-
japanese invasion of china
The clash that occurred on July 7, 1937 between Japanese and Chinese troops sparked this event. After the clash there was intensified military on the Japanese side. For over a six week period, the Japanese Army brutally murdered hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians and military personnel. Between 20,000 and 80,000 women were sexual assaulted during this time. The capital of China was left in ruins. There is an estimate of 200,000 to 300,000 people that died. http:www.history.com -
German Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg is a German military tactic designed to create disorganization. It's success results in short military campaigns. German forces first tried out this tactic on Poland in 1939. Grand-strategic and economic planning in Adolf Hitler's Reich were not shaped by a doctrine of Blitzkrieg. The Blitzkrieg left many towns in ruins and it would take a while to rebuild them. The anticipated result would be quick, and decisive.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/blitzkrieg -
Germany's invasion of Poland
One of Adolf Hitler's first major initiative was to sign a non-aggression pact with Poland. However Hitler went against the pact and invaded Poland after gaining their trust. The Polis Army was defeated within a few weeks of the invasion. In October 1939, eGermany annexed the former Polish territories along German's eastern border. Poland remained in German control until January 1945.
https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005070 -
Fall of Paris
On this day, Parisians awaken to the sound of a German-accented voice announcing via loudspeakers that a curfew was being imposed for 8 pm that evening. Roosevelt promised French prime minister that the U.S. would send materials and aid. By the time German tanks rolled into Paris, 2 million Parisians had already fled. A giant swastika flew beneath the Arc de Triomphe. French men and women in the west cheered as candian troops rolled through their region.
www.history.com -
Operation Barbossa
On June 22, 1941, Adolf Hitler launched his armies eastward in a massive invasion on the Soviet Union. 3 million German soldiers, 150 divisions, and 3 thousand tanks smashed across into Soviet territory. It covered from North Cape to the Black Sea. The forces that invaded Russia represented the finest Army to fight in the twentieth century. Barbarossa was the turning point of World War II. The Germans severely underestimated their opponents. Barbarossa had failed.
http://www.history.com -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
On December 7, 1941, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked American naval base at Pearl Harbor. The Japanese wanted to be sure America would stay out of WW II so they bombed Pearl Harbor. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States joined WW2 with the allies. After two years of staying out of WW2 the US was in. After winning WW2 with the allies, the United States declared war on Japan and dropped two atomic bombs on Japan.
http://www.history.com -
Wannsee Conference site used: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-wannsee-conference
Nazi officials met to discuss the details of the "final solution" of the "Jewish Question." The agenda was simple and focused. Although the word "extermination" was never uttered the implication was clear. Months later, the "gas vans" in Chelmno, Poland, which were killing 1,000 people a day, proved to be the "solution." The minutes of this meeting were kept with meticulous care, which later provided key evidence during the Nuremberg war crime trials. -
Bataan Death March
Approximately 75,000 Filipino and American troops were forced to march 65-miles to prison camps. Thousand perished in what became known as the Bataan Death March. The men were divided into groups of approximately 100. The march took groups approximately 5 days to complete. Survivors were taken by rail from San Fernando to prisoner-of-war camps, where thousands more died from disease, mistreatment, and starvation.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bataan-death-march -
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was the successful Soviet defense of the city of Stalingrad in the U.S.S.R. during WW2. Russians consider it to be the greatest battle of their Great Patriotic War. It stopped German advancement into the Soviet Union and marked the turning of the tide of war in favor of the Allies. The battle of Stalingrad was one of the bloodiest battles in history, with combined military and civilian casualties of nearly 2 million.
http://www.history.com -
Period: to
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
Residents of the Jewish ghetto in Nazi-occupied Warsaw, Poland, staged an armed revolt. the Warsaw ghetto uprising inspired other revolts in extermination camps throughout German-occupied Eastern Europe. Shortly after the German invasion of Poland, more than 400,000 Jews in Warsaw were confined to an area of the city that was little more than 1 square mile. Several hundred resistance fighters, armed with a small cache of weapons, maaged t fight the Germans.
