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Japanese invasion of China
Japanese forces invaded the Republic of China. Chiang Kai-shek's forces crumbled under the pressure of the Japanese invasion, this started the war known as The Second Sino-Japanese War. The Japanese Army invaded China and launched major attacks on Beijing, Shanghai, and Nanking. (http://factsanddetails.com/asian/ca67/sub426/entry-5329.html) -
Rape of Nanking
The Japanese invaded the city of Nanking with the order to destroy it. Most of the city was burned, but the Japanese forces also launched a campaign of atrocities against civilians. They butchered 150,000 male "war prisoners, massacred an additional 50,000 male civilians, and raped at least 20,000 women and girls of all ages, many were mutilated and killed. (https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-rape-of-nanking) -
German Blitzkrieg
"Lighting war" a military tactic designed to disorganize the enemy using mobile forces and locally concentrated firepower. When it succeeds the battles are quick, which preserves human lives and limits the expenditure of artillery. This tactic was fundamental to the German victories of 1939-1941. (https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/blitzkrieg) -
Ribbentrop/Molotov Pact
A nonaggression pact between Germany and the Soviet Union made a few days before the start of World War II. It divided eastern Europe into spheres of influence for the Germans and the Soviets. This was done because the Soviet Union wanted more time to build up an army, and Germany wanted to invade Poland and not worry about the Soviet Union attacking them. (https://www.britannica.com/event/German-Soviet-Nonaggression-Pact) -
Germany's invasion of Poland
At 4:45 a.m., around 1.5 million German troops invaded Poland. The Luftwaffe ( a German plane) bombed Polish airfields, German U-boats attacked Polish naval forces in the Baltic Sea. The reason they invaded was to bring Lebensraum (living space) for the German people. This invasion is what initiated World War II. (https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germans-invade-poland) -
Operation Barbarossa
The German invasion of the Soviet Union. Even though he had congratulated himself on the Ribbentrop/Molotov Pact, Hitler had heavy belief in anti-Bolshevism (hate towards Russian Communists). The Germans failed to defeat the Soviet forces. This signaled a turning point in the war, everyone prior had lost to the Germans. (https://www.britannica.com/event/Operation-Barbarossa) -
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor is a U.S. naval base near Honolulu, Hawaii. The Japanese forces launched a surprise attack just before 8 a.m. on a Sunday morning. Over 300 Japanese airplanes managed to destroy nearly 20 American naval vessels and over 300 airplanes. Over 2,400 Americans died, another 1,000 were wounded. The U.S. then quickly declared war on Japan, then Germany and Italy, Japan's allies, declared war on the United States. (https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor) -
Bataan Death March
Surrendered Filipino and American troops were rounded up by the Japanese into groups of around 100, and forced to march around 65 miles from Mariveles to San Fernando. This took around 5 days to complete, and the journey was extremely difficult, it is thought that around 1000 troops died due to the poor treatment of their captors. (https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bataan-death-march) -
Battle of Midway
Six days after Pearl Harbor, the U.S. defeated Japan in one of the most decisive naval battles of WWII. The U.S. was able to preempt and counter Japan's ambush of it's few remaining aircraft carriers. An American intelligence breakthrough-solving of the Japanese fleet codes-enabled Pacific Fleet commander Admiral Chester W. Nimitz to understand the exact Japanese plans, the reason they won the battle. (https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-midway) -
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
Jews living in the ghetto in Warsaw, Poland, staged an armed revolt to prevent deportations to Nazi-run extermination camps. This inspired many more revolts in other German-occupied camps and ghettos. (https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/warsaw-ghetto-uprising) -
Operation Gomorrah
British bombers raid Hamburg, Germany at night, while Americans bomb it during the day. British aircrafts dropped 2,300 tons of incendiary bombs on Hamburg in just a few hours. More than 1,500 German civilians were killed in the first raid. Over the whole "Blitz Week" 30,000 people were killed and 280,000 buildings were destroyed. (https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/operation-gomorrah-is-launched) -
D-Day
156,000 Allied forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified coast of France’s Normandy region. All of northern France had been liberated, and by the following spring, the Allies had defeated the Germans. The Normandy landings have been called the beginning of the end of the war in Europe. (https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day) -
Battle of the Bulge
German forces attempted to split up the allied forces by launching a blitzkrieg attack on the American soldiers. The Americans did not expect the attack and fought desperately to stem off the advance. The Allied line took on the appearance of a large bulge, giving rise to the battle’s name. (https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-the-bulge) -
Operation Thunderclap
A series of Allied firebombing raids begins against the German city of Dresden killing as many as 135,000 people. It was the single most destructive bombing in World War II. (https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/firebombing-of-dresden) -
Battle of Iwo Jima
American forces invaded the island of Iwo Jima. It is believed that all but 200 of the 21,000 Japanese forces, and 7,000 Marines were killed. Once the fighting was over, the strategic value of Iwo Jima was called into question. (https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-iwo-jima) -
Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa was considered the last major battle of WWII, and one of the bloodiest battles. The Navy's Fifth Fleet and over 180,000 U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps troops descended on the island of Okinawa for a final push towards Japan. (https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-okinawa) -
Liberation of concentration camps
In every camp, Allied soldiers encountered appalling scenes. The camps had become exceptionally overcrowded after the arrival of survivors of the death marches. Thousands of unburied bodies lay strewn around the camp, while in the barracks some 60,000 starving and mortally ill people were packed together without food or water. (https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/liberation-of-the-concentration-camps) -
VE Day
On this day, both Great Britain and the United States celebrate Victory in Europe Day. German troops throughout Europe finally laid down their arms. The Germans surrendered to the Soviets after the Soviets had lost 8,000 soldiers. VE Day is not celebrated on the 8th in Moscow, it is celebrated on the 9th because they don't want to celebrate their losses on that day. (https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/victory-in-europe) -
Dropping of the atomic bombs
The U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima killing 80,000 people on impact. Tens of thousands of more died in the following weeks from wounds and radiation poisoning. Japan didn't surrender from that though, so the U.S. dropped another bomb on the city of Nagasaki. Killing nearly 40,000 more people. A few days later, Japan finally surrendered. (https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/atomic-bomb-dropped-on-hiroshima) -
VJ Day
VJ Day is also known as Victoryover Japan Day. The day Japan surrendered unconditionally to the Allies, effectively ending WWII. Japan's surrender brought six years of hostilities to a final and highly anticipated end. In 1995 the administration of Bill Clinton referred to "End of the Pacific War" instead of VJ Day. (https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/v-j-day)
