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Japenese Invasion of China
On this day Japan invaded China. They did this to steal natural resources from them. They fought for three years and in the end no one really won. Japan got some natural resources and China could not do anything about it because Japan was ruling their country and anyone who got in the way was hurt. This was an important event towards the war because right after this Japan brought the war over the the East and bombed Pearl Harbor. http://alphahistory.com/chineserevolution/sino-japanese-war/ -
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WW2 Timeline Project
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Germany Invades Poland
Germany invades Poland and comes into their country with lots of soldiers and bombs. They take all of the Polish people into concentration camps and hold them there while Germany rules. Hitler was in charge of this and invaded Poland because he thought that it was a defensive action. This had a huge impact on the start of WW2 because right after this event, Britain and France declared war on Germany. This was a start to WW2. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germany-invades-poland -
German Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg is a battle technique used to distract the enemy. They distract the enemy by using local forces and firepower. This technique was used mostly by the Germans in 1939-1940 on countries such as Poland, France, and Belgium. This was created to create a quick win. This impacted the war because Germany won a lot more using this tactic in WW2. https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005437 -
Fall of Paris
The fall of Paris started when the British left France to fight for themselves. Germany saw this as a weakness and attacked France. The fighting between Germany and France went on and eventually they came to an agreement, Germany got most of France and then France getting a little bit of their original land. France was held in Axis powers until the allied landings. This impacted France a lot because now they were under Germany's control. http://www.historynet.com/fall-of-france -
Operation Barbarossa
On this day Hitler attacked the Soviet Union with lots of armies. He did this to enslave the people in the country and kill the Jews. They under estimated the Soviet Union however. After Germany conquered most of Ukraine they still could not defeat Moscow. Eventually, the Soviet Union fought back, This had a huge effect on WW2 because Germany was on a winning streak and then this event interrupted that because the Soviet Union won. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/operation-barbarossa -
Pearl Harbor
On this day, Japan did a suprose attack on the United States. They bombed on Pearl Harbor destroying a lot of battleships, airplanes, and soldiers died as well. Japan did this for two reasons. One is to broaden the war and the other is to make America not as strong. This event had a big effect on WW2 because after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the U.S. joined the war. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor -
Wannsee Conference
The Wannsee Conference was a day where Nazi officials meet in Berlin, Germany. What they discussed was "The final solution of the Jewish question." The final solution meant the exterminating of Jews. They came to an agreement to continue with the final solution in the end of the conference. This took place to discuss what would happen to the Jews. It effected the war because they decided to continue with the final solution. https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005477 -
Bataan Death March
After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, they made their way to Philippines. Succeeding, Japan made their enemy (Filipinos and Americans) walk to the southern end of the Bataan Peninsula. This was a long walk of around 65 miles. Many died and when they got there they were treated terribly, got barely any food, and usually died. That is why it was called the death march. Later the U.S. fought back and invaded the island of Leyte. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bataan-death-march -
Battle of Midway
Battle of Midway was a surprise attack on Japan by the United States. In the beginning we were out numbered by Japan, however we succeeded by destroying four Japanese aircraft's. In the end this turned out to have a huge effect on the war, because we destroyed a lot of Japans ships and airplanes they became weaker. This battle happened because the United States wanted to take out some of Japans air force. http://www.molossia.org/milacademy/midway.html -
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was one of the bloodiest battles in WW2. Germany started it by bombing the city of Stalingrad. This turned the city into nothing but ashes. In the end the Soviet Union won the battle, however both sides suffered many casualties. This was a turning point in the war because it played a key role in the downfall of Nazi Germany. The war happened because Germany wanted the Soviet Union. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-stalingrad -
Operation Gomorrah
Operation Gomorrah meant the bombing of Hamburg. It was launched on this day. Britain bombed Germany by night and Americans bombed Germany in the day. Britain did this because in July Germany bombed them so this was their revenge. The U.S. did this just to try and get the war to end and help. This impacted Germany greatly because it destroyed a lot of the cities. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/operation-gomorrah-is-launched -
D-Day
On this day allied soldiers went to attack France. This was a devastating day in history because even though the allies won, many soldiers were either killed or injured. The fight happened because America wanted to take over Europe to try and get closer to the end of the war. In the end, the allies liberated Europe. This impacted the war because shortly after we had VE day. This stands for Victory in Europe. https://www.dday.org/history/d-day-the-invasion/overview.html -
Liberation of Concentration Camps
At the final stages of the war the people inside concentration camps were set free. The Soviet soldiers were the first ones to liberate the concentration camps. Soon across the globe concentration camps were being liberated. This impacted the war because now more people could participate in the war. Although many allied soldiers, physicians, and relief workers helped feed the prisoners most could not digest food due to being weak. https://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007724 -
Battle of the Bulge
Germany surprises the allies by attacking them. The allies fight back and because of the terrible weather conditions, everything broke down. The battle continued and it soon became one of the bloodiest war in WW2. Hitler attacked the allies in attempt to split the allied lines and force negotiated peace. The allies eventually won the battle and because of this event this was Hitlers last major defense in the war. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-the-bulge -
Operation Thunderclap
Operation Thunderclap, was a plan to bomb some of the cities in Germany but the allies never took the plan up. On this day however they followed through with their plan. The allied forces took this plan and bombed Germany cities. Now most people call it the Dresden air attack. The allies did this to disturb their communication in Germany. This impacted only Dresden because it was destroyed. http://ww2today.com/13-february-1945-operation-thunderclap-raf-start-firestorm-in-dresden -
Battle of Iwo Jima
In 1945, American soldiers made an attack on Japan. The reason this happened was the U.S. wanted to capture the Japanese airfields. This attack on the Japanese ended on March 26, 1945. America succeeded and nearly all of the Japanese soldiers were either missing or dead. This had an effect on WW2 because after this America bombed Japan to end the war. http://www.ducksters.com/history/world_war_ii/battle_of_iwo_jima.php -
Battle of Okinawa
This battle was one of the bloodiest war of WW2. Allied forces fought the Japanese once again on Okinawa Island. They decided to do this because what was at stake was air bases that were crucial to the predicted invasion of Japan. In the end the Allied forces won the territory. Although the allied forces did win, there were many people dead on both sides. http://www.historynet.com/battle-of-okinawa-operation-iceberg.htm -
VE Day
VE Day is a holiday celebrating victory in Europe. They also celebrated the defeat of the Nazi war machine. Also on this day, Germany finally laid back and surrendered the Soviet soldiers. This event happened because we successfully defeated Germany. It effected the war because this was the day that the second world war ended every where in the world, the allies won and it was the end of Germany fighting against them. http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/VE-Day/ -
Dropping of the Atomic Bombs
What happened on this day is the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb onto a Japanese city. They did this to try and bring an end to WW2, because they thought it was either do this or try and invade Japan which would lead to a lot of American soldiers dying. So they did and it had a huge effect on WW2. What happened is shortly after this, Japan surrendered and the war did come shortly to and end. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/atomic-bomb-dropped-on-hiroshima -
VJ Day
On this day news of surrender came to the world and people celebrated. Japan stopped fighting in WW2, but finally surrendered on September 2. VJ stands for Victory in Japan. This effected the war greatly because it was one step closer to ending the war. Japan surrendered because after the atomic bombs, they knew they could not win the war after they saw what the U.S. could do to them. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/v-j-day