http://www.history.com -
allied invasion of italy
On July 10, 1943, the allies began their invasion of Axis-controlled Europe with landings on the island of Sicily. Encountering little resistance from demoralized Sicilian troops, Montgomey's 8th Army came ashore on the southeast part of the island, while the U.S. 7th army landed on Sicily's south coast. Within 3 days 150,000 allied troops were ashore. In October, the Badoglio government declared war on Germany, but the Allied advance up through Italy proved to be a slow and costly affair. -
Operation Gomorrah
British bombers raid Hamburg, Germany, by night in Operation Gomorrah. Britain had suffered the death of 167 civilians as a result of German bombing raids in July. The evening of July 24 British aircraft dropped 2,300 tons of incendiary bombs on Hamburg. More than 1,500 Germans were killed in that first British raid. Britain only lost 12 aircraft out of 791. Operation Gomorrah proved devastating to Hamburg. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/operation-gomorrah-is-launched -
D-Day Invasion
The Battle of Normandy lasted from June 1944 to August 1944, resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany's control. D-day is known as the day when 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on 5 beaches along a 50-mile stretch. The spring following the D-day invasion the allies formally accepted the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day# -
Battle of Iwo JIma
The American ideology for invading Iwo Jima stemmed from needing a base near the Japanese coast. Iwo Jima was defended by about 23,000 Japanese army and navy troops. The fought using a network of caves, dugouts, tunnels, and underground installations. The battle was marked by changes in Japanese defense tactics. Except for 1,083 prisoners the entire Japanese garrison was wiped out. American losses included 5,900 dead and 17,400 wounded.
www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-iwo-jima# -
Operation Thunderclap
A series of Allied firebombing raids began against the German city of Dresden. As may as 135,000 people were killed. It was the single most destructive bombing of the war. More than 3,400 tons of explosives were dropped on the city by 800 American and British aircraft. The bombing left the city burning for may more days. Eight square miles of the city was ruined, and the total body count was 35,000 and 135,000. The hospitals that were left standing couldn't handle the numbers of injured. -
Battle of Okinawa
It was the last and biggest battle in the Pacific island. It involved 287,000 U.S. troops and 130,000 soldiers of the Japanese Thirty-second army. By the end Japan lost more than 77,000 soldiers an the Allies had suffered more than 65,000 casualties. Japanese forces changed their typical tactics of resisting at the water's edge to defense in depth. Using pillboxes and strongpoints, caves, and even some ancient castles, the Japanese defense positions supported one another.
www.history.com -
V-E Day
V-E day stands for Victory in Europe day.la The eighth of May spelled the day when German Troops throughout Europe finally laid down their arms. On May 9, the Soviets would lose 600 more soldiers in Silesia before the Germans finally surrendered. V-E Day was not celebrated until the ninth in Moscow, wth a radio broadcast salute from Stalin himself: "The age-long struggle of the Slav nations... has ended in victory. Your courage has defeated the Nazis. The war is over."
history.com -
Dropping the Atomic Bomb
As revenge for the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the U.S. dropped two atomic bombs on Japan. On August 6, 1945, the American bomber Enola Gay dropped a five-ton bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. A blast equivalent to the power of 15,000 tons of TNT reduced four square miles of the city to ruins and immediately killed 80,000 people. Tens of thousands more died in the following weeks from wounds and radiation poisoning. 3 days later another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki.
history.com -
V-J day
V-J day is know as Victory over Japan Day. The day is named because that's the day Japan surrendered to the U.S. Coming eseveral months after the surrender on Nazi Germany, Japan's capitulation in the Pacific brought 6 years of hostilities to a final and highly anticipated close. Early afternoon of August 15, Emperor Hirohito urged his people to accept the surrender. More than 110,000 people were killed and they couldn't afford to lose any more.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/j-j-day -
Battle of the Bulge
In December 1944, Hitler attempted to split the Allied armies in northwest Europe. The Allies line took on the appearance of a large bulge, giving rise to the battle's name. On December 16, three German armies launched the deadliest and most desperate battle of the war in the west. The Battle of the Bulge was the costliest action ever fought by the U.S. Army, which suffered over 100,000 casualties.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-the-bulge
