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Japanese Invasion of China
Japan wanted power and money, as revenge for their poor treatment in the past. They also needed a place to put their rapidly increasing population, and where better than China, their closest neighbour? Rivalries between the two nations led Japan to invade, causing concern in the USA. The USA stepped in, embarrassing Japan and causing a rivalry between the two. Japan continued its invasion while plotting against the US, which later led to the attack on Pearl Harbor. -
German Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg, also known as "lightning war", confuses those on the receiving end and is based on mobility. The German's first used it to invade Poland, but then used it to invade France and fight off the Allied army there. Germany used this tactic to showcase their strong military, confuse the enemy, and push ahead into France. This made the Allies redouble their efforts, but they were still pushed back and left wondering what they could do to stop Germany. -
Germany's Invasion of Poland
On 1 September 1939, Germany broke agreements previously made in the Treaty of Versailles by invading Poland. Germany felt as if they had been wronged and invaded Poland as revenge, taking one month to do so. Thus, WWII started, with most nations in the League of Nations becoming engaged and involved in the war, starting with England and France as the first to declare war on Germany. -
Dunkirk
Dunkirk, France, was a major French naval port and was attacked by the Germans on 26 May 1940. After severe German bombing so Germany could destroy the port and the troops there, Dunkirk was left ruined and more rubble than a city. Many troops, abandoned there, had to be rescued and most of their weapons and artillery were abandoned. This was a major German win and pushed the Allies back multiple steps. -
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was a German invasion, spreading over 2000 miles of Europe. Made of 3 million German soldiers, this invasion was planned for the Soviet Union. They wanted control over the Slavic people, to make them into slaves, and this angered the Slavic people, and they fought back. This was a turning point in the war, as the Russians won and pushed the Germans back. -
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor was a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, a major US naval port, done by the Japanese in revenge of the US' involvement in Japan's invasion of China. This damaged many ships and aircraft but did not affect the US as much as they had hoped. In fact, it only angered the US and brought their thoughts into joining the war as an ally to the Allies and an enemy to Japan. -
Bataan Death March
In April 1942, after the war had started in the Pacific, Japan conquered Manila, where Filipino and Americans were. It was a strategic play for the Japanese, and they took nearly everyone on the island as POWs. Thye made these people, in groups of 100, march along a 65-mile road to San Ferdinando. Thousands of people died on these marches and were later freed by the Americans who took the Bataan Peninsula from the Japanese, resulting in another loss for Japan and a step closer to the end of war. -
Wannsee Conference
On this day, some Nazis gathered to discuss the problem of Jews and what their existence meant for the Germans. The Wannsee Conference was a secret conference to figure out what to do with the Jews. The decision that came out of this was the deliberate genocide of the Jews, or the Holocaust. This resulted in the deaths of over 6 million people and a tragedy that can never be forgotten. -
Battle of Stalingrad
Germany wanted to capture Stalingrad as their own to have more land, but to do so Germany had to invade part of Russia. After months of war, many casualties, and no advancements on either side, Russia beat Germany back, embarrassing them and giving the Allies a victory they needed as well as pushing Germany back into Germany. -
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway was another decisive victory for America in WWII. At Midway Atoll, American troops attacked the Japanese as revenge for Pearl Harbor. It was a bloody war, but an important one. It led to one of the many American victories and marked a turning point in the war in the Pacific Theater. -
Operation Gomorrah
Operation Gomorrah was also known as the Hamburg Raids when England dropped many bombs on Germany in return for their Blitz tactic of warfare. It damaged German morale and killed thousands of people. It also signified an ending of the war and the German loss. It was also revenge for the German bombings of Britain, etc. -
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge, named so because of the German army's appearance, was a German attack that tried to split the Allies in half at Ardennes to Antwerp. They used a blitzkrieg-type attack, attempting to gain control of necessary land that would make the war easier. However, the Germans were badly defeated in this bloody war, and the Allies won. This set the Germans back yet again and brought them closer to the end of the war. -
Operation Thunderclap
Operation Thunderclap was also known as the Firebombing of Dresden. It was used to describe the bombing of Dresden and it killed hundreds of thousands of people. It was designed to kill key German personnel but didn't do that, and just killed many civilians, troops, etc. It destoyed a few cities on its path of destruction. -
D-Day (Normandy Invasion)
D-Day, meaning Death Day, is the name used to describe the battles on the beaches of Normandy. These battles included over 156,000 Allied troops, sailing to Normandy to liberate France from under the German's control. This destroyed German forces to the point where it was the beginning of the end of WWII, and was a decisive victory for the Allies and the liberation France needed. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima was an American offensive attack against the Japanese on the island of Iwo Jima. It was a hard battle for the Americans, lasting an entire month, but was fatefully won and was a decisive victory for America. It came after the attack on Pearl Harbor and after the US had declared war on Japan. This increased American morale and brought the Japanese closer to surrender. -
VJ Day
Victory Over Japan Day, A.K.A. VJ Day, is the day that celebrates Japan's unconditional surrender to the Allies. Much like VE Day, celebrations happened all over the world. Occurring on the USS Missouri after the dropping of the atomic bombs, Japan surrendered to the Allies and brought the conflict to a much-needed end. As a result, the entirety of WWII ended, and the world could celebrate. -
Liberation of Concentration Camps
Hitler blamed all of Germany's problems on the Jewish people he viewed as a race. To eradicate this problem, Hitler committed mass-genocide by putting the Jews, with other minorities, into concentration camps. The Red Army liberated these 6 camps, but not before 6 million people had already died in them. People were displaced and starving, and showed the world the true horrors of WWII, and what became known as the Holocaust. -
Battle of Okinawa
This was the last battle of WWII in the Pacific and was also the largest. The kamikaze-type warfare was used by the Japanese, but it did not help them win. America won with a decisive yet costly victory, and Japan began to accept defeat and this battle led them to their surrender. -
VE Day
Victory in Europe Day, A.K.A. VE Day, was the date on which WWII ended. Germany had surrendered and al over the world people were celebrating in different ways. This raised the dejected spirits of people who had been affected by WWII and quickly brought Germany down to its knees. -
Dropping of the Atomic Bombs
Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, were the two cities America dropped atomic bombs, the deadliest weapon in history, on; Hiroshima on 6 Aug. 1945, and Nagasaki on 9 Aug. 1945. These bombs killed millions of people, some after prolonged suffering. America used these bombs because they saw it as their only way to stop a long, costly war, and they were right. Japan surrendered unconditionally and the war in the Pacific was over. -
