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Japanese invasion of China
Japan invaded China because they wanted to be an imperial power. They saw the resources China had, took advantage of their vulnerability, and occupied China. The conflict between the Chinese and Japanese resulted in a stalemate, where western countries intervened and caused Japan to retaliate by attacking Pearl Harbor. -
Rape of Nanking
Nanking fell to the Japanese during their invasion of China. The city was obliterated and the people were murdered and raped. This occurred for the Japanese to establish their power in China. It resulted in Matsui being charged for his war crimes. -
Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg, "lightning war", was a war tactic used to limit German casualties and increase damage on the enemy, It involved mobile forces and firing concentrated on one area to obliterate it. It was used throughout the war by Germany. -
Germany invades Poland
Germany attacks Poland because they want to take it back. They used the "blitzkrieg" strategy of constant bombing to dominate aircraft warfare and have the upper hand on the enemy. This encouraged the British to bomb the Germans three days later, thus beginning World War II in Europe. -
Fall of Paris
German troops invaded and occupied Paris. Canada intervened and America froze its Axis assets. -
Operation Barbarossa
Hitler sent his army to invade the Soviet Union. This was a turning point in the war because Germany was represented as the best army in the world having to fight a war from the east and west. -
Pearl Harbor
Japanese fighter planes attacked the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. It was intended to wipe out all resistance to Japanese power in the Pacific. The attack of Pearl Harbor was the event that brought America into World War II. -
Wannsee Conference
The Nazi Party and German officials gathered in Berlin to coordinate the annihilation of Jews. This was one of the most significant decisions made by the Nazi party during wartime. The Wannsee Conference began the massacre of European Jews in an attempt at world domination. -
Bataan Death March
The day after the Pearl Harbor attacks, Japan invaded the Philippines. After the American surrender, Filipinos and Americans were marched and put into POW camps. This resulted in General MacArthur liberated the Philippines and General Matsuru being executed. -
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
Germans murdered or deported 300,000 Jews to the Warsaw ghettos. Soon, Jews were being deported from the ghettos so an underground armed organizations. Their fighting wasn't successful but it disoriented the Germans enough to allow the Jews to disperse. This resulted in destruction of the ghettos. -
Operation Gomorrah
British bombers raid Hamburg, Germany. Air raids continue for months and Germany's morale is weakened significantly. The British did this to retaliate and fight back against German forces. This operation was the beginning of the end for Germany in World War II. -
D-Day
Allied troops fought Nazi Germany on the Normandy coast. This caused the Allies to gain control of continental Europe and defeat the Nazis. -
Liberation of Concentration Camps
When Soviet forces approached a Polish work camp, the Germans demolished it to hide the evidence. The Soviets liberated Auschwitz and several other concentration camps. This resulted in confrontation of the Germans. -
Battle of the Bulge
Hitler tried splitting the Allies by launching a blitzkrieg in northwest Europe. The Americans were caught off-guard but quickly formed a huge defense against the Germans. This event neutralized the German's attempts in battle. -
Operation Thunderclap
Allied forces bomb Dresden, Germany. Consistent air raids for three days straight destroyed the city when the war was consider to be over, causing outcry in Britain. This led to the condemning of conventional bombing. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
To establish an island base close to Japan, Americans fought off about 23,000 Japanese on the island of Iwo Jima. Air and Naval bombardment wiped out the enemy and gave a symbolic victory to the US. -
Battle of Okinawa
This was the largest and last Pacific Island battle. The Japanese were on a suicide mission and both sides' generals died. This was a turning point for the war in the Pacific. -
VE Day
VE Day (Victory of Europe Day) marks the day Nazi Germany surrendered. The surrender was mostly done to avoid Nazi imprisonment by the Soviet army. This was considered the end of the war in Europe. -
Dropping of the Atomic Bombs
An atomic bomb was dropped onto Hiroshima and then Nagasaki a few days later. This was done to prevent American casualties in an invasion. This resulted in nuclear warfare, the surrender of Japan, and the end of WWII. -
VJ Day
News of the Japanese surrender spread throughout the world after the dropping of the atomic bombs. This was the final event in World War II.
