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Japanese Invasion of China
Japanese Invasion of China
War started between Japan and China for the control of Chinese mainland. Japna aimed to take all roads, railroads, and cites in order to gain total control. China was not ready for war. With the help of western allies China launched an attack. The USA dropped a atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Japan was forced to surrender. -
German Blitzkreig
German Blitzkreig
It is the German term for lightning war. It is designed to create disorganization amoung the enemy. It preserves human lives and ammo. The Germans used this succesfully and overran most of Europe. -
Ribbentrop/ Molotov Pact
Ribbentrop/ Molotov Pact
Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed the German-Soviet Nonaggression pact. THey agreed to take no military action against each other for the next 10 years. The Soviet leader thought this would be a good time to keep his nation on peaceful terms with Germany as well as building up his army. The pact fell apart in Juna 1941 when Nazi forces invaded the Soviet Union. -
Germany Invasion of Poland
German Invasion of Poland
Hitler knew that if he wanted to take Europe he needed to capture Poland. German bombers neutralized key Polish infastructure. Germans took the roads and Polish villages on their march to Warsaw. The Polish surrendered October 6. -
Fall of Paris
Fall of Paris
Germans announced that a curfew would be put into action as they were entering Paris. Winston Churchhill tried to rally his people but failed. France asked the US to join the war and help them. The US replied that they would send aid but would not enter the war. Most people fled Paris. -
Operation Barbarossa
Operation BarbarossaThe Germans would use the blitzkreig tactic. They planned on capturing the Soviet capital of Moscow. They had tanks, cars, aircraft, artillery, supply trucks, etc. The captured lands would serve to feed the army and slave labor would provide Germany with the manpower for war. It was looking good for Germany but the poor winter weather stopped them. This allowed the Soviets to regroup and rearm which began the Battle of Moscow. -
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Japan wanted to take America out. They sent a note with their declaration of war to Washington to be delivered at a specifc time. Japanese were caught on the radar but they thought they were planes from the states. The United States ended up declaring war on Japan. The airfield was destroyed and 2403 lives were lost. American aircraft carriers weren't lost. -
Wannsee Conference
Wannsee Conference
The Nazi leaders and the German government leaders met for a meeting. They were to discuss "the final solution to the Jewish question in Europe." This was their code for their planned destruction of the Jews. They were to discuss the means by which to kill the Jews. Never before had a state commited itself to the murder of a people. This put into effect the transporting of Jews to camps. -
Bataan Death March
Bataan Death March
The surrendered Filipinos and Americans were forced to march 65 miles. They starved and beat the marchers and killed the ones that were too weak. The survivors were taken to prisoner camps where more died of mistreatment, starvation, and disease. America avenged its defeat in the Philipines with the invasion of the island of Leyte. -
Operation Gomorrah
Operation Gomorrah
Operation Gomorrah was a bombing that occured in the European Theartre of opertions. It was against the German port city of Hamburg. British attacks on Hamburg continued until November that year. They destroyed a big percentage of the city. -
D-Day (Normandy Invasion)
D-Day
American, British, and Canadian troops landed on a 50 mile stretch of beaches on the coast of France. By late August most of northern France had been liberated and by the following spring the Allies had defeated the Germans. They had to invade the continent because they knew that if they were successful they would be central to winning the war. -
Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
On this day the Germans launched their last major offensive of the war. This would be an attempt to push the Allied front line to northwestern Belgium. The Germans were able to push the Americans into a retreat. The battle raged for 3 weeks. The US suffered its second largest surrender of troops. Germany succeeded. -
Liberation of concentration camps
<ahref='http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005131' >Liberation of concentration camps</a>The Allied troops moved across Europe in a series of offensive attacks against Germany. They began to encounter thousands of concentration camp prisoners. Soviet forces were the first to approach a camp. The Germans tried to hide what they were doing by demolishing the camp. Only after the liberation of these camps were the horrors revealed to the world. The few prisoners of these camps that did survive had a long and hard road to recovery. -
Operation Thunderclap
Operation Thunderclap
The plan invovled a massive attack on Germany that they hoped would cause many causualties. They wanted to do this because it would shatter German morale.The plan was never put into effect. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The battle of Iwo Jima
The Americans attacked Iwo Jima because they needed a base near the Japanese coast. After elaborate air and naval preparations the marines landed on the island in Febuary. The marines wiped out the defending forces after a month of fighting. -
Battle of Okinawa
Battle of Okinawa
The islan of Okinawa was a grand strategic map marker for both the Allies and the Japanese. It feel to the control of the Allies. The was the begining of the end for the Japanese. Causualties were high. -
VE Day
VE Day
This is where Great Britain and the US celebrated the defeat of the Nazi war machine. The Germans surrendered because they didn't want to be taken prisoner by Soviet forces. This marked the ending of the war. -
Postdam Declaration
Postdam Declaration
Leaders wanted to negotiate terms for the end of the war. The Soviets pressed hard for Germany to take alot of the blame for the war. This was between the US, The Soviet Union and Great Brittain. They discussed reparations and how to prevent a next war. -
Dropping of the atomic bombs
Dropping of atomic bombs
An American bomber dropped the first deployed atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. It wiped out 90% of the city. This caused Japanese to surrender after another atomic bomb was dropped on another one of their city's. -
VJ Day
VJ Day
It was announced that Japan had surrendered to the Allies therefore ending the war. This day is known as VJ day or victory over Japan day. The formal surrender took place on the U.S.S. Misouri.
