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Nanking Massacre
As Japanese troops fall short in trying to invade Shanghai, they continue to Nanking where they commit crimes of mass murder, theft, and rape of the civilians residing in Nanking. An estimate of up to 300 000 people were killed in a six week time period. Many Japanese records were kept secret and nobody is truly sure of the accurate numbers, and the massacre remained a secret from others to avoid trouble. -
Kristallnacht
On the night on November 9, 1938, the Sturmabteilung and German civilians decided to loot and trash Jewish-owned stores and Synagogues, arrest about 30 000 Jewish men to be put in Nazi concentration camps, and murdering what is estimated at hundreds of innocent people. Many point the finger and blame to be on the assassination of a German-born Polish Jew diplomat, Ernst vom Rath. Kristallnacht was a great turning point for Nazis that allowed them to gain popularity and share silenced opinions. -
The Battle of the Atlantic
The war between Germany and Britain was still going strong, however Britain was very dependent on Canadian supplies. Germany was determined to break off connections and lessen Britain's chances. The Germans sent out U-boats to chase down Allied ships in Atlantic waters. The U-boats travel in wolf packs and sank 143 Allied cargo ships. Slowly but surely, Canada's navy expanded enough to put up a fight against U-boats and eventually sunk many of them. As a result, Nearly 4000 Canadians died. -
Fall of France
Also known as the Battle of France, the Fall of France occurred as a result of German forces invading and eventually taking over France, as well as the rest of the western part of Europe. The Germans successfully occupy Paris, marching through with pride. France's attempt of retaliation did not get them as far as they needed to be in order of defeating German forces, which caused the French army to inevitably collapse. -
Miracle at Dunkirk
In the spring of 1940, Hitler made the mistake of halting German forces to take time and decide the final attacking move. The British very quickly formed a team of as many boats as possible, joined with Four Royal Canadian Navy destroyers. These boats were sent across the English Channel in order to pick up allied troops from the beach and brought aboard larger vessels that took them along the rest of the channel. Only about 200 smaller boats were attacked and sunk. -
The Battle of Britain
After Dunkirk, approximately 140 000 German troops made their way along the English Channel. Hitler anticipated the RAF would fight the Germans who attempted to attack, so he ordered a competitor he deemed to be powerful and capable. Hitler’s idea of such would be the Luftwaffe, or German Airforce. His goal was to gain the upper hand in the sky high battle. Although short of training and experience, the RAF had the support of radar and other Allied countries pitching in to provide supplies. -
Operation Barbarossa
Nazis invaded the Soviet Union in the summer on 1941 in high hopes of eliminating communists and Jews in Russia. In one severe case, upwards of 33 000 Jews were mass murdered by machine guns. As 1941 was coming to a close, about 700 000 people were already killed, leaving some regions without a Jewish population at all. -
The Final Solution
The Final Solution was in actuality, a code name for the extermination of Jews in Europe. An idea prompted by the Nazi party, the plan was to initially use mobile killing units, then resorting to the more efficient extermination camps. The Nazis invaded the Soviet Union in what is referred to as "Operation Barbarossa," giving them an opportunity to kill on mass. Hitler averted his attention to this later on in the war because he was clearly getting weaker in battle and wanted the Jews gone. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Japanese forces were eager to destroy the American Navy, an obstacle that comes with sacrifice in order of overcoming the strong force. Without warning, Japan posed attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, an American naval base. Americans suffered a loss of 2 043 Americans, 347 aircraft, and 14 warships. As America was not officially in the war, they decided to join the Allies in a fight against Japan. -
Hong Kong Invasion
A short eight hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese began targeting Allied bases in surrounding regions, Hong Kong falling victim. Allied troops were sent over and quickly realized that Japanese forces were plenty and hard to take down. Despite of the apparent disadvantages, the Allies did not back down against the Japanese and fought a long and hard battle until Black Christmas, when the soldiers dropped their weapons. Only 1685 Canadians made it through and were held as POWs. -
Dieppe Raid
In the summer of 1942, Russia was encouraging the Allies to attack the western part of Europe under Germany's rule. The decision was settled on raiding Dieppe, a French seaport on the English Channel, however the Germans beat them to the punch. The Germans held high grounds and began attacking the surprised Allies. The Allied forces were soon trapped on the beach and slaughtered for six hours. Many of the soldiers were captured, if not killed or severely wounded. -
Battle of Stalingrad
Described as one of the bloodiest battles in the history of warfare, the Battle of Stalingrad was an attack on anybody in sight of a Nazi soldiers' eye, a total of nearly 2 million casualties. The objective of such an attack was for Nazi Germany to gain control over the Soviet Union's city of Stalingrad. The battle went on for over five months and after endless bombing and brutal killings, the Red Army prevailed in the war against German, Hungarian, Croatian, Romanian, and Italian allies. -
D-Day
While Canadian troops patiently waited in Britain for their cue to invade France, they strategically prepared for a redemption of what happened in Dieppe. The Allies mislead German troops into thinking that they were gathered elsewhere, and proceeded to invade with "Operation Overload." Allies carried out the invasion with 150 000 American, Canadian, and British troops across the English Channel, and successfully ended up on far stretches in the east and west. -
Nagasaki
The second and latest use of any atomic bomb for warfare was stationed in Nagasaki, Japan. The Allies agreed to drop such powerful bombs on Japanese cities seeking an unconditional surrender from Japan. After being warned and evidently tested after Hiroshima, the US dropped the "Fat Man" on the city of Nagasaki, killing up to 80 000 people. There were at least 129 000 people dead as a result of the two atomic bombs in Japan, significantly less than the past and more common bombings.
