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Japanese invasion of China(Second Sino-Japanese War)
China began a full-scale resistance to the expansion of Japanese influence in its territory that had started a conflict between the two. The war can be divided into three phases: a period of quick Japanese advance, a period of a virtual stalemate, and the final period when Allied counterattacks, principally in the Pacific and on Japan’s home islands, brought about Japan’s surrender.Link text -
Rape of Nanking
The massacre happened during the Second Sino-Japanese war. The Japanese general had ordered Nanking to be destroyed in an attempt to destroy the spirits of the Chinese resistance. -
German Blitzkrieg
A time of German warfare where they used lightning fast warfare called Blitzkrieg. Large groups moving on tracks and wheels, directed by radios, could rupture an enemy’s front and so disorganize its rear that countermeasures would be paralyzed. It tipped the balance of the war to the Germans side until Adolf Hitler changed it.Link text -
Germany's invasion of Poland
At 4:45 a.m., about 1.5 million German troops invade Poland all along its border with German-controlled territory. At the same time, the German Luftwaffe bombed Polish airfields, and German warships and U-boats attacked Polish naval forces in the Baltic Sea. Adolf Hitler claimed the massive invasion was a "defensive action". On September 3, they declared war on Germany, initiating World War II.Link text -
Fall of Paris
By the time German tanks rolled into Paris, 2 million Parisians had already fled. The German Gestapo went to work quickly: arrests, interrogations, and spying were the order, as a gigantic swastika flew beneath the Arc de Triomphe. While Parisians who remained trapped in their capital despaired, French men and women in the west cheered as Canadian troops rolled through their area, offering hope for a free France. Link text -
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor was an attack on America by the Japanese. This was the point of World War II that convinced America to join into war. The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise, but America and Japan were going towards war for a while. Many people, including citizens, died. It crippled the American naval army.Link text -
Battle of Midway
Despite a setback in the indecisive Battle of the Coral Sea, the Japanese had continued with plans to seize Midway Island and bases in the Aleutians. Yamamoto Isoroku sent out the bulk of the Japanese fleet, including four heavy and three light aircraft carriers, with orders to engage and destroy the American fleet and invade Midway. America expected this and was prepared.Link text -
Bataan Death March
After Pearl Harbor, the Japanese started taking over the Philippines, the American and Filipino defenders of Luzon were forced to retreat to the Bataan Peninsula. For the next three months, the combined U.S.-Filipino army held out despite a lack of naval and air support. On April 9, with American forces crippled by starvation and disease, they surrendered approximately 75,000 troops at Bataan.Link text -
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
Shortly after the German invasion of Poland, more than 400,000 Jews in Warsaw were confined to an area of the city that was little more than 1 square mile. This Jewish ghetto was sealed off by brick walls, barbed wire, and armed guards, and anyone caught leaving was shot on sight. The Nazis controlled the amount of food that was brought into the ghetto, and disease and starvation killed thousands each month. -
Operation Gomorrah
The attack on Hamburg, Germany's second largest city, would be known as Operation Gomorrah, after the biblical city wiped out by fire and brimstone. It was an attack by the allied forces to German civilians.[Link text}(https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-43546839) -
Allied invasion of Italy
It was a time when the Italians secretly made peace with the Allies, while Germans were still in Italy. The leader, Mussolini, was forced to step down, and he was arrested. This turned the war some, having Italy be in peace with the Allies.Link text -
D-Day
Codenamed Operation Overlord, the battle began on June 6, 1944, also known as D-Day, when American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified coast of France’s Normandy region. The invasion was one of the largest aquatic military assaults in history and required extensive planning. -
Liberation of concentration camps
During this horrendous time, the Holocaust was going on. Jewish people were held in concentration camps where they were tested on and starved. They were used as slaves and none of the Nazis cared if these Jews died. By the time the liberation had started, too much damage had been done to many of these people, and they still died. But some survived. This meant freedom from the Nazis. Link text -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima was a military campaign between U.S. Marines and the Imperial Army of Japan. Located 750 miles off the coast of Japan, the island of Iwo Jima had three airfields that could serve as a staging facility for an invasion of mainland Japan. American forces invaded the island on February 19, 1945, and the ensuing Battle of Iwo Jima lasted for five weeks. It weakened Japan, and killed many troops.Link text -
Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa was the last major battle of World War II, and one of the bloodiest. On April 1, 1945, the Navy’s Fifth Fleet and more than 180,000 U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps troops descended on the Pacific island of Okinawa for a final push towards Japan. The invasion was part of Operation Iceberg, a complex plan to invade and occupy the Ryukyu Islands.Link text -
Operation Thunderclap
Operation Thunderclap’ had been under discussion within the Allied Command for some time, the proposal was to bomb the eastern-most cities of Germany to disrupt the transport infrastructure behind what was becoming the Eastern front. It would shift the war some by weakening Germany and disrupting their plans.Link text -
Battle of the Bulge
The German army launched a counteroffensive that was intended to cut through the Allied forces in a way that people thought would turn the tide of the war in Hitler's favor. The battle that ensued is known as the Battle of the Bulge. The courage and fortitude of the American Soldier were tested. Nevertheless, the quality of his response ultimately meant victory.Link text -
VE Day
Victory in Europe day. It is the day when Germans finally laid down their arms in Europe. It was a day of rejoice and happiness.Link text -
Dropping of the atomic bombs
The dropping of the atomic bomb happened in Hiroshima. It marked the end of WW II, but people argue that it was also the start of the Cold War.Link text -
VJ Day
Victory over Japan day. It was the day that the Japanese officially surrendered. It marked the official end to the war.Link text
