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Rape of Nanking
What Happened: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.
Why:The actual military invasion of Nanking was preceded by a tough battle at Shanghai that began in the summer of 1937.Chinese forces there put up surprisingly stiff resistance against the Japanese Army which had expected an easy victory in China.
Effects:A puppet government was installed,which would rule Nanking until the end -
German Blitzkrieg
What happened:German forces tried out the blitzkrieg in Poland in 1939 before successfully employing the tactic with invasions of Belgium, the Netherlands and France in 1940.
Why it happened:Conventional wisdom traces blitzkrieg, “lightning war,” to the development in Germany between 1918 and 1939 of a body of doctrine using mobility to prevent repetition of the attritional deadlock of World War I.
Effects:What are commonly called blitzkrieg operations developed out of experiences. -
Operation Barbarossa
What Happened:Adolf Hitler launched his armies eastward in a massive invasion of the Soviet Union
Why:they were determined to enslave the Slavic population and exterminate the Jews
Effects:the Germans restored a semblance of order to the front; the spring thaw in March 1942 brought operations to a halt. -
Pearl Harbor
What happened:hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawaii.
Why:The Japanese government believed that the only way to solve its economic and demographic problems was to expand territory and take over its import market. So they declared war on China and the U.S. officials responded to this aggression with a battery of economic sanctions and trade embargoes, which made Japan frustrated.
Effects:After the attack,the US entered WW2. -
Wannsee Conference
What happened:15 high-ranking Nazi Party and German government officials gathered at a villa in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee to discuss and coordinate the implementation of what they called the "Final Solution of the Jewish Question."
Why:to disclose to the participants that Hitler himself had tasked Heydrich and the RSHA with coordinating the operation.
Effect:The Jews will be deployed under appropriate supervision at a suitable form of labor deployment in the East -
Battle of Midway
What Happened:U.S. Pacific Fleet succeeded in destroying four Japanese aircraft carriers while losing only one of its own, the Yorktown, to the previously invincible Japanese navy.
Why: U.S. intelligence broke the Japanese naval code, however, and the Americans anticipated the surprise attack.
Effects:marked the turning point in the Pacific theater of World War II. -
Allied invasion of Italy
What Happened:the Allies began their invasion of Axis-controlled Europe with landings on the island of Sicily, off mainland Italy.
Why:opposition groups in Italy were uniting to overthrow Mussolini and make peace with the Allies, but a strong German military presence in Italy threatened to resist any such action.
Effects:German forces in Italy surrendered on May 1, and six days later all of Germany surrendered. -
D-Day
What Happened:156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified coast of France’s Normandy region.
Why:With Hitler’s armies in control of most of mainland Europe, the Allies knew that a successful invasion of the continent was central to winning the war.
Effects:The heroism and bravery displayed by troops from the Allied countries on D-Day has served as inspiration for several films. -
Battle of the Bulge
What Happened:the Germans launch the last major offensive of the war, Operation Mist
Why:an attempt to push the Allied front line west from northern France to northwestern Belgium.
Effects:The Germans lost so many experienced troops and equipment that there was no way their army could launch another attack on Allied forces. -
Liberation of the Concetration Camps
What Happened: concentration camps got shut down
Why:urprised by the rapid Soviet advance, the Germans attempted to hide the evidence of mass murder by demolishing the camp.
Effects: concentration camps ended -
Battle of Iwo Jima
What Happened:American soldiers make their first strike on the Japanese Home Islands at Iwo Jima.
Why:sparked by the desire for a place where B-29 bombers damaged over Japan could land without returning all the way to the Marianas, and for a base for escort fighters that would assist in the bombing campaign.
Effects: American losses included 5,900 dead and 17,400 wounded. -
Battle of Okinawa
What Happened: 287,000 troops of the U.S. Tenth Army against 130,000 soldiers of the Japanese Thirty-second Army.
Why:At stake were air bases vital to the projected invasion of Japan.
Effects:The commanding generals on both sides died in the course of this battle -
VE-Day
What Happened:it marked the formal conclusion of Hitler's war.
Why:Hitler commited suicide
Effects:With it came the end of six years of misery, suffering, courage and endurance across the world. -
Droppig of the Atomic Bombs
What Happened:the American bomber Enola Gay dropped a five-ton bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
Why:President Harry S. Truman, warned by some of his advisers that any attempt to invade Japan would result in horrific American casualties, ordered that the new weapon be used to bring the war to a speedy end.
Effect:Japan surrendered -
VJ-Day
What Happened: it was announced that Japan had surrendered unconditionally to the Allies, effectively ending World War II.
Why: U.S. dropped the atomic bombs
Effects: Japan surrendered which was the end of the war for them.
