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Japanese invasion of China
What happened:
The Japanese empire began a land invasion of the Chinese.
Why it happened:
The Japanese had suffered from a weakened economy due to western influences that were also dominating china so the Japanese decided to capitalize and try and recover by invading parts of china that were dominated by western influences.
The effects/impact of the event:
Japan taking a large part of the Chinese republic was the result of this conflict. -
Rape of Nanking
The rape of Nanking was the genocide and mass population abuse of the citizens of Nanking by the Japanese people. The city of Nanking used to be the Chinese capital but the Chinese government fled further south. In retaliation, a general in the Japanese army ordered the mass killing of the city's civilians to decrease Chinese morale. -
Period: to
Works cited
All information used to make this project possible has been cited below: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/ https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/world-war-ii-in-the-pacific https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/world-war-ii-in-europe -
Germany's invasion of Poland (1939)
What happened:
Germany began a full-scale invasion of Poland with reinforcements from the Soviet Union.
Why it happened
Hitler wanted to unite all German-speaking areas and gather more land for Aryans to live in. He also wanted to try and reduce conflict with Russia so this joint invasion would seal a peace treaty between the 2 major powers.
The effects/impact of the event:
Germany now was at peace with Russia which put even more pressure on the allied powers and boosted German morale. -
German Blitzkrieg (1939)
What happened:
The German blitzkrieg was a technique that allowed for the quick takeover of many nations. It relied on the use of many air troops supporting tanks and ground troops deployed quickly at once in a certain region to overwhelm a country's defensive units. The name "blitzkrieg" means lightning warfare and it resulted in the fall of France within 3 weeks. -
Fall of Paris
The Germans invaded the french empire through Belgium. A gap in the french formation allowed the germans to kill most of them off but some of the British reinforcements and french were able to escape at Dunkirk. This left next to nobody defending the rest of France which resulted in Hitler and Germany easily taking the capital of Paris resulting in the fall of the french empire. This massively decreased allied morale and also decreased pressure on Germany throughout world war II. -
Operation Barbarossa (1941)
What happened:
Operation Barbarossa was the code used by the German army for the invasion of the soviet union. The Germans began this invasion in 1941. This was one of Hitler's biggest mistakes.
Why it happened:
To be completely honest only Hitler could answer this question.
The effects/impact of the event:
Hitler lost the war because of the advanced soviet troops putting additional pressure on the German forces. -
Pearl Harbor (1941)
What happened:
The Japanese empire bombed the American port of pearl harbor in the national territory of Hawaii.
Why it happened:
Japan wanted to devastate America to prevent the united states from interfering with the Japanese invasion of Asia.
The effects/impact of the event:
Many Americans died during this attack. The bombing was very counterintuitive because now the united states have declared war on the Japanese empire. -
Wannsee Conference
What happened:
The germans discussed the genocide of the Jews in Nazi Germany and decided to kill them with gas chambers as a part of Hitler's final solution.
Why it happened
Hitler wanted to use the Jewish people as an excuse to rally support for world war II. He put all of Germany's problems on the Jewish people.
The effects/impact of the event
The Jewish population in Europe was devastated and other European nations were enraged with such genocide taking place in Germany. -
Battle of Stalingrad
The battle of Stalingrad was a battle between the german empire and the soviet union which resulted in the Soviets pushing the Germans out of Russia and re advancing towards berlin with advanced units. This battle eventually led to Germany's downfall in World War II. -
Operation Gomorrah
What happened:
Operation Gomorrah was the code name for the bombing of Hamburg which was a major civilian industrial city in Germany.
Why it happened:
The allied forces did this to halt the production of Germany's weapons and other essentials. This would break the supply chain and put Germany at a disadvantage in the war.
The effects/impact of the event:
20,000 people died as a result of the bombing and the city was devastated. It also had a massive impact on german morale. -
Allied invasion of Italy
The allied invasion of Italy was a joint invasion of the Italian empire by the allied powers. The invasion eventually ended with the allies winning and Rome falling. This was a key turning point in the war because now Germany was the last axis power left to fend for itself in Europe. -
D-Day
What happened:
The British, American, and Canadian military launched a joined invasion on the port of Normandy in France to try and retake the country.
Why it happened:
The allied forces felt that it was time to start an offensive on Germany since the german empire was already weakened from the Soviet side of the battle.
The effects/impact of the event:
The ports near Normandy were taken giving the allies a solid land footing near German territory. -
Operation Thunderclap
What happened:
The thunderclap plan or operation thunderclap was the codename for an operation to bomb many cities in Germany and massively bomb berlin. This would lower citizen morale and could result in an early victory without as many casualties on the side of the allies. This plan was however rejected because the British felt it would be morally wrong and could harm their empire and its reputation to "formally endorse the bombing of berlin" even if they supported it on the inside. -
Battle of the Bulge
What happened:
The Germans made one last final offensive in Belgium resulting in this battle between the axis and the allies. Why it happened
The Germans attacked at this location because they were trying to separate the 3 allied groups to beat them individually The effects/impact of the event
This battle was the bloodiest battle for the Americans who alone lost over 100,000 lives. The Germans no longer had the might to push back and the allies now had a much greater chance of winning the war. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
What happened:
The battle of Iwo Jima was a battle on the pacific front that took place between the Japanese empire and the united states of America.
Why it happened:
The Americans were infuriated by the assault on pearl harbor so they countered by planning an invasion of mainland Japan. Iwo Jima was a strategic target for the US military because us military could start invading mainland japan after they took the island.
The effects/impact of the event:
Many Japanese died but none gave up hope. -
Battle of Okinawa
What happened:
The battle of Okinawa was a major battle between the united states and the Japanese empire fought over the pacific ocean. The battle resulted in many casualties on both sides but eventually, the united states were declared the victor. Why it happened:
The battle happened because the united states needed to get closer to mainland japan for a full-scale offensive. The effects/impact of the event:
The united states were now close enough to Japan to start attacking its home islands. -
VE Day
What happened:
VE Day, also known as Victory in Europe Day, was the day that the allied powers accepted Germany's surrender and celebrated their victory in the war. This event marked the end of the war in the European theatre and the allied powers now shifted their focus towards the Japanese empire who are now the last remaining axis power. -
Liberation of concentration camps
The German people had trapped jews in concentration camps where they would live and do hard labor for the government and eventually die. These camps were used to commit mass genocide on the Jewish people. The liberation of these camps boosted allied morale as happy stories of survivors of these camps became told. -
Dropping of the atomic bombs
The dropping of the atomic bombs was when the united states came to the decision of deploying the atomic bomb. The atomic bomb was a mass destructive weapon that was being developed for years before the planned drop. The drop would hit the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki which would devastate Japanese morale and eventually lead to the end of the war in the pacific theatre. -
VJ Day
VJ day, also known as victory in japan day was the day the united states won the war in the pacific theatre. The atomic bomb was dropped and it devastated Japanese morale. The Japanese empire had surrendered and the second great war had finally come to a close.