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Japanese Invasion of China
On this day, After the Marco Polo Bridge incident, open conflict between China & Japan broke out in the area. From then, full-scale aggression between the two countries broke out. During this time, Nationalist Chinese resistance to Japanese forces were ineffective. In contrast, Communist Chinese had increasingly effective guerrilla warfare against the Japanese. The full invasion lasted eight years leading to tremendous civilian and military casualties as well as damages. [Britannica] -
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact, was a nonaggressive treaty between Germany & the Soviet Union. Unable to create a collective-security treaty with France & Britain against Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union made this pact with Germany hoping to keep peace with Germany to build up its own military. With the formation of this pact it allowed Germany to invade Poland. The treaty was later destroyed when Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941. [Britannica] -
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German Blitzkrieg
The German Blitzkrieg, lightning war, was seen in WWII from Nazi Germans. Blitzkrieg was a new military strategy based on mobility, maneuverability, & flexibility of their soldiers developed in Germany after their loss in WWI. The first time it was seen in WWII was during the invasion of Poland. Then it was seen when Germany invaded Norway with many surprise attacks. Then in 1940, with support of the Luftwaffe & Blitzkrieg strategy, France fell within a month after Germany invaded. [History] -
Fall of Paris
In under a month after Nazi Germans marched into France, Paris fell into Germans control. A week after Paris fell, France signed an armistice with Germany & France became a puppet state with the capital at Vichy. While under rule, many people known as Free France resisted the rule of Nazi's & Vichy France. [History] -
Bombing of Pearl Harbor
On this day, Pearl Harbor, a US Naval Base, was bombed by the Japanese in a surprise attack. From the bombing, 20 naval vessels, & over 300 planes were destroyed or damaged. Over 2,400 Americans died, including civilians, & 1,000 people were injured. The day after the bombing, President Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war, Congress agreed & the US officially joined the war. -
Wannsee Conference
This conference was between Nazi officials to plan for a final solution to the Jewish problem. The earlier idea to deport all European Jews to the island of Madagascar. This idea was abandoned as it was seen impractical during wartime. The final solution planed by the conference was transport Jews eastward and organized them into labor groups, concentration camps. [Britannica] -
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Battle of Midway
Wanting to replicate the success of the Pearl Harbor attack, Yamamoto sought out to destroy the rest of the US Pacific fleet with another surprise attack. The aim was base at Midway island. Thanks to code breakers, the US knew about the Japanese attack weeks ahead of time. With enough time to develop a plan against the attack, the US ended up destroying all 4 of Japans carriers. [History] -
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Battle of Stalingrad
Known as the longest & bloodiest battle, the Battle of Stalingrad contained more than 2 million people and nearly 2 million people were killed or wounded. This 5 month long battle was a successful defense by the Soviet Union of the city of Stalingrad during WWII. At the time, Stalingrad was an industrial city producing armaments and was a prize for the invading Nazi Germans. Capturing this city would allow Germany to cut Soviet transportation with south Russia. [History] [Britannica] -
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D-Day (Normandy Invasoin)
The D-Day invasion ended in allied liberation of West Europe from Nazi German control. The battle began when more than 150,000 American, British, & Canadian forces landed on 5 beaches on the coast of Normandy in North France. Known as the largest amphibious military assaults in history, the D-Day invasion required extensive planning and to mislead Germans about the intended invasion target. The landings are also known as the beginning to the end of the war in Europe. [History] -
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Battle of Bulge
This battle was the last major battle in the Western Front during WWII. It was an unsuccessful attempt by the Nazi Germans to push the Allies back. The 'bulge' refers to the wedge the Nazis drove into the Allied lines. [Britannica] -
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Battle of Iwo Jima
This battle was a battle between the US Marines & the Imperial Army of Japan. 750 miles off the coast of Japan, the island of Iwo Jima had 3 air bases which could help the invasion of mainland Japan. In 5 weeks, the Battle on Iwo Jima is considered one of the bloodiest battles in WWII. It's believed that only 200 of all 21,000 Japanese forces survived & almost 7,000 marines were killed. After the battle, the values of getting Iwo Jima was called into question. [History] -
Liberation of Dachau Concentration Camp
The 42nd Rainbow Division rolled into the town of Dachau & discovered a concentration camp. Unknown of what the camps were, the soldiers found corpses & dozens of train cars of decomposed humans, as well as thousands of walking skeletons who managed to survive. The liberation of Dachau was not the first of concentration camps liberated, Auschwitz was freed by the Russians months earlier to the Americans finding Dachau. [History] -
Victory in Europe Day
On this day, German troops finally laid down arms & cities in both nation rejoiced the defeat of Nazis. During this time, the Russians took around 2 million prisoners before & after the German surrender, while 13,000 British POWs were sent back to Britain. The following day, the Soviets would still lose 600 soldiers before Germans finally surrendered. [History] -
Bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki
On this day, the first atomic bombed was dropped by the Americans over the city of Hiroshima, Japan. The bomb immediately killed 80,000 people, while 10s of thousands more died from radiation exposure. Three days later, a second bomb was dropped in the city of Nagasaki, Japan, killing 40,000 people. Emperor Hirohito later announced Japan's surrender in WWII on August 15. Citing the power of a "new & most cruel bomb." [History] -
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Victory in Japan Day
On this day. Japan announced it's unconditional surrender to the allies, ending WWII. September 2nd is also known as VJ day as it was Japan's formal surrender aboard the USS Missouri anchored in Tokyo Bay.
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