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Japan Invades China
The Japanese attacked the Marco Polo Bridge in Beijing China, thus creating an outburst. The Chinese were not as experienced as the Japanese so they retreated further into their own country. As the Japanese pursued them further inland, they stretched out their supply lines while the Chinese tried to recieve help from other countries. During the war, the Japanese fail to take China. http://www.mrtredinnick.com/uploads/7/2/1/5/7215292/the_beginnings_of_world_war_ii.pdf 1 -
Germany Invades Poland
Germany had perviously annexed Austria and Czechoslovakia without any confrontation of the military. As Poland was invaded, the two countries declared war on Germany to help Poland, but neither one had made a move of attack. France stepped in to help and believed that Poaldn could withstand the Germans for a spell while French military began to mobilize. However, the Germans quickly took the country as well as attacking the country too. https://lh3.google 1 -
Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg literally means "litghning war" in German. The term was used to refer to many quick attacks. Using this method the germans soon overtook poland, Denmark, Belgium, Norway, Netherlands, and France within a few months. Germany had agreed to split Poand with the USSR once they had both overtaken it. http://www.lasecondaguerramondiale.org/battaglie/europa-orientale.html 1 -
Fall of Paris
http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/worldwarii/a/wwiiblitz.htm
Germans entered Paris in the night, taking over and hanging a giant swastika in the middle of the city. Before that, though, the French government asked America for help but America would only give material aid. About 2 million Parisians fled the day before the Germans attacked, being the lucky ones. The German Gestapo arrested, interrogated, and spied on all the other Frenchmen who were still trapped. 4 -
Operation Barbarossa
An invasion of the Soviet Union on a massive scale. The USSr were unprepared for the invasion but had been expectiong one eventually. The invasion was from the Baltic shore to the Black Sea and inwards toward Moscow. However, the Russians were accustomed the the weather around them and had more men as well as weapons. They were easily able to withstand the Germans and cause them to retreat. http://eshop.m.infofila.cz/slzy-filatelie-r-2-c-5163 1 -
Pearl Harbor
The US had not entered the war at this point but the Japanese had a plan to take the Pacific, thus resulting in them attacking Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. They sunk several ships and the US then declared war on Japan. Very soon after the US declared war on Japan, Germany declared war on the US. The result of the attacks led to American soldiers going to Pacific Islands to fight. 1 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/11676958/Building-where-Pearl-Harbour-atta -
Wannsee Conference
https://www.ushmm.org/learn/timeline-of-events/1942-1945/wannsee-conference
Chief of the RSHA, Reinhard Heydrich, held a secret meeting in a villa to discuss the German's "Jewish Problem." At the secret meeting, he presented a soluction. Some point in 1941 Hitler agreed to a widespread annihilation of all European Jews. The plan was put into motion by rounding up all the Jews and placing them in concentration camps.
https://www.ushmm.org/learn/timeline-of-events/1942-1945/wannsee-conference -
Battle of Midway
http://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Midway
Often called the turning point in the war in the Pacific due to the fact that it showed that the Japanese were not invulnerable. American planes first spotted Japanese ships and attacked, gaing the upperhand. During the fight, only one American carrier was lost. The Japanese fleet obtained many casulaties and losses. 1&6 -
Battle of Stalingrad
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Stalingrad
The battle lasted from July 17, 1942, to February 2, 1943. During Operation Barbarossa, the Soviets launched a counter attack near Stalingrad, refusing to let the Germans take it. Evidently, the Soviets were able to capture the German soldiers even though the Germans stuck with their original plans. The Germans wanted to isolate and destroy the Soviet army, but instead the Soviets advanced westward, causing the Germans to retreat. 1 -
Operation Gomorrah
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Hamburg_in_World_War_II
It was called the "Hiroshima of Germany" because of the 8 day and 7 night air-raid in the German city of Hamburg. Tens of thousands of people died and the city was practically destroyed. Hamburg had a bit of oil supplied in ships and when aircraft let loose some bombs the streets and harbors were lit in flames. July 27th was the worst night full of terror and death. 3 -
