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Japanese Invasion of China
Although the two countries fought since 1931, full scale war broke out in 1937.The war was the result of a decades long Japanese imperialist policy aiming to dominate China politically and militarily. The goal was to secure its vast raw material reserves and other resources. At the same time, the rising tide of Chinese nationalism and self determination fueled the war. This event eventually merged into the greater conflict, World War II. (newworldencyclopedia.org) -
Rape of Nanking
During the Sino-Japanese war, in order to break the spirit of Chinese resistance, Japanese General Matsui Iwane ordered that the city of Nanking be destroyed. In what became known as the “Rape of Nanking,” the Japanese butchered an estimated 150,000 men, massacred an additional 50,000 male civilians, and raped at least 20,000 women and girls of all ages, many of whom were mutilated or killed in the process. The Chinese government fed further inland near the Yangtze River. (www.history.com) -
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union surprised the world by signing the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact. The two countries agreed to take no military action against each other for the next 10 years. Joseph Stalin viewed the pact as a way to keep his nation on peaceful terms with Germany, while Adolf Hitler used the pact to make sure Germany was able to invade Poland unopposed. This pact was broken in 1941 when Germany invaded the Soviet Union.(www.history.com) -
Germany Invades Poland
In the early morning on this day, about 1.5 million German troops invaded Poland along its border with German-controlled territory. At the same time, Germany bombed Polish airfields, and German warships and U-boats attacked Polish naval forces in the Baltic Sea. Adolf Hitler claimed the invasion was a defensive action, but Britain and France knew otherwise. Two days later, they declared war on Germany, initiating World War II. (www.history.com) -
German Blitzkrieg Begins
Blitzkrieg is a military tactic created to disorganized enemy forces. This is done by the use of mobile forces and locally concentrated firepower. It was designed to ensure extremely short military campaigns. This was very effective, which resulted in it being used often by Germany. They lost less lives and artillery due to fighting this way. (www.history.com) -
Fall of Paris
People of Paris woke to the sound of a German announcing that curfew would be at 8. While citizens of Paris remained trapped in their capital, Canadian troops rolled through their region, offering hope for a free France yet. The United States did not remain completely idle, though. On this day, President Roosevelt froze the American assets of the Axis powers, Germany and Italy.(www.history.com) -
Operation Barbarossa
On this day, Adolf Hitler sent his armies east in a massive invasion of the Soviet Union. He sent three million German soldiers and three thousand tanks. The invasion covered a front from the North Cape to the Black Sea. Germany had the finest army of the twentieth century. Barbarossa was the crucial turning point in World War II, because its failure forced Germany to fight a two-front war against opponents with extremely superior resources.(www.history.com) -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
In the morning of this day, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawaii. The barrage lasted just two hours, but it was costly. The Japanese managed to destroy nearly 20 American naval vessels and 300 airplanes. More than 2,000 Americans died and over 1,000 were wounded. The day after the assault, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan. Congress easily approved his request.(www.history.com) -
Wannsee Conference
Heydrich met with Adolf Eichmann, chief of the Central Office of Jewish Emigration, and 15 other officials from different Nazi ministries and organizations at Wannsee, a suburb of Berlin. The purpose was to devise a plan that would render a “final solution to the Jewish question” in Europe. Various gruesome proposals were discussed, including concentration camps and deportation to Madagascar.(www.history.com) -
Bataan Death March
After the April 9, 1942, U.S. surrender of the Bataan Peninsula to the Japanese during World War II, the approximately 75,000 Filipino and American troops on Bataan were forced to make a difficult 65-mile march to prison camps. The marchers made the trek in intense heat and were given harsh treatment by Japanese guards. Thousands perished in what became known as the Bataan Death March.(www.history.com) -
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was the successful defense of Stalingrad during World War II. Russians consider it to be the greatest battle of their Great Patriotic War, and historians consider the greatest battle of the entire conflict. It stopped the German advance into the Soviet Union and marked the turning of the tide of war in favor of the Allies. The Battle of Stalingrad was one of the bloodiest battles in history, with casualties of nearly 2 million.(www.history.com) -
Operation Gomorrah
On the night of July 24, British aircraft dropped 2,300 tons of incendiary bombs on Hamburg. The explosive power was equal to what German bombers had dropped on London in their five most destructive raids. More than 1,500 German civilians were killed in that first British raid. Thanks to a new radar-jamming device called Window that diverted German radar, Britain only lost 12 of 791 aircraft.(www.history.com) -
D-Day
On this day, known as D-Day, 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches of the heavily fortified coast of France’s Normandy region. The invasion was one of the largest amphibious military assaults in history and required extensive planning. By late August 1944, all of northern France had been liberated, and by the following spring the Allies had defeated the Germans.(www.history.com) -
Battle of the Bulge
Adolph Hitler sent a surprise blitzkrieg push through the Ardennes. American units fought desperate battles to stop the German advance. As the Germans drove deeper into the Ardennes, the Allied line took on the appearance of a large bulge, hence the battle’s name. Lieutenant General George S. Patton’s successful maneuvering of the Third Army to Bastogne proved vital to the Allied defense, leading to the neutralization of the German counteroffensive despite heavy casualties.(www.history.com) -
Operation Thunderclap
Allied firebombing raids begin against the German city of Dresden, reducing much of the city to rubble and flames, and killing as many as 135,000 people. It was the single most destructive bombing of the war including Hiroshima and Nagasaki and all the more horrendous because little, if anything, was accomplished strategically, since the Germans were already on the verge of surrender. Most people that were killed were civilians, and the city had no military correlation.(www.history.com) -
Battle of Iwo Jima
There was a need for a base near the Japanese coast, which was the reason for this invasion. After elaborate preparations for air and naval bombardment, three U.S. marine divisions landed on the island. Iwo Jima was defended by about 23,000 Japanese army and navy troops, who fought from an elaborate network of caves, dugouts, tunnels and underground installations. Despite the difficulty of the conditions, the marines defeated the defenders after a month of battle.(www.history.com) -
Battle of Okinawa
The battle of Okinawa was the last and biggest of the Pacific island battles of World War. It involved the 287,000 troops of the U.S. Tenth Army against 130,000 soldiers of the Japanese Thirty-second Army. At stake were air bases vital to the future invasion of Japan. By the end of the 82 days of battling, Japan had lost more than 77,000 soldiers and the Allies had suffered more than 65,000 injuries and up to 14,000 dead.(www.history.com) -
VE DAY
This was the day that German soldiers throughout Europe laid down their weaponry. Both Great Britain and the United States celebrated their victory in Europe. Both countries hung up banners and rejoiced the defeat of Nazi Germany.(www.history.com) -
Dropping of Atomic Bombs
Presidential advisers decided that any attempt to invade Japan would result in horrific American casualties. On August 6, 1945, the American bomber Enola Gay dropped a nuclear bomb over Hiroshima. The blast immediately killed 80,000 people. Tens of thousands more died in the weeks after from wounds and radiation poisoning. Three days later, another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, killing nearly 40,000 more people. A few days later, Japan announced its surrender.(www.history.com) -
VJ Day
On August 14, 1945, it was announced that Japan had surrendered unconditionally to the Allies.This declaration effectively ended World War II. Since then, both August 14 and August 15 have been known as “Victory over Japan Day,” or simply “V-J Day.” (www.history.com)
