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Japanese Invasion of China
Japan had wanted more land for a long time, and being next to China, a very large country, that was about the only choice to expand Japan's borders. On July 7, 1937, Japan invaded China in an effort to gain some of their land. This is what started what was called the Sino-Japanese War. It ended in 1940. The final result was stalemate.
http://www.history.co.uk/study-topics/history-of-ww2/sino-japanese-war -
German Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg warfare was when the Germans began using tanks and advancing in aircraft for war. Blitzkrieg means "lightning warfare" in German. It was mostly used the years 1939-1940. Germany's invasions of Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands, and France were carried out by this war tactic.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/blitzkrieg -
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was an attack on the Soviet Union from the Germans. It was called Operation Fritz until Hitler decided to rename it after Barbarossa, the Roman emperor. About three million men of the German army attacked. The Soviet Union suffered 800,000 deaths and Germany had 775,000. http://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2011/07/world-war-ii-operation-barbarossa/100112/
http://www.britannica.com/event/Operation-Barbarossa -
Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, was an attack from Japan on the United States. They dropped bombs from thousands of fighter jets. About 2,000 Americans were killed in the bombing. Before this attack, it was known that Japan wanted part of China's land, and the United States disagreed with their actions toward China.The Japanese decided to prove themselves to the U.S.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor -
Wannsee Conference
Germans and Nazis had a meeting to discuss why they thought Jews were the problem. The ""Final Solution of the Jewish Question." Basically, they were discussing mass murder and how to go through with genocide. -
D-Day
D-Day was an invasion on the beaches of Normandy by the France. It was delayed many times because of bad weather. When it finally went through, it was chaotic and deadly. The Allied navy bombed German targets and the Allied navy had about 200 thousand naval personnel. There were 10,000 Allied deaths and around 7,000 of them were Americans. -
Battle of the Bulge
The Germans attacked Americans through the Ardennes forest but the Germans suffered around 100,000 deaths. Americans suffered about 81,000.
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/mobile/en/article.php?ModuleId=10006178 -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima was a battle between the Americans and Japanese. The island of Iwo Jima was captured by the US Marines. The Japanese had systems of underground tunnels which gave them an advantage. The US ended with almost 6,000 dead.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-iwo-jima -
Liberation of Concentration Camps
The Nazis of Germany under Adolf Hitler's rule kept the Jewish people in Germany in prisons called concentration camps. This went on through 1943-45 and thousands and thousands of innocent people were dead or dying in these camps. The living prisoners were released in 1945 after being liberated by the US. -
V-E Day
VE Day, also known as Victory in Europe Day, was the end of WWII in Europe. It is celebrated every year on May 7/8. Adolf Hitler died on April 30, 1945 and the Allies declared the end of the war.
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/veday1.html -
Dropping of the Atomic Bomb/Hiroshima
America dropped an atomic bomb on Japan in August 1945. There had still been many disagreements and conflicts between the US and Japan and Harry Truman decided to attempt to end it by dropping a bomb. The bomb killed 80,000 people in Japan when dropped. Thousands more people died after from radiation.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/atomic-bomb-dropped-on-hiroshima -
VJ Day
VJ Day is also called Victory over Japan day. It marks the day in 1945 that America announced peace with Japan, just days after Hiroshima was bombed. They said they would no longer fight and the war was done.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/15/newsid_3581000/3581971.stm
