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Japanese Invasion.
Japan invaded the Chinese province of Manchuria in 1931. By 1937 Japan controlled large sections of China, and war crimes against the Chinese became commonplace. In 1939, the armies of Japan and the Soviet Union clashed in the area of the Khalkin Gol river in Manchuria. This battle lasted four months and resulted in a significant defeat for the Japanese. -https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/education/presidential-inquiries/invasion-manchuria -
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German Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg," a German word meaning “Lightning War,” was Germany’s strategy to avoid a long war in the first phase of World War II in Europe. Germany's strategy was to defeat its opponents in a series of short campaigns. Germany quickly overran much of Europe and was victorious for more than two years by relying on this new military tactic of "Blitzkrieg." Blitzkrieg tactics required the concentration of offensive weapons https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/blitzkrieg-lightning-war -
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Ribbentrop/Molotov Pact
Germany and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact, known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.The countries agreed that they would not attack each other and secretly divided the countries that lay between them. Germany claimed Western Poland and part of Lithuania. The Soviet Union was going to occupy Eastern Poland, the Baltic States and part of Finland.One week later, Germany invaded Poland and two weeks later, the Soviet Union attacked Poland in the east.
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Fall of Paris
Paris fell to the Germans yesterday. The French, having decided not to fight in the capital itself, have withdrawn south of the city. In deciding not to defence Paris the French Command "aimed at sparing it the devastation which defence would have involved. The command considered that no valuable strategic result justified the sacrifice of Paris. From the sea to the Maginot Line the Allies are resisting strongly on a new line. "https://www.theguardian.com/world/1940/jun/15/secondworldwar.france -
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Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa, was the invasion of the Soviet Union. It was the beginning of a campaign that would ultimately decide the Second World War. Hitler regarded the Soviet Union as his natural enemy. He aimed to destroy its armies, capture its vast economic resources and enslave its populations, providing the Lebensraum (or 'living space') that Hitler believed Germany needed in the East. https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/what-was-operation-barbarossa -
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor is a U.S. naval base near Honolulu, Hawaii, that was the scene of a devastating surprise attack by Japanese forces. Before 8 am on that Sunday morning hundreds of Japanese fighter planes descended on the base, where they managed to destroy or damage nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight battleships, and over 300 airplanes. More than 2,400 Americans died in the attack, including civilians, and another 1,000 people were wounded.
history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor -
Wannsee Conference
The Wannsee Conference, held on January 20, 1942 was called to coordinate the "Final Solution to the Jewish Problem". As a result, a network of extermination camps was established in which 1.7 million Jews were murdered in 1942-1943.
There is no document in our possession that indicates specifically by whom, at what time, and in what way it was decided to embark on the total extermination of the Jews. https://www.yadvashem.org/holocaust/about/final-solution-beginning/wannsee-conference.html -
Warsaw Ghetto uprising
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was the largest uprising during World War II and inspired other resistance movements across German-occupied Europe. Around April 19, we observe the Days of Remembrance, commemorating the courage of those who took part in the uprising as well as all victims and survivors of the Holocaust. www.cnn.com/interactive/2023/world/warsaw-ghetto-uprising-80-anniversary/ -
D-Day (Normandy Invasion)
The D-Day allied invasion of Europe, was the largest use of airborne troops up to that time. Paratroopers of the U.S. 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, the British 6th Airborne Division, the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, and other attached Allied units took part in the assault. Numbering more than 13,000 men, the paratroopers were flown from bases in southern England to the Cotentin Peninsula in approximately 925 C-47 airplanes https://www.army.mil/d-day/history.html -
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Battle of the Bulge
the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes region of Belgium was Adolf Hitler’s last major offensive in World War II against the Western Front. Hitler’s aim was to split the Allies in their drive toward Germany. The German troops’ failure to divide Britain, France and America with the Ardennes offensive paved the way to victory for the allies. www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-the-bulge -
Liberation of concentration camps
As Allied troops moved across Europe against Nazi Germany in 1944 and 1945, they encountered concentration camps, mass graves, and other sites of Nazi crimes. The unspeakable conditions the liberators confronted shed light on the full scope of Nazi horrors. 2020 marked the 75th anniversary of the liberation of prisoners from Nazi concentration camps and the end of Nazi tyranny in Europe. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/liberation-of-nazi-camps -
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Battle of Iwo Jima
Battle of Iwo Jima, World War II conflict between the United States and the Empire of Japan. The United States mounted an amphibious invasion of the island of Iwo Jima as part of its Pacific campaign against Japan. A costly victory for the United States, the battle was one of the bloodiest in the history of the U.S. Marine Corps and was cited as proof of the Japanese military’s willingness to fight to the last man. www.britannica.com/topic/Battle-of-Iwo-Jima -
VE Day
Victory in Europe Day or V-E Day - celebrations erupted around the world to mark the end of World War II in Europe. The war had been raging for almost five years when U.S. and Allied forces landed on the beaches of Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944. The invasion signaled the beginning of the end for Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany. In less than a year, Germany would surrender and Hitler would be dead. www.defense.gov/Multimedia/Experience/VE-Day/ -
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Dropping of the atomic bombs
On the morning of August 6, 1945, the American B-29 bomber Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
By July 1945, Germany had surrendered, and the war in Europe was over. Japan, however, refused to submit to the terms outlined in the Allies’ Potsdam Declaration. It appeared to American leaders that the only way to compel Japan’s unconditional surrender was to invade and conquer the Japanese home islands. www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/atomic-bomb-hiroshima -
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VJ Day
Victory over Japan Day (V-J Day) would officially be celebrated in the United States on the day formal surrender documents were signed aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay: September 2, 1945. But as welcome as victory over Japan was, the day was bittersweet in light of the war's destructiveness. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/v-j-day