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Japanese Invasion of China
The Japanese invaded China because they wanted to cross into a town to look for a missing soldier, but the Chinese said no. The Japanese attacked the bridge that led into town. Eventually this escolated into a full scale war. -
Germany's Invasion of Poland
Germany invaded Poland and bombed Polish air fields and German U-Boats attacked the Polish navy. Hitler claimed the invasion was an act of self defense, but Germany did it for lebensraum for Germany. The Polish army stood on the front lines hoping to intimidate Germay. They were outmatched and killed or captured by the Germans. Poland surrendered and was taken by Germany. -
German Blitzkrieg
Germany used the Blitzkrieg tactic or "lightning war" to attack the Soviet Union. The Germans invaded the Soviet Union because they believed the Jews were forming the "racial basis" for the Soviet Union. Much of the Soviet Union's air force was destroyed. -
Pearl Harbor
An Amnerican naval base was attacked by hundreds of Japanese fighter planes. Nearly 20 ships were destroyed and more than 2,000 sodiers died while 1,000 were wounded. The Japanese attacked because they wanted to neutralize the U.S. Pacific fleet. After this the U.S. declared war on Japan. -
Bataan Death March
After the surrender of the Bataan Peninsula to the Japanese in World War II around 75,000 American and Filipino troops were forced to march 65 miles to prison camps. They had to march in the heat while they were treated badly by Japanese guards. Thousands of soldiers died. The Japanese did this because the Americans surrendered so they took them as prisoners. America avenged its defeat in the Philippines with the invasion of the island of Leyte in October 1944. \ -
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway was one of the deciding battles of World War 2. The Japan had planned to attack the U.S. navy near Pearl Harbor. The U.S. was able to prepare for this attack after they broke Japanese codes. During the battle the U.S. navy caused permanent damage to the Japanese navy. The U.S. won the battle and it let them move into an offensive position in the war. -
Battle of Stalingrad
In the Battle of Stalingrad the Soviet forces surrounded German troops. This was one of the bloodiest battles of World War 2. The Soviets and the Germans fought for months. Until winter came when the German soldiers started dying off. On Februray 3, 1943 the Germans surrendered. There was a combined military and civilian casualties of almost 2 million. The Battle of Stalingrad stopped the German advance into the Soviet Union and marked the turning of the tide of war in favor of the Allies. -
D-Day
More than 160,000 Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy, France. They were there to fight Nazi Germany with 5,000 ships and 13,000 aircraft. more than 9,000 Allied soldiers were killed. D-Day happened so the Allies could defeat Nazi Germany. This caused the Germans to retreat and Paris was liberated. -
Liberation of Concentration Camps
When the Allies were moving across Europe in a series of offensives against the Germans they came across concentration camps. There were tens of thousands of prisoners found suffering from starvation and disease because of the conditions they were kept in. When the Soviets found the first concentration camp the Germans tried to cover it up but they found the gas chambers. After the liberation of the concentration camps millions of prisoners were set free. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The U.S. invaded Iwo Jima because they needed a base near the Japanese coast. There were 23,000 Japanese soldiers who defended Iwo Jima. They had to navagate caves, dugouts, tunnels, and underground installations. The U.S. won the battle after a month of fighting. All of the Japanese except 1,083 prisoners were wiped out. 5,900 Americans were killed and 17,400 were wounded. -
Battle of Okinawa
Allied forces invaded the island of Okinawa and fought the Japanese in the bloodiest battle of the Pacific War. 287,000 U.S. troops fought 130,000 Japanese soldiers. The U.S. invaded Okinawa because they needed to advance across the ocean towards Japan. Japan lost 77,000 soldiers and the U.S. had 65,000 casualties and lost 14,000. The U.S. won the battle and planned to invade Japan -
VE Day
The day of the formal acceptance of Nazi Germany's surrender. The German's lost many soldiers and the Soviet Union lost more than 8,000 soldiers. 1 million German soldiers attempted mass exodus but were captured by the Russians. After Germany surrendered the war ended. -
Dropping of the Atomic Bombs
The U.S. dropped an atomic bomb because they wanted to bring the war to a speedy end. They dropped a bomb on the city of Hiroshima. This explosion killed 80,000 people and tens of thousands of people died of radiation exposure. After 3 days a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. This killed around 40,000 people. After this the emperor of Japan announced their unconditional surrender. -
VJ Day
VJ Day is Victory over Japan Day. This is the day Japan surrendered in World War 2. The Potsdam Declaration, issued by Allied leaders on July 26, 1945, called on Japan to surrender; if it did, it was promised a peaceful government according to “the freely expressed will of the Japanese people.” If it did not, it would face “prompt and utter destruction.” The Japanese surrendered on August 15, 1945 and this marked the end of World War 2.
