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Japanese invasion of china
The Japanese quickly took control of key reservoirs, threatening the British and Chinese inhabitants with a slow death by thirst. The Britains finally surrendered control of Hong Kong on Christmas Day. Ended september 9th, 1945
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/soviets-declare-war-on-japan-invade-manchuria -
Germanys invasion of Poland
Hitler attacked the USSR, breaking his non-aggression with the Soviet Union.Germany seized all of Poland, during the German occupation,nearly three million Polish Jews were killed in the Nazi death camps. Ended September 27th 1939.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germans-invade-poland -
German blitzkrieg
German forces tried out the blitzkrieg in Poland in 1939 before successfully employing the tactic with invasions of Belgium, the Netherlands and France in 1940. The blitzkrieg was also used by German commander Erwin Rommel during the North African campaign of World War II, and adopted by U.S. General George Patton for his army’s European operations. ended in 1940. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/blitzkrieg -
Fall of Paris
Winston Churchill had tried for days to convince the French government to hang on, not to sue for peace, that America would enter the war and come to its aid. German tanks rolled into Paris, 2 million Parisians had already fled, with good reason. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germans-enter-paris -
Operation Barbarossa
Hitler sent his armies east in a massive invasion of the Soviet Union,three great army groups with over three million German soldiers,150 divisions, and three thousand tanks smashed across the frontier into Soviet territory. Ended Jan. 7th 1942 .
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/operation-barbarossa -
Pearl Harbor
December 7, 1941, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu,Hawaii. This lasted just two hours, but it was devastating. The Japanese managed to destroy nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight enormous battleships, and more than 300 airplanes. one day event. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor -
Wannsee Conference
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-wannsee-conferenceHeydrich met with Adolf Eichmann, chief of the Central Office of Jewish Emigration, and 15 other officials from various Nazi ministries . Tthe “gas vans” in Chelmno, Poland, which were killing 1,000 people a day, proved to be the “solution” they were looking for–the most efficient means of killing large groups of people at one time devise a plan that would render a final solution to the Jewish question in Europe. one day event -
Battle of Stalingrad
It stopped the German advance into the Soviet Union and marked the turning of the tide of war to help the Allies. The Battle of Stalingrad was one of the bloodiest battles in history, with combined military and civilian casualties of nearly 2 million. ended, Feb 2, 1943
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-stalingrad -
Japanese interment
This resulted in the relocation of approximately 120,000 people, many of whom were American citizens, to one of 10 internment camps located across the country. The relocation of Japanese-Americans into internment camps during World War II was one of the most horrific violations of civil liberties in American history. ended in 1945 http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/japanese-american-relocation -
Bataan Death March
The men were divided into groups of approximately 100, and what became known as the Bataan Death March typically took each group around five days to complete. After the war, an American military tribunal tried Lieutenant General Homma Masaharu, commander of the Japanese invasion forces in the Philippines.Ended 1945 http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bataan-death-march -
D-Day ( Normandy invasion)
Codenamed Operation Overlord, the battle began on June 6, 1944, also known as D-Day, when some 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified coast of France’s Normandy region.Prior to D-Day, the Allies conducted a large-scale deception campaign designed to mislead the Germans about the intended invasion target. ended june 30th 1944 .
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day -
Battle of the bulge
Hitler attempted to split the Allied armies in northwest Europe by means of a surprise blitzkrieg thrust through the Ardennes to Antwerp.three German armies launched the deadliest and most desperate battle of the war in the west in the poorly roaded, rugged, heavily forested Ardennes. ended jan. 25th 1945 . http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-the-bulge -
Battle of Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima was defended by roughly 23,000 Japanese army and navy troops, and it was attacked by three marine divisions after elaborate preparatory air and naval bombardment.The battle was marked by changes in Japanese defense tactics–troops no longer defended at the beach line but rather concentrated inland; consequently, the marines experienced initial success but then got bogged down in costly attritional warfare.ended march 26th 1945.http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-iwo-jima -
Battle of Okinawa
A series of defense lines across the island, both north and south of the American landing beaches, enabled the Japanese to conduct a fierce defense of Okinawa over many weeks.ended june 22 1945. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-okinawa -
VE day
The main concern of many German soldiers was to elude the grasp of Soviet forces, to keep from being taken prisoner. About 1 million Germans attempted a mass exodus to the West when the fighting in Czechoslovakia ended, but were stopped by the Russians and taken captive. one day event http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/victory-in-europe -
Dropping of the atomic bombs
United States had been working on developing an atomic weapon, after having been warned by Albert Einstein that Nazi Germany was already conducting research into nuclear weapons.In the years since the two atomic bombs were dropped on Japan, a number of historians have suggested that the weapons had a two-pronged objective. one day event http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki -
VJ day
The embattled Japanese government in Tokyo refused to surrender, and the American B-29 plane Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, killing more than 70,000 people and destroying a 5 sq. mile expanse of the city. one day event http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/v-j-day
