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Japanese invasion of China
Japan invaded China starting the Second Sino-Japanese war. The Chinese were not able to fight off Japan. This happened because Japan was an imperialist country taking land. This would eventually lead to war crimes being committed on Chinese people.
https://www.britannica.com/event/Second-Sino-Japanese-War -
German Blitzkrieg
German Blitzkrieg was a coordinated attack where planes would bomb a site, then infantry and tanks would come in right after to finish off forces. This was done so the Germans could swiftly take cities and towns. This strategy allowed the Germans to quickly take territory with little casualties putting them in a good spot to win the battles
https://www.britannica.com/topic/blitzkrieg -
Fall of Paris
The Germans entered Paris taking it under their control. This happened because the Germans were taking France. This would cause the fall of France to the Nazis.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germans-enter-paris -
Pearl Harbor
The Japanese surprise attacked the United States Navy base in Pearl Harbor Hawaii. The Japanese did this to try and disable to American fleet in the Pacific. This caused the U.S.A. you join WW2. https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor -
Wannsee Conference
Nazi Officials all met together in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee to talk about what they were going to do about the Jews. This happened because the Nazis didn't think deporting them all to Madagascar was a good idea anymore so they decided to exterminate them. This basically made the Holocaust even worse because the Jews would be killed.
https://www.britannica.com/event/Wannsee-Conference -
Bataan Death March
The Americans lost the Filipino island so the remaining Filipino and Americans troops had to march 65 miles to the prisons. This happened because they lost and the Japanese captured them all. The General pledged he would come back for them. All the men were sent to prison.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bataan-death-march -
Battle of Midway
The Japanese were planning a surprise attack on Midway Island but the plans were intercepted by the Americans ending in a huge defeat for Japanese naval forces. This happened because the Japanese wanted to take control of the Pacific, and they though Midway would be a good spot to take control. This American victory showed that Americans could beat the Japanese.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-midway -
Battle of Stalingrad
The Germans were trying to take Stalingrad, which was named after the leader of the Soviet Union, so they could get in a better position to take over the Soviets. This happened because Hitler needed to damage the Soviets bad. This was significant because it backfired, enraging the Soviets, and the Germans lost huge.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-stalingrad -
D-Day
The Allied forces invaded the beaches of Normandy so they could take back France. There were many casualties because many things went wrong. This started the retaking of France from Germany and was the turning point of the Western front.
https://www.army.mil/d-day/ -
Battle of the Bulge
The Germans were being pushed back and needed to create a bulge in the battle line so they tried to turn the tides of the war. This just led to another Allied victory. The Germanys pretty much just used a lot of their forces just to lose.
https://www.army.mil/botb/ -
Liberation of concentration camps
This day in specific was when the Soviets took over Auschwitz and freed the Jews. This happened because the Soviets were trying to defeat Germany and needed to take Auschwitz. This was significant because people started to see how cruel Germany really was.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/liberation-of-the-concentration-camps -
Battle of Iwo Jima
In this battle, the Americans attacked the Island of Iwo Jima. They did this because the U.S.A. needed an island close to Japan so they could launch an invasion on mainland Japan. The battle lasted around a month with an American victory. This would allow the Americans to invade mainland Japan if it came to it.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-iwo-jima -
Victory in Europe Day
This day the Nazi troops laid down their weapons and surrendered. This happened because of the Soviets, and rest of the allies taking all the cities occupied by the Nazis. This marked the end of the war in Europe.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/victory-in-europe -
Dropping of the atomic bombs
Harry s. Truman allowed the dropping of the Atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Enola Gay would fly over Hiroshima and drop the bomb causing tens of thousands of deaths. This was an attempt to end the war without huge American casualties. This would end the war in the Pacific.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/atomic-bomb-dropped-on-hiroshima -
Victory in Japan Day
On August 14th, 1945 the Japanese surrendered, but it wasn't till September 2nd, 1945 that they formally surrendered to the U.S.A. This happened because the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki causing the Japanese to surrender. The ended WW2 completely.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/v-j-day
