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Rape of Nanking
In what became known as the “Rape of Nanking,” the Japanese butchered an estimated 150,000 male “war prisoners,” 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. -
Germany's Invation of Poland
The German Soviet Pact of August 1939, which sated that Poland was to be partitioned between the two powers, enabled Germany to attack Poland without the fear of Soviet intervention. On September 1, 1939 Germany invaded Poland. The Polish army wa sdefeated within weeks of the invation. Hitler claimed the massive invation was a defensive action. To Hiltler the conquest of Poland would bring living space to Germens. On September 3, Britain and France declared war on Britain; starting World War II -
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German Blitzkrieg
Germany quickly overran much of Europe was was victorious for more than two years by relying on a military tactic called Blitzkrieg "the lighting war". It required the concentration of offensive weapons along a narrow front. It was called the lighting war because it was fast. It created disorganization among enemy forces through the use of mobile forces and locally concentrated firepower. Because it was fats Germany used it for the invation of Poland and the North African campaign. -
Pearl Harbor
The Jananese dropped bombs on our navy in Hawii. They wanted to stop the U.S. from getting and giving goods to other countries and that is where alot of our navy ships were. After the bombing, congress delcared was on the Empire of Japan. -
D-Day
Allied forces invaded northern France by means of beach landing in Norway. They began the liberation of western Eurpoe from the Nazi's. D-Day was the beginning of the end of Hitler. It forced Hitler to fight a two front war. -
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Liberation of Concentration Camps
Soviet soldiers were the first to liberate concentration camp prisoners in the final stages of the war. On July 23, 1944, they entered the Majdanek camp in Poland, and later overran several other killing centers. On January 27, 1945, they entered Auschwitz and there found hundreds of sick and exhausted prisoners. -
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The Battle of Bulge
The Battle of Bulge was a major German offesive campaign launched through te densly forested region of Wallonia in Belgium towards the end pof the war. Because of Hitlers plan to launch a counter-offensive to thrust through the allied armies in the Ardennes region of northwest Europe. The United States suffered it's second- largest suurender of the troops of the war. -
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The Battle of Iwo Jima
This was the major battle where the U.S. Mariens landed and evntually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Japanese. One third of all Marine losses during WWII happened in Iwo Jima. Allied forces suffered more casualties than their Japanses counterparts. -
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The Battle of Okinawa
This was the largets amphibious landings in the pacific theatre of WWII. Okinawa was to prove a bloody battle even by standards of the war in the far east but it was to be one of the major battles of WWII. It resluted in the largest casualties with over 100,000 Japanese and 50,000 of the Allies. -
VE Day
This day marked the Allied victory in Europe. It ia a public holiday celebrate to mark the formal acceptance by the allies of WWII of Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces. -
Dropping of the Atomic Bombs
On August 6, 1945, the American bomber Enola Gay dropped a five-ton bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Approximately 80,000 people are killed as a direct result of the blast, and another 35,000 are injured. At least another 60,000 would be dead by the end of the year from the effects of the fallout. -
V-J Day
V-J Day is known as Victoryover Japan Day. On September 2, 1945, a formal surrender ceremony was held in Tokyo Bay aboard the USS Missouri. At the time, President Truman declared September 2 to be VJ Day.
