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Japanese Invasion of China
Because of their thirst for more natural resources, Japan took over Manchuria as China was encountering issues. Japan proceeded to take over the Northern region, leaving China in need of help. China approached the League of Nations, but they were useless. Afterwards, when China decided to to get CCP and KMT to go against Japan and not each other, they were able to get aid from countries, enabling them to fight and stop Japan.
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Ribbentrop / Molotov Pact
The Molotov Pact, a 10-year non-aggression pact between Germany and Russia. It was done days before WW2, allowing Germany to invade Poland without worrying about Russia involving themselves. In 1941, Hitler brought his Eastern European allies to invade Russia, stating that the German-Soviet nonaggression pact was a short-term operation. On December 18, 1940, he signed Directive 21.
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Germany's Invasion of Poland
Germany invaded Poland, and they were beat within a week. That was because Nazi soldiers impersonated Polish soldiers, and Germany sent 1,000 planes and 2,000 tanks to Poland. The invasion's purpose was that Hitler believed it would bring “Lebensraum” to the German people, making up for the lost land from the Treaty of Versailles. Britain and France ended up declaring war on Germany, starting World War 2.
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German Blitzkrieg*1939-1940*
Germany launched many blitzkriegs, surprise attacks, starting with Poland. After they won, they launched many others like Blitzkrieg of Scandinavia, Denmark, Finland, and Norway, which were all victorious. Hitler then realized he wanted Holland, so he took over, including Luxemburg & Belgium. He also used a blitzkrieg on France, which made them surrender the country to Germany. Results: Europe became controlled by Hitler.
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Operation Barbarossa *June 22, 1941 - December 5, 1941*
This is another name for Germany’s invasion on the USSR. After being on a victorious roll, Germany sadly failed in invading the Soviet Union because of mistakes they made. Also, German soldiers weren't able to hold up with Russia's winter, enabling the Russian troops to beat the Germans since they froze to death.
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Pearl Harbor
Japan’s air force attacked the US naval base near Honolulu in Hawaii because the US pulled an embargo on Japan. Although it lasted 2 hours, almost 2,400 US citizens were killed. In addition, 12 ships were destroyed, including the known USS Arizona. They were mad that the US stopped selling weapons to them, so they decided to attack. The next after, President Roosevelt declared war, joining the allies’ side.
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Bataan Death March
The day after Pearl Harbor's attack, Japan moved to its next target: Philippines. Within a month, Japan took over the capital, Manila. Although the US tried to fight with the Filipino to push Japan out, they failed and surrendered. The Japanese then forced the US troops and the Filipino to march in the southern end of the Bataan peninsula. Due to the harsh circumstances, thousands died. Link text -
Battle of Stalingrad *July 17, 1942 – February 2, 1943*
This battle is marked as the greatest battle of WWII, as well as the turning point of the war(while being in favor of the allies). That is because it stopped German advancements into USSR. The city of Stalingrad, Russia was very successful in defending their city.
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Manhattan Project
1942-1945
The Manhattan Project was the code name for the United State's government research project that produced the first atomic bomb. The first person to bring up the idea was Einstein, and after they advanced it, funded facilities were spread across the country. In fact, this research entered the universe into a what is called "Nuclear Age".
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Warsaw Ghetto uprising *April 19, 1943 – May 16, 1943*
The German Nazi’s took over Warsaw, Poland. Meanwhile, the Jews living in Warsaw revolted against being deported into extermination camps. Their revolt then inspired other countries in Europe to revolt in extermination camps and ghettos. Because of that, 20000 Jews were killed or sent to a forced-labor camp, and 265000 were exiled from the Warsaw ghetto to the Treblinka extermination camp.
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Operation Gomorrah
24 July 1943, lasting for 8 days and 7 nights. Britain decided to raid Germany by night because of the raids Germany had on Britain, and that was called Operation Gomorrah. During that night, many lives were lost due to the 2300 tons of incendiary bombs that were dropped on Hamburg. Meanwhile, Britain only lost 12 aircraft in this raid.
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D-Day(Normandy Invasion)
156000 American, British, and Canadian forces landed on 5 beaches along the secure coast of France’s Normandy region to liberate France from Germany. This invasion was one of the largest military assaults in history, which demanded thorough planning. The battles's outcome was Paris being liberated, and Germans being removed from northwestern France. It then turned the tide against the Nazis.
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Battle of the Bulge *December 16,1944-January 25, 1945*
Battle of the Bulge was the largest battle fought on the Western Front in Europe during WWII, as well as the largest battle ever fought by the US. Germany wanted to launch a blitzkrieg on the western front, creating a wedge between the American and British army. Results: Germany lost, along with many lives, and the win of the British and American army. However, this didn’t hurt Germany.Link text -
Operation Thunderclap
Basically, this was a proposal to bomb the eastern-most cities of Germany, disturbing the transport of infrastructure. In addition, it was to expose Germany’s weak air force.
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Battle of Iwo Jima *February 19, 1945-March 26, 1945*
US attacked Iwo Jima during WW2 by bombing them, following that was the landing of 3 US marine divisions on the island,for they needed a base near Japan's coast to have the damage of the bomb land in Japan and not the Marinas. Also, the fighters helping in the bombing campaign needed a base. This battle proved Japan's extent in defending their land. 5900 Americans died and 17400 wounded.Results:US took control of Iwo Jima.Link text -
Battle of Okinawa *April 1, 1945 – June 22, 1945*
This was the biggest and last battle of the Pacific island battles of World War II, which included 287000 troops from the U.S Army(Tenth Army) against 130000 soldiers from the Japanese Army(Thirty-second). As a result, Japan lost more than 77000 soldiers, leaving the Allies suffering as well with more than 65000 casualties, including 14,000 deaths
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VE Day!
This day marks the surrender of the Nazi to the allied forces! "VE" stands for the Victory of Europe. This day marked the end of WW2 in Europe since, by this point, Hitler died, and there was no one left that made it worth participating in the war.
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Dropping of the Atomic Bombs
This day marks the world’s first organized atomic bomb. It was dropped over the Japanese city of Hiroshima, and it was an American B-29. It wiped out 90% of the city, killed 80,000 people immediately. 3 days later, another B-29 dropped a bomb on Nagasaki, killing 40000 people. The reason the US bombed them was because they thought it was the only way Japan will surrender, and they were right. Emperor Hirohito officially surrendered on September 2.Link text -
VJ Day!
This brought WW2 to a stop, ending the fight completely. This date marks Japan’s formal surrender to the allies that took place aboard the Missouri. It was the result of the atomic bombing on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
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Battle of Midway *June 3, 1942 – June 7, 1942*
Thanks to the US’s help in decoding, they were able to stop Japan’s planned ambush of their remaining aircraft carriers after Pearl Harbor, which left unrepairable damage on Japan's Navy. Furthermore, the win allowed the US and its allies to move into an offensive position. So basically, this fight came from Japan’s desire to sink the US aircraft carriers that didn't get ruined at Pearl Harbor.
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