Allied Invasion of Italy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allied_invasion_of_Italy
The first place the Allies wanted to invade was Sicily, providing easy access to the rest of Italy. The Allies used a new way of attacking by using gliders and parachutes, a technique that would improve later on in the war. Eventually the German's fled Italy as the Allies moved northward. As the Germans took control of Northern Italy, Mussolini was left in charge of the area but later killed and hung upsidedown. 1 -
D-Day
USSR was doing their best to keep Germany at bay, but they pressured the rest of the Allies to attack from the other side while they kept the German eyes. A long time of decieving Hitler that they're going to land in Calais allowed them to land in Normandy. Although the german's weren't expecting them to be there, a German man named Rommel placed many blockades along the coast. The Normandy Invasion lasted about a month before the beaches were secured. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_ 1 -
Battle of the Bulge
http://www.angelfire.com/ak2/intelligencerreport/war2.html
The German soldiers were trying to counterattack from the invasion on Normandy shores (D-Day). They were unsuccessful as the American pilots attacked Auschwitz and other industrial plants. The German fighting created a bulge that was around 50 miles wide and 70 miles deep within the American enforcements. American soldiers pushed the German forces back to their starting point in mid-January and had enough to easily replace loss. #1&5 -
Operation Thunderclap
http://www.amazon.com/Operation-Thunderclap-Black-March-Unstoppable-ebook/dp/B00ONZQAK2
This operation took place in mid-February and was at first a rejected plan. Allied forces used coordinated smaller attacks on german cities like Dresden. It left 35,000 civilians dead in that city alone, but over 60,000 cilvilians everywhere. These attacks were used to aid in Soviet Union advances. 3&5 -
Battle of Iwo Jima
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raising_the_Flag_on_Iwo_Jima
Allies entered the Pacific to fight for control over small islands that could house airstrips and supplies. However, the capturing of the island lasted around a month and the casualties were very high, only taking 300 of 21,000 Japanese soldiers alive. Americans had 20,000 wounded from the month-long exchange of hidden warfare. The island was only 8 square miles in size, resulting in a lot of dead bodies on the beach. 1 -
Battle of Okinawa
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-okinawa
Okinawa was a nicely placed island that was stratigical for warfare. Many Japanese women and children died ont he island because they were convinced that the Americans would torture them if captured, so they killed themselves. American soldiers fought for 82 days to capture Okinawa, the time span of almost three months. Japanese planes sunk almost 40 American and British ships and damaged about 370 others. 1 -
VE Day
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_in_Europe_Day
The German troops in Northern GErmany, Denmark, and the Netherlands had arrived at the American Headquaters on May 2 to surrender. It took five days to finalized the surrender and by the wishes of the Americans, the official day was May 8th. However, everything wasn't finished on VE day. In the Pacific Islands an aircraft carrier was attacked by Japanese planes the day after, but that didn't stop celebrations later on and Churchill's speech. 3 -
Potsdam Declaration
http://afripost.net/2015/07/70-years-on-commemorating-potsdam-proclamation-is-of-great-realistic-significance/
The Potsdam Declaration is an agreement betwen the Japanese and the Allies. It was created when the Japanese surrendered, stating it was an unconditional surrender. At the Potsdam Conference, the Japanese requested that Russia take their place, but Russia did not support Japanese ideals, thus causing them to fall. 3 -
Atomic Bombs released
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki
Once ther Allies had captured Okinawa and Iwo Jima, they wanted to take the battle to the home front. They knew about Japanese tactics and decided it best to not confront them upright. A B-29 dropped a bomb on Hiroshima, completely wiping the town off the map. The Japanese made no effort to surrender therefore provoking another bomb released on Nagasaki. The world was shocked and on Aug 15 the Japanese surrendered. 1 -
VJ Day
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/v-j-day
On August 8th the Soviet Union declared war on Japan and entered Manchuria. Japan saw little choice but to surrender considering two atomic bombs had been dropped. The Japanese surrendered on August 15 and it was made oficial on Sept 2. American troops entered Japan after that. VJ Day not just signifies the end of the fighting in the Pacific but also the end of World War II itself. 3&6
