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Japanese invasion of China
The Japanese invaded China when China began a resistance to the expansion of Japanese influence in its territory. Japan was far more superior in air power and number of troops. China failed at stopping the Japanese from occupying Shanghai. The Japanese were surprised how long it took to occupy the city China fought to buy time but at the cost of losing thousands of lives. The Japanese invasion (known as the Battle of Shanghai) lasted 3 months and eventually Japan gained power over Shanghai. -
Rape of Nanking
To break free of Chinese resistance, the Japanese general ordered that the city of Nanking be destroyed. Much of the city was burned, and the Japanese killed 150,000 war prisoners, killed 150,000 civilians, and raped at least 20,000 women. This lasted for six weeks. After the end of WWII, the lieutenant generals who participated in these acts of murder and rape were found guilty of war crimes and were executed.
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Germany's invasion of Poland
The German invasion of Poland brought Britain and France into WW2. The Germans justified this action by claiming Poland had been planing to dismember Germany. The SS staged a fake Polish attack on the German radio and a campaign against Poland was launched. The Polish Army was defeated within weeks. Warsaw surrendered to the Germans after heavy bombing and shelling. Then, Britain and France declared war on Germany.
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Ribbentrop/Molotov Pact
This pact was known as the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact, and it was a pact between Germany and the Soviet Union that was made a few days before WWII. This decided eastern Europe into German and Soviet influence. The terms were that the countries were not to attack eachother, not to support any third power that might attack the other party, and to not join any group of power threatening the other party. The pact was broken when Germany invaded Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa. -
German Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg was a concept developed by the Germans as a solution to trench warfare. It was a military tactic designed to create disorganization within the enemy. They used this tactic successfully with the invasions of Belgium, the Netherlands, and France in 1940. It led to advancements in the war and allowed for Germany to take down four nations.
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Fall of Paris
This attack began with a German air raid, then went to a race for a counter attack on the coast. The surrender of France led from this, as the French had collapsed. This was very humiliating to France, and the fall of the French army only took the Germany six weeks. It was one of the most remarkable campaigns, and only the French suffered major losses.
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Operation Barbarossa
This operation was when Adolf Hitler launched his armies into the Soviet Union using the Blitzkrieg. This invasion covered a distance of two thousand miles, and Barbarossa was the crucial turning point in WWII, because its failure forced the Nazis to fight a two-front war. In the end, the Germans plan failed because of the Germans refusal of help and the attitude of the German army.
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/world-war-ii-in-the-pacific -
Pearl Harbor
On December 7th, 1941 Japan bombed the US naval base Pearl Harbor, killing thousands of civilians and soldiers, and destroying many important ships. The war had already begun, but after this attack is when the US joined. After the attack, America was united and agreed upon the fact that America needed to declare was on Japan.
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/world-war-ii-in-the-pacific -
Wannsee Conference
The Wannsee Conference was a conference between Nazi officials discussing how to kill the Jews. “The Final Solution” was the code for this conference, and they were trying to figure out a way to wipe the Jews out once and for all. After this conference, Hitler authorized this “final solution” and the killing of the Jews began. This led to one of the most devastating events history has seen, the Holocaust.
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Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway was a naval battle that was fought almost entirely with aircraft. The United States destroyed Japan’s carrier strength and its best naval pilots. The battle ended the threat of Japanese invasion of the Pacific, and inflicted damage to the point that the Japanese could not recover during the war.
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Bataan Death March
American troops that were taken prisoner were forced to walk 65 miles to prison camps after a US surrender on April 9th, 1942. This took place on the main island of Luzon, and thousands died on the march. The conditions were horrible, as it was hot and the Japanese treated these soldiers terribly. America helped avenge all of those that were taken hostage by returning to the Philippines and liberating the troops that survived.
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Operation Gomorrah
This operation was also known as the Battle of Hamburgh. It was a campaign that lasted 7 days. This operation was an air raid on Germany that some compare to the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings. It killed over 40,000 people, and was the heaviest assault of aerial warfare of WWII.
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D-Day (Normandy Invasion)
Before the Normandy Invasion, there were months of planning. The Allies were trying to figure out their plan of attack and how they could advance into Normandy and end the war. Their initial date was delayed because of weather, but 5,000 ships and 11,000 carriers were still mobilized. The normally invasion began and was carried out onto the teacher on June 6th, 1944. A week later the beaches were taken, and this created a turning point in then war, which led to German’s surrender. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
At the beginning of this battle, there were complications when American troops landed on Iwo Jima. It was difficult to walk and drive on because of the mountainous region. The Japanese waited for the Americans, but the Americans thought their first attack went well. The Japanese fired their artillery on soldiers that were struggling on the region, but Japan ran low on supplies. It was a brutal battle with lost of deaths, and no one knew who won.
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Dropping of the atomic bombs
Hiroshima and Nagasaki were two Japanese cities that America dropped the first atomic bomb on. Before America dropped these bombs, they warned the people by dropping warning from planes. The first atomic bomb hit Hiroshima, but after that Japan didn’t surrender so America dropped the second bomb on August 14th. This led to the end of WWII, and was the first time an atomic bomb was used in warfare.
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/world-war-ii-in-europe -
Battle of the Bulge
This battle was the costliest battle, killing over 100,000 Americans. Hitler attempted to split the Allies using a blitzkrieg attack. He caught the Americans off guard using this tactic and kept them back when they came on a bulge and tried to push them back, The Germans launched an attack through the Ardennes, and a shortage of German supplies and the Americans pushing them back led to a draw in the battle.
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/world-war-ii-in-europe -
Operation Thunderclap
This operation was the code name for plans to bomb Eastern Germany (Dresden). This city was unimportant and didn’t bring the Germans any closer to surrendering. This operation was controversial because it hadn’t encountered an attack until this attack but it was thought that this was relating communications through the axis powers which is why the bombing happened in the first place. The attack reduced the city to a pike of rubble.
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Battle of Okinawa
This battle was the last major battle of WWII, and was also the bloodiest battle, killing over 12,000 Americans, 110,000 Japanese, and up to 100,000 Okinawa citizens. There were different types of warfare used such as suicide and kamikaze attacks. This was won by the Allies and put them close to Japan, then allowing them to drop the atomic bomb on Japan and ending the war. -
VE Day
VE Day is known as Victory of Europe day. This was the date that Churchill declared as a holiday after Britain defeated the Nazis. It marked the end of Hitler. It was a day to celebrate peace after lost of deaths.
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/world-war-ii-in-europe -
VJ Day
This day was known as the “Victory over Japan day” or “V-J day” because it was after the bombing os Hiroshima and Nagasaki that led to the surrender of Japan. On this day, Americans took to the streets and expressed joy and peace. It was popular until this day became offensive when America and Japan became allies.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii
