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Japanese Invasion Of China
http://www.history.co.uk/study-topics/history-of-ww2/sino-japanese-warIn the 1930s, China was very rich in natural resources. In 1931, the Japanese invaded Manchuria in China because China was weak and easy to invade since China was a divided country at the time. They targeted the civillians, tricking China into surrendering easily. In 1937, the Japanese and Chinese went to war, also known as the Second Sino-Japanese War. Japan invaded many of the big industrial cities such as Shanghai and also all of the important ports. -
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WWII
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Germany's Invasion Of Poland
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Poland was the first country that was invaded by Germany during WWII, in 1939.The invasion of Poland is what started the world war. The Germans fought against the Polish army for weeks until they finally defeated them on September 27th. On that day, Poland surrendered to Nazi Germany. According to Hitler, the invasion of Poland would bring 'living peace" for the German people. -
German Blitzkreig
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"Blitzkreig" is German for "Lightning War". It was a military tactic that the Germans used. The main motive of this certain tactic was to win the war within a short amount of time. For two years, the Germans successfully used this tactic to invade much of Europe. The first target using this tactic was Poland. They invaded it with many offensive weapons (tanks, planes, etc.), which was also a part of this tactic. -
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
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Very shortly after the invasion of Poland, the Germans sent the Jews to ghettos in Warsaw. The Warsaw ghetto was the largest in Poland. If any prisoner tried to escape the camp, they were immediately shot by a soldier without any hesitation. One day, several hundred prisoners decided to revolt and steal weapons to escape the ghetto. Most escapees were recaptured and executed afterwards. -
Fall Of Paris
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In 1940, the Germans entered France to invade it. Great Britain tried to convince France to fight back and not give up too easily. France struggled to fight back against the Nazi Germans and also asked for help from the Americans. Roosevelt replied and said they were ready to offer supplies but the Secretary of State opposed of the idea. Shortly after the Germans invaded France, they surrendered to Germany. -
Operation Barbarossa
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Operation Barbarossa was Hitler's plan to invade the Soviet Union. Hitler sent his armies to the Soviet Union, where they invaded their way 600 miles into the country. Once they reached Moscow, they failed to beat the Soviet armies. This was a big turning point in the war because it's failure lead Germany to fight a two-front war against the Soviets. -
Pearl Harbor
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At the time of the Pearl Harbor bombing, the US was not yet involved in the war. On December 7th 1941, Japan's armies flew over to Pearl Harbor to bomb the harbor in two waves of airplanes. The whole attack lasted about 2 hours and killed 2,403 people. Immediately after this attack, the US declared war against the axis powers. -
Wannsee Conference
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At the Wannsee Conference, the Nazi Germans gathered for a conference where they determined their plan for "The Final Solution". The "Final Solution" was just a code name for the mass murdering of the European Jewish people. This "Final Solution" was the cause of the death of about six million innocent Jewish people. -
Operation Gomorrah
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Operation Gomorrah was a British and American operation to bomb cities in Germany in three nights. Before these bombings, Nazi Germany was winning the war. The most important bombing was the bombing of Hamburg, a large port in Germany with many civilians and very well defended by Nazi Germany. After this operation, 30,000 people were killed. -
Allied Invasion Of Italy
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In 1943, the British armies were sent out on a mission. The mission was the invade the peninsula of Italy, and later the mainland. The day that the allies landed in Italy, the government secretly agreed to the allies that they would surrender. They didn't make an official statement until a few days after the landing. The Italian people were planning on uniting to overthrow Mussolini with the allies. -
D Day
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D Day was the day where 160,000 allied troops arrived on the 50 mile french coast line. The main goal of D Day was to invade France and Germany to defeat Hitler's Nazi troops. Soldiers came with supplies for their trip across Europe but on this journey, more than 4,000 troops lost their lives. -
Battle of the Bulge
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A few months after the allied troops entered the coast of France, the troops went to battle with the Germans, known as the Battle of the Bulge. This battle was fought by the British and the Americans against the Germans. The month long battle was a very bad gamble on Adolf Hilter's part. The Germans lost about 100,000 men, 700 tanks and 1,600 aircraft against the British and American troops. -
Operation Thunderclap
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Operation Thunderclap was the Allied Forces' plan on bombing multiple cities in Germany. The purpose was to disrupt the transport infrastructure that was happening in the Eastern front. The allies bombed Dresden that hadn't been bombed so much up to this point. This was a wake up call to the German population, proving to them that the Nazi regime wasn't as good as they thought it was. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
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America was in desperate need of a military base near the Japanese coast. Because of that need, the US decided to invade the island of Iwo Jima. The island was guarded by 27,000 Japanese troops. The battle for the island lasted more than a month and ended in an American victory. All of the Japanese troops were wiped out by the Americans in this tough battle. -
Battle of Okinawa
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This battle was the largest and last battle of the Pacific islands. Okinawa, another island in Japan, was the next step for the allies to invade the country. Okinawa was very important because of its many airfields. In this battle, Japan used their infamous 'kamikaze' strategy to sink the allied ships. After almost a three month battle, the Allied Powers won the battle and successfully invaded Okinawa. -
Concentration Camps Liberated
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In late April of 1945, just months before Germany would soon surrender, the Americans and Soviets liberated the concentration camps. When the allies entered the German territory to liberate the camps, the germans made a desperate attempt to hide the evidence of the camps by demolishing them. The Soviets liberated Auschwitz, the largest concentration camp. Even after the liberation, many people died of disease and malnutrition. -
VE Day
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The V and the E in this day stand for "Victory in Europe". On this day in 1945, the British and Americans celebrated the war victory in Europe. Germany finally surrendered to the Soviet Union after they had lost more than 8,000 of their soldiers. The Soviets returned about 13,000 British prisoners of war back to Great Britain. They also rescued about 2 million other prisoners, right before Germany surrendered. -
Potsdam Declaration
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The Potsdam Declaration was the official statement that called for Japan's surrender during World War Two. The declaration warned the Japanese that if they didn't surrender, they would have to face even more destruction. Japan had to disarm all of their armed forces and completely surrender to the Allied Powers. This declaration was the birth of the constitution of Japan. -
Dropping Of The Atomic Bombs On Hiroshima And Nagasaki
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On August 6th, America dropped the world's first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. Shortly after, the world's second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. The bombs immediately killed tens of thousands of people and wiped out 90% of Hiroshima. Even more died later from the radiation. The dropping of these bombs is what made Japan surrender and end the war. -
VJ Day
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VJ day stands for "Victory Over Japan Day". On this great day, Japan officially surrendered to the Allied Powers. The official surrender happened days after the incredibly fatal bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These bombings cause Japan an incredible amount of nuisance, even decades into the future. This was the end of one of the largest wars in history.
