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Japanese invasion of China
Japan invaded China for the natural resources that were found within the territory, so they marched their way to china, invaded and took over fairly quickly. The Japanese were ruthless and tourcured some of the innocent civilians to get their point across that it was Japanese territory now. Forces like CCP and KMT didn’t give up the fight and kept resisting, trying to help China. In the bloody fight, both used tactics that were named “scorched Earth” http://www.history.co.uk/study-topics/history -
Rape of Nanking
Japanese Army made their way into Chinas capital in early December of 1937 and murdered over 300,000 of the 600,000 civilians and soldiers. This event is known as one of the worst and brutal battle in World War two. The Japanese took over Nanking right after they defeated the Chinese at Shanghai in late November. During this battle the POWs (prisoners of war) were transported and the Japanese encouraged their soldiers to torture them as a way of “making the men tougher for their next war.” -
Germany's invasion of Poland
Early on the morning of September 1, about 1.5 million German soldiers made their way to Poland and invaded. While the Germans bombed Poland’s airfields, they also attacked their naval forces with U-boats and warships. Even though Hitler said that this invasion was an action taken in defense, Britain and France didn’t believe him and called war on Germany on September 3. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germans-invade-poland -
Fall of Paris
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germans-enter-paris
Many people in Paris on this day woke up to loud German troops declare a curfew of 8pm being set for civilians while their troops invaded Paris. In that time, over two million civilians fed while German raised a swastika under the Arc de Triomphe. America didn’t stay out of this event completely; President Roosevelt stopped sending help to the Axis powers, Germany and Italy. -
German Blitzkrieg of France
In German the term Blitzkrieg translates the “lightning war” it was a tactic that was used by the German military in World War two. This was used successfully in the Netherlands and France and many more invasions. Germans used this tactic because it was quick and easy that saved soldiers’ lives on their side. http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/blitzkrieg.htm -
Operation Barