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Japanese invasion of china
(1937–45), conflict that broke out whenChina began full-scale resistance to the expansion of Japanese influence in its territory (which had begun in 1931). In an effort to unseat the Nationalist government of Chiang Kai-shek, the Japanese occupied large areas of eastern China in 1937–38. A stalemate then ensued, and Japanese forces were diverted to Southeast Asia and to the Pacific theatre of World War II against the Western Powers and their allies beginning in late 1941. -
Germany's Invasion Of Poland
The German invasion of Poland was a primer on how Hitler intended to wage war–what would become the “blitzkrieg” strategy. This was characterized by extensive bombing early on to destroy the enemy’s air capacity, railroads, communication lines, and munitions dumps, followed by a massive land invasion with overwhelming numbers of troops, tanks, and artillery.Great Britain would respond with bombing raids over Germany three days later. -
German Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg is a military tactic designed to create disorganization among enemy forces through the use of mobile forces & locally concentrated firepower.Germany's strategy was to defeat its opponents in a series of short campaigns.Germany quickly overran much of Europe and was victorious for more than two years by relying on a new military tactic called the "Blitzkrieg"(lightning war)Soviet Union launched a counteroffensive in Nov 1942, trapping and destroying an entire German army at Stalingard. -
Pearl Harbor
Just before 8 a.m. on December 7, 1941, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawaii.The causes of the attack on Pearl Harbor stemmed from intensifying Japanese-American rivalry in the Pacific. Japan's imperial ambitions had been evident from as early as 1931, when she invaded Manchuria. The conquered region's bountiful resources were then used to supply Japan's war machine. -
D-Day
June 6, 1944, also known as D-Day, when some 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.The End D-day is the allied invasion of Nazi occupied France during World War 2. Most people thinkD-day started on June 6th 1944, but it actually started on June 5th 1944. During the night of June 5th the allies dropped paratroopers behind the beaches,which would be invaded the following day. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
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.The American amphibious invasion ofIwo Jima during World War II stemmed from the need for a base near the Japanese coast. Following elaborate preparatory air and naval bombardment, three U.S. marine divisions landed on the island in February 1945. -
Battle of Okinawa
Okinawa was to prove a bloody battle even by the standards of the war in the Far East but it was to be one of the major battles of World War Two. On July 2nd, Okinawa was declared secure by the Americans – Ushijima had committed suicide some days before this.Alongside, the territorial re-conquest of land in the Far East, the Americans wished to destroy what was left of Japan’s merchant fleet and use airstrips in the region to launch bombing raids on Japan’s industrial heartland. -
VE Day
Victory in Europe Day, generally known as V-E Day, VE Day or simply V Daywas the public holiday celebrated on 8 May 1945 (7 May in Commonwealth realms) to mark the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces.The eighth of May spelled the day when German troops throughout Europe finally laid down their arms: In Prague, Germans surrendered to their Soviet antagonists, after the latter had lost more than 8,000 soldiers. -
Droping of the atomic bomb
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. On August 6, 1945, the American bomber Enola Gay dropped a five-ton bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima.Exploding directly over a city of 320,000, the bombvaporized over 70,000 people instantly andcaused fires over two miles away. Two days later, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan. -
VJ Day
On August 15, 1945, news of the surrender was announced to the world. This sparked spontaneous celebrations over the final ending of World War II. 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. The war in the Pacific was hard fought and bloody. The tide had definitely turned, and the U.S. military was fighting island by island towards Japan.
