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Rape of Nanjing
The rape of Nanjing was a massacre that took place in China's capital, Nanjing. After the battle of Nanjing, during the Sino-Japanese war, Japanese forces killed the remaining Chinese soldiers, as well as killing and raping Chinese civilians in order to break the morale of the Chinese. After WWII, the general who ordered it was found guilty of war crimes. History.com -
German Blitzkrieg
The German Blitzkrieg was a tactic implemented during WWII, in which German forces launch a surprise, rapid attacks, in order to overwhelm enemy forces. The use of the Panzer tank helped with this because of their speed and resistance against regular infantry. -
Germany's invasion of Poland
The invasion of Poland was the start of WWII. Because Germany invaded Poland, Britain and France declared war. The invasion only took about a month and ended once Russian forces forced the last Polish unit to surrender. Encyclopedia.ushmm.org -
Battle of Britain
The battle of Britain was mostly fought between opposing airforces the Royal Air Force and the Luftwaffe. The Luftwaffe was one of the greatest airforces in Europe, but Britain's Royal Air Force was able to prevent them from taking British airspace. History.com -
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was Hitler's secret plan to invade the Soviet Union, even though they had a peace pact. At first it was successful, with superior Luftwaffe and Panzers, but as the war continued, the distance and weather weakened, and eventually caused many German casualties. https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/what-was-operation-barbarossa -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor was an American naval base on the coast of Hawaii. It was attacked by Japanese forces on December 7, destroying around 20 naval vessels and killing 2400 troops. This was the direct cause of the US getting involved in the war, as Roosevelt asked congress to declare war on Japan the day after. https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor -
Battle of Midway
At the Battle of Midway, Japan hoped to remove the US as a Pacific naval power. American codebreakers were able to decipher Japanese codes and find out that Midway was going to be attacked by June 4 or 5. After an initial bombing run by the Japanese, US carrier forces, which had been positioned away from the island, attacked the Japanese carriers, ultimately sinking 4 carriers, 1 cruiser, and killing 3000 Japanese troops. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/battle-midway -
Battle of Stalingrad
Apart of Operation Barbarossa, Hitler wanted his forces to take Stalingrad to insult Stalin. Initially, it went well for Hitler, bombing Stalingrad and taking most of the city. Russian forces fell back to the Volga river, where they were able to transport ammo and food. Eventually, back up was brought in and surrounded the city and retook it from the Germans. 500,000 Germans were lost. https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-battle-of Stalingrad -
Warsaw ghetto uprising
The Warsaw Ghetto uprising was the largest and first significant uprising by Jews in WWII. It began after German troops entered the ghettos trying to deport and detain remaining Jewish inhabitants. Around 700 inhabitants fought back, 7000 were killed fighting or hiding in the ghetto, and 7000 were captured at the end of the fighting. After the uprising, around 40,000 Jews were sent to concentration camps. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/warsaw-ghetto-uprising -
Operation Gomorrah
Operation Gomorrah was a bombing campaign by the British and US airforces and was one of the first times civilians were targeted. Hamburg Germany was targeted and bombed using special incendiary explosives, which paired well with the dry conditions and high wind speeds. Around 20,000 were killed and 100,000 injured. It is sometimes referred to as Germany's Nagasaki. https://www.historicmysteries.com/operation-gomorrah/ -
Operation Thunderclap
Operation Thunderclap was a plan by the allies to bomb and invade Berlin and end the war. It was considered impractical so it went un-used. It was considered again in 1945 with the help of the soviets but was still seen as impractical. codenames.info/operation/thunderclap/ -
D-day
Was the allied invasion of Normandy, a German-controlled part of France. It consisted of around 150,000 British, Canadian, and American troops landing on 5 beaches. The invasion lasted around 3 months and resulted in the allies taking control of Normandy. To date, it is one of the largest naval invasions of history as well as being a key factor in ending WWII. https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day -
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was the last offensive battle by the Germans and is seen as a last-ditch effort. It gets its name from the shape the German forces created pushing into allied forces. Eventually, the bulge was cut off from the initial group and was surrounded and forced to surrender. https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-the-Bulge -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima was important solely because the island was close enough to the mainland and had airbases in which allied planes could be launched and atomic bombs could be dropped. During the battle, Japanese forces hid in caves along the mountain. In order to combat this, large amounts of flame throwers were used by the allied forces. almost all of the 21000 Japanese were killed, while 7000 marines were killed. https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-iwo-jima -
Atomic bomb dropped Hiroshima and Nagasaki
To end the war with Japan, President Truman okayed the dropping of 2 atomic bombs on Japan. President Truman recognized that the Japanese would fight until death, and something drastic needed to be done, so two options were proposed. An allied invasion was the first, in which Russian, British, American, and Canadian troops would be sent to the Japanese mainland and fight all the way through. this would have high casualties, so to break morale, atomic bombs were chosen.