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The rape of Nanking
The rape of Nanking was an atrocious event that took place after the Japanese forces took control of the Chinese capital of Nanking. In order to crush the spirit of the Chinese people, the Japanese army executed hundreds of thousands of men, an estimated 200,000 in all. In addition, the Japanese forces raped an estimated 20,000 women of all ages, killing many of them in the process.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-rape-of-nanking -
Miracle at Dunkirk
In a miraculous event where less than 25% of BEF troops were expected to be saved from an invasion on Dunkirk, 330,000 troops made it out over a span of 10 days due to a wide scale evacuation across the sea. The evacuation would not have been possible if it weren`t for poor strategies used by Hitler due to his fear of British tanks. While most of the supplies were unable to be saved, the allied troops were evacuated.
https://www.britannica.com/event/Dunkirk-evacuation/The-miracle-of-Dunkirk -
Operation at Barbarosa
Adolf Hitler invades the Soviet Union with over 3,000,000 German soldiers and 3,000 tanks over a span of over 2,000 miles. This was a turning point in World War II as Germany had then been confronted with the situation of fighting an army with superior training and resources on their homeland. Germany had severely underestimated their opponent, and ultimately failed advancing due to horrendous weather despite early success.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/operation-barbarossa -
Bataan death march
After the bombing of Pearl Harbor was committed by the Japan military forces, they continued on and began an invasion on the Philippines. The invasion was a success, and it forced approximately 75,000 Filipino and American troops to retreat, and were eventually forced to walk an excruciating 65 mile endeavor to prison camps. On the march through the blaring heat, they were severely mistreated and many did not survive the journey.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bataan-death-march -
D-Day (Normandy Invasion)
The Normandy invasion was a key turning point in World War II, as it freed Western Europe from Nazi Germany`s control. This success allowed the allied forces to prepare to begin an invasion on Germany. In a wide scale deception campaign against Germany, which confused them and misled Germany on where the allied forced intended to invade. While there were many casualties during the initial invasion, the mission was ultimately a success.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day -
Japanese treatment of war prisoners
During World War II, prisoners of war taken in Japan were treated very poorly. American´s who were captured by Japan were treated horribly, and were forced to live under slave-labor conditions. Of the 27,000 Americans taken as prisoners, a shocking 40% of them died, as a result of starvation, abuse, or illness. Prisoners in the camps were required to work in mines, factories, and other war-related sites that required manual labor.
https://time.com/3334677/pow-world-war-two-usa-japan/ -
Bombing of Dresden
Dresden was a city in Germany well known for its museums and architecture, however had little contribution to Germany´s war efforts. While it seemed to be an unlikely destination for a bombing, an attack was made on the city killing thousands of people. While there seemed to not be much reasoning for such an act, it is believed that the attack was used to terrify German citizens and possibly influence an early surrender.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-dresden -
Tokyo fire raids
The firebombing of Tokyo occurred as US warplanes dropped 2,000 tons of bombs on Tokyo over a two day span. In this attack between 80,000-130,000 citizens were killed and 16 square miles of Tokyo had been incinerated. To prepare for the bombing, the US took measures to modify their planes in order for them to be able to carry more explosives, and increase their speed. These modifications made the large scale bombing possible.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/firebombing-of-tokyo
