
Adolf Hiter launched his armies eastward in a massive invasion of the Soviet Union three great army groups with over three million german soldiers. -
pearl harbor
December 7, 1941, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawaii. https://www.pearlharboroahu.com -
wannsee Conference
Heydrich met with Adolf Eichmann, chief of the Central Office of Jewish Emigration, and 15 other officials from various Nazi ministries and organizations at Wannsee, a suburb of Berlin. www.holocaust-history.org/short-essays/wannsee.shtml -
Operation Gomorrah
On this day in 1943, British bombers raid Hamburg, Germany, by night in Operation Gomorrah, while Americans bomb it by day in its own “Blitz Week.” militaryhistory.about.com › ... › Aerial Campaigns -
D-Day (Normandy invasion)
the Battle of Normandy, which lasted from June 1944 to August 1944, resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany’s control. www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1749.html -
Battle of the Bulge
On December 16, three German armies (more than a quarter-million troops) launched the deadliest and most desperate battle of the war in the west in the poorly roaded, rugged, heavily forested Ardennes. www.army.mil/botb/ -
Operation Thunderclap
Operation Thunderclap’ had been under discussion within the Allied Command for some time, the proposal was to bomb the eastern-most cities of Germany to disrupt the transport infrastructure behind what was becoming the Eastern front.ww2orc.tripod.com/id15.htm -
Battle of Iwo jima
The American amphibious invasion of Iwo Jima during World War II stemmed from the need for a base near the Japanese coast. www.historylearningsite.co.uk › -
Battle of okinawa
By the end of the 82-day campaign, Japan had lost more than 77,000 soldiers and the Allies had suffered more than 65,000 casualties—including 14,000 dead.www.historylearningsite.co.uk -
VE Day
On this day in 1945, both Great Britain and the United States celebrate Victory in Europe Day. Cities in both nations, as well as formerly occupied cities in Western Europe, put out flags and banners, rejoicing in the defeat of the Nazi war machine. www.infoplease.com/spot/veday1.html -
Dropping of the atomic bombs
The United States becomes the first and only nation to use atomic weaponry during wartime when it drops an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Though the dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan marked the end of World War II, many historians argue that it also ignited the Cold War. www.trumanlibrary.o... -
VJ Day
In 1995, the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, the administration of President Bill Clinton referred not to V-J Day but to the “End of the Pacific War” in its official remembrance ceremonies. www.holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/September/vjday.htm
