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Japanese Invasion of China
Tension was building up between China and Japan, when they argued over a piece of land. The Japanese were furious that the people of China would not submit to their wishes. The fighting began on a bridge near Beijing. Japan was much more prepared for fighting than the Chinese. -
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German Blitzkrieg
The term Blitzkrieg is used to describe quick, fast paced warfare that used mobile forces including tanks and air support. In German Blitzkrieg means "lightning war". The Germans used this tactic in the early years of WW2. This idea was used by the Germans due to their low numbers. They used these strategies in the Invasion of Poland and the Spanish Civil War. -
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Germany’s Invasion of Poland
Poland was attacked from both the land and the air. This marked the beginning of WW2. Germany invaded Poland to regain the land it lost in the Treaty of Versailles. They used the infamous Blitzkrieg strategy. Hitler set up "security" areas around the new territory to punish anyone who argued with the Nazi ideologies. -
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Operation Gomorrah
British bombers raided the city of Hamburg during the night, while the Americans raided the city by day. A new radar technique was used to throw off the Germans from the British pilots. The city of Hamburg lost more than 1,500 German civilians. The attacks continued into November. The operation proved a devastating loss of German morale. -
Fall of Paris
The French government was begging for help from Great Britain and the United States. However, the US did not send help due to idea that it would be the same as declaring war. Many of the citizens of paris had already left. The German Gestapo made life very difficult for those who stayed in Paris. The United States did however freeze the assets with Axis Powers. -
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Operation Barbarossa
Hitler's plan for Operation Barbarossa was to overtake the Soviet Union. He sent thousands of tanks to fight over 2,000 miles of land. The Germans underestimated the power of the Soviet forces. They were severely underprepared. During the advance the weather took a turn. It got very cold, and the troops had no winter coats of supplies. The operation had failed and now Germany was fighting the war on two fronts. -
Pearl Harbor
Early in the morning, the Japanese launched a surprise attack on the Pearl Harbor Naval Base. The Japanese fighters managed to destroy or damage 20 naval vessels and over 300 airplanes. The casualties of the attacks were over 2,400. The day after the attack the president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, asked for congress to declare war on Japan. -
Wannsee Conference
This conference was held to discuss the "Final Solution". During this meeting there were many different proposals. These included deporting the Jewish people to Madagascar or to put the people in concentration camps. The people at the meeting were trying to find a fast and easy way to kill thousands of people. Months later gas chambers were introduced. These horrific additions killed almost 1,000 people a day. -
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Battle of Midway
This battle occurred six months after the attacks on Pearl Harbor. This American victory turned the tide of the War in the Pacific. The Japanese wanted to neutralize the United States as a naval power. The island was a very crucial point in the Pacific. The United States was aware of the Japanese surprise attack, due to naval codebreakers. The Japanese were sure that the Yorktown would not be able to partake in the battle, however it's recovery was only two days long. -
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Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
Residents of a Jewish ghetto held an armed revolt against the Nazis. They wanted to stop the deportations to the concentration camps. This revolt inspired many other uprisings in the camps. The Warsaw ghetto was the largest in Poland. After many of the Jewish people were moved to the extermination camps, the remaining Jewish people began to form groups for protection. The undersupplied Jewish people fought the Nazis for a month before the Warsaw ghetto was back under Nazi control. -
D-Day
D-Day was the largest amphibious invasion in military history. Around 156,000 American, Canadian, and British troops landed on the five beaches of France's Normandy territory. These beaches were heavily fortified by the Germans. Before D-Day the Allies used deception techniques to trick the Germans. In late August of 1944 most of northern France was liberated. This was the beginning of the end of the war in Europe. -
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Operation Thunderclap
Operation Thunderclap was the plan to bomb the city of Berlin. However instead of focusing all of their effort on Berlin, they bombed many cities including Dresden. Though the bombing of Dresden has remained controversial. The city of Dresden was not crucial to the German war efforts. In the morning of February 15, 1945 the city was smoking and an unknown amount of civilians were killed, the estimate is around 22,700-25,000. -
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Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge took place over 6 weeks. The goal of the German offensive attack was to split the Allies' forces. The battle took place in the Ardennes region of Belgium. This battle cost the most American casualties, 100,000. The Americans fought not only against the Germans, but also against the brutal weather. -
Liberation of Concentration Camps
In January of 1945, the Soviets discovered the camp called Auschwitz. They found thousands of stolen belongings. The people in the camp were overjoyed to see the soldiers. Many began to cry and hug on another. The Germans had tried to cover up what they had done. Many killing sites were destroyed. At Auschwitz there was no food, water, or fuel after the SS officers left. The discovery of these camps were shocking to the world. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The island of Iwo Jima had three airstrips that were in a good position to potentially invade the Japanese mainland. The United States and Japan engaged in some of the bloodiest fighting in WW2. The Japanese lost all but 200 of their 21,000 men. The United States lost 7,000 Marines. The island was rigged with many hidden tunnels and artillery positions. After the battle the question of how important this island is was brought up. -
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Battle of Okinawa
This battle was the last major battle in WW2. The battle was also one of the bloodiest. 180,000 Army and Marine Corps troops invaded the island. This invasion was apart of Operation Iceberg. There was rain, kamikaze pilots, and fierce fighting on the ground. Okinawa was the last island on their push to the Japanese mainland. -
VE Day
On this day German troops in Europe finally laid down their weapons. This essentially ended the war in Europe. Countries celebrated the defeat of the Nazis. They put out flags and celebrated. More documents were signed in Berlin and eastern Germany. -
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Potsdam Declaration
This was the last WW2 meeting held by the Big Three. The conference was attended by Harry Truman, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin. The talks occurred near Berlin. The discussed what to do with the German empire and that Japan would have to agree to an "unconditional surrender". Truman only told Churchill about the atomic bomb, as he wanted to have an advantage in the postwar world. -
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Dropping of the Atomic Bombs
On August 6th, 1945 an American B-29 bomber dropped the first atomic bomb. It killed an estimated 80,000 people on impact. The city the first bomber was dropped on was Hiroshima. The second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9th of 1945. The city of Nagasaki was less destroyed than Hiroshima, due to its position in the mountains. -
VJ Day
On this day Japan had officially surrendered to the Allies. This surrender effectively ended WWII. Although simply known as “VJ Day”, another name for this day is “Victory over Japan Day”. The surrender took place on the U.S.S. Missouri, which had been anchored in Tokyo Harbor. -
Citations Pt.1
-History.com Editors. “Battle of Midway.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 29 Oct. 2009, www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-midway.
-History.com Editors. “Battle of Okinawa.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 29 Oct. 2009, www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-okinawa.
-History.com Editors. “D-Day.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 27 Oct. 2009, www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day. -
Citations Pt.2
-United States Holocaust Memorial Museum . “World War II in Europe.” United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 2007, encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/world-war-ii-in-europe.
