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Japanese invasion of China
What:The Second Sino-Japanese War began on July 7, 1937 and ended on September 9, 1945 after Japan surrendered to China and the Allied forces. This war ignited from a conflict between Chinese and Japanese troops for control of Chinese mainland. Why:The Second Sino-Japanese War was the biggest Asian war in the twentieth century and contributed to more than 50 percent of casualties in the Pacific War. Impact: This war merged into World War II, after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941. -
Rape of Nanking
December of 1937, the Japanese Imperial Army marched into China's capital city of Nanking and proceeded to murder 300,000 out of 600,000 civilians and soldiers in the city. The six weeks of carnage would become known as the Rape of Nanking and represented the single worst atrocity during the World War II era in either the European or Pacific theaters of war. -
Ribbontrop/ Molotov pact
German-Soviet Pact, also known as the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact after the two foreign ministers who negotiated the agreement, had two parts. An economic agreement, signed on August 19, 1939, provided that Germany would exchange manufactured goods for Soviet raw materials. Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union also signed a ten-year nonaggression pact on August 23, 1939, in which each signatory promised not to attack the other. -
Germans Blitzkrieg
What: Blitzkrieg, or “The Lightning War", was an operating concept developed as a solution to the trench warfare of World War I. Why: While American, Russian, British and other armies developed similar concepts, only the German generals received support for their operational plans prior to World War II. impact: War led to Germans would colonize the territory and the native Slavs would be enslaved. -
Germany's invasion of Poland
What:The Invasion of Poland in 1939 marked the start of World War II. It was led by the Nazis, a small contingent of Slovaks, and the Soviet Union. Why; The invasion from Germany started on September 1, 1939 following the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, while the invasion from the Soviet Union started slightly later on September 17th. ImpactThe campaign was short lived and ended on October 6, 1939 with the division of Poland by Germany and the Soviet . -
Fall of Paris
The command considered that no valuable strategic Deciding not to defence Paris the French Command "aimed at sparing it the devastation which defence would have involved. The command considered that no valuable strategic result justified the sacrifice of Paris."The Battle of France, also known as the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries during the Second World War. Beginning on 10 May 1940, the battle defeated primarily French forces. -
Operation Barbarossa
What: Hitler’s intention was always to invade the Soviet Union. It was, along with the destruction of the Jews, fundamental to his core objectives – living-space in the east and the subjugation of the Slavic race. Why: He stated his intentions clearly enough in his semi-autobiographical Mein Kampf, published in 1925. Imapct: This was meant to be a war of obliteration – and despite the vastness of Russian territory and manpower, -
Pearl Harbor
What: On December 7th, 1941 the japanese did a surprise attack on Hawaii navy base Pearl Harbor. Imapact: Just two hours of bombing, more than 2,400 Americans were dead, 21 ships* had either been sunk or damaged, and more than 188 U.S. aircraft destroyed.Why: Japan wanted America in the war becasue of supplies.
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Wannsee Conference
What: 15 Nazi officials met at Villa Marlier in Wannsee, just outside of Berlin, to discuss and plan the Final Solution. Why: Headed by Heinrich Himmler's deputy,Imapct: Reinhard Heydrich, the conference was a discussion of how best to implement the murder of European Jewry. -
Bataan Death March
The Bataan Death March Hepburn: ?, Filipino: Martsa ng Kamatayan sa Bataan) was the forcible transfer from Saisaih Pt. and Mariveles to Camp O'Donnell by the Imperial Japanese Army of 60,000–80,000 Filipino and American prisoners of war which began on April 9, 1942. -
Battle of Midway
Six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States defeated Japan in one of the most decisive naval battles of World War II. Thanks in part to major advances in code breaking, the United States was able to preempt and counter Japan’s planned ambush of its few remaining aircraft carriers, inflicting permanent damage on the Japanese Navy. An important turning point in the Pacific campaign, the victory allowed the United States and its allies to move into an offensive position. -
Operation Gomorrah
What: Operation Gomorrah destroyed a significant percentage of the city of Hamburg, leaving over 1 million residents homeless and killing 40,000-50,000 civilians. Why: In the immediate wake of the raids, over two-thirds of Hamburg's population fled the city. Impact: The raids severely shook the Nazi leadership, leading Hitler to be concerned that similar raids on other cities could force Germany out of the war. -
D-Day Normandy invasion
What: is hard to conceive the epic scope of this decisive battle that foreshadowed the end of Hitlers dream of Nazi domination. O Why: verlord was the largest air, land, and sea operation undertaken before or since June 6, 1944. Impact: The landing included over 5,000 ships, 11,000 airplanes, and over 150,000 service men. After years of meticulous planning and seemingly endless training, for the Allied Forces, it all came down to this: -
Operation Thunderclap
What: Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur T. Harris was a chunky, forceful and energetic man of fifty-three who had enlisted at the outbreak of World War I as a bugler in the Rhodesian Infantry. Why:Now he headed Bomber Command, and that night the men were scheduled to launch an attack on Dresden; Impact: this was to be the first in a series of large bombing raids on the principal cities of eastern Germany, designed to deliver the final blows to German morale. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
What: The Battle of Iwo Jima (19 February – 26 March 1945) was a major battle in which the U.S. Marines landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II.Why: Iwo Jima was defended by roughly 23,000 Japanese army and navy troops, who fought from an elaborate network of caves, dugouts, tunnels and underground installations. Impact: The battle was marked by changes in Japanese defense tactics–troops no longer defended at the beach line. -
Battle of Owkinawa
What: Battle of Okinawa started in April 1945. The capture of Okinawa was part of a three-point plan. Why:The Americans estimated that there were about 65,000 Japanese troops on the island – with the bulk in the southern sector of the island. In fact, there were over 130,000 Japanese troops on the island with more than 450,000 civilians. Impact: The Japanese troops on the island were commanded by Lieutenant- General Ushijima who had been ordered to hold onto the island at all costs. -
Atomic Bomb Droppings
What: United States becomes the first and only nation to use atomic weaponry during wartime when it drops an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Why: Though the dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan marked the end of World War II,(impact) many historians argue that it also ignited the Cold War. -
VE day
What: Victory in Europe Day, generally known as V-E Day (why), VE Day or simply V Day was the public holiday celebrated on 8 May 1945 7 May in Commonwealth realms (impact) to mark the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces. -
VJ Day
What: On August 15, 1945, news of the surrender was announced to the world. Why: This sparked spontaneous celebrations over the final ending of World War II. L
Impact: On September 2, 1945, a formal surrender ceremony was held in Tokyo Bay aboard the USS Missouri. At the time, President Truman declared September 2 to be VJ Day. -
Battle of the Bulge
What: In December 1944, Adolph Hitler attempted to split the Allied armies in northwest Europe by means of a surprise blitzkrieg thrust through the Ardennes to Antwerp. When: Caught off-guard, American units fought desperate battles to stem the German advance at St.-Vith, Elsenborn Ridge, Houffalize. Impact: As the Germans drove deeper into the Ardennes in an attempt to secure vital bridgeheads. The Allies line took on the appearance of a large bulge, giving rise to the battle’s name.
