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Japanease Invasion of China.
This battle happened both before and during World War 2. Japan and China had been fighting since 1931, it wasn't until 1937 a full blown war broke out. The Japanese counted 1.1 to 1.9 million military casulties, this number is greatly disputed. China counted 1.77 million Japanease casulties during the eight year war. Japan ended up surrendering in 1945.
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Period: to
US History - World War II Timeline
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Rape of Nanking
In the December of 1937, Japanese forces marched into China's capital Nanking and managed to murder 300,000 of 6000,000 civilians. 50,000 Japanese soldiers marched into the town after defeating the Chinease at Shanghai in November. The soldiers in Nanking were not as well led and very unorganized, making it easy for the Japanease forces to enter, even though the Chinease greatly outnumbered them. The orders of the Japanease forces were "to kill all captives"
Historyplace.com -
German Blitzkrieg
"Blitzkreig" is the German term for "lightning war" and is a military tactic that was desined to cause disorganization and chaos among enemy forces. The Germans tried out the blitzkrieg in Poland in 1939 before sucessfully using it to take out France, Belgium, and the Netherlands in 1940. This form of fighting was also used by the German commander Erwin Rommel during the North African portion of World War 2. US General George Patton also used blitzkrieg tactics in his European fights.History.com -
Fall of Paris
On June 14, 1940 the people of Paris awoke to the sound of a German voice over loudspeakers that a curfew had been set and that the German forces have overtaken the city. By the time German tanks entered the city, over 2 million people had fled the city. The one's who remained were arrested, interrogated, and spyed on. Also on this day, Canadian troops rolled in to try and help the French.
History.com -
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor was a harbour near Honolulu, Hawaii. It was the cite of a surprise attack by Japan on America's naval base. The attack lasted for just two hours, but there was a lot of damage done. Japan managed to destroy more than 20 American naval vessels, 8 battleships, and more than 300 airplanes. More than 2,000 Americans died in the attack and another 1,000 were wounded. Pearl Harbor is the reason America entered WWII.
History.com & Dictonary.com -
Wannsee Conference
15 high-ranking Nazi Party and German government officals gathered in Berlin to discuss the "Final Solution of the Jewish Question."
'Final Solution" was the code name for the annihilation of European Jews. It was in 1941 that Hitler had authorized for the mass-muder of Jews, even though the conference took place in 1942. About 11 million Jews fell under the reccomendations that needed to be met to be apart of the "Final Solution.
ushmm.org -
Bataan Death March
About 75,000 Filipino and American troops were forced to walk the 65 mile march to prision camps after the United States were forced to retreat to the Bataan Penninsula. The exact number is unkown, but thousands of troops are believed to have died over their five day march because of the brutality of their captors. -
Allied Invasion of Italy
On the day the Allied Powers landed in Sicily, the Italian government secretly agreed to surrender. The news of the surrender wasn't annoounced publically until September 8th. On July 10, 1943, the Allies began their invasion, and within three days 150,000 troops entered Italy with almost no resistance. The terms of surrender included the Italians be treated with respect as long as they promised to help the Allies expel German forces out of Italy.The German forces surrendered in Italy on May 1. -
D-Day (Normandy Invasion)
More than 160,000 Allied troops stormed a 50 mile long stretch of beach to fight Nazi Germany. More than 5000 ships and 13000 aircraft were used on D-Day. At the end of the day, more than 9000 Allied soldiers were killed, allowing for 100,000 troops to continue to fight. The original date the attack was planned for was June 5th, but it had to be postponed due to weather.
History.com & Army.mil -
Battle of the Bulge
Hitler tried to split up the Allied forces by using a surprise blitzkrieg. The American units fought various battles at St. Vith, Houffalize, Bastogne, and Elsenborn Ridge. The Battle of the Bulge ended up leading to the neutralization of the German forces. The US Army ended up suffering from over 100,000 deaths.
History.com -
Liberation of Concentration Camps
On the 27th of January in 1945, the Allied troops walked into Auschwitz and found hundreds of sick prisoners after the German's had been forced to leave them behind. Also left behind were 348,820 men's suits, 836,255 women's coats, and tens of thousands of pairs of shoes. Many people died even after being freed from the concentration camps. At first, the concentration camps were just called "killing centers" where millions of jews and other minorities were murdered in large groups.
ushmm.org -
Battle of Iwo Jima
Three American Marine divisions landed on the islan of Iwo Jima about 575 miles away from Japan's coastline. This battle is what caused a change in Japanease defence tactic when the American fources wiped out the Japanease after a month of fighting. 5,900 American soldiers were killed and 17,400 were wounded.
History.com -
VE Day
VE Day stands for "Victory in Europe Day" and is a publically celebrated holiday on May 8th. On this day, both Great Britain and America celebrated their defeat against the Nazi War Machine. VE Day took place three weeks after Hitler committed suicide.
History.com & BBC.co.uk -
Dropping of the Atomic Bombs
At 6:18am Japan time, the world's first atomic bomb was dropped in Hiroshima by American forces. About 80,000 people were killed instantly by the blast, another 35,00 injured, and by the end of the year, a total of 60,000 people died as a result of the bomb. It was American President Harry S. Truman who made the decision to drop the bomb in hopes to end the war. There were a total of 90,000 buildings standing in the town before the blast, only 28,000 remained.
History.com -
VJ Day
VJ Day stands for "Victory over Japan day." On the 14th of August Japan unconditionally surrendered to the Allied Forces, which successfully ended World War 2. On this day, President Harry S. Truman broke the news of the end of the war by stating: "This is the day we have been waiting for since Pearl Harbor. This is the day when Fascism finally dies, as we always knew it would."
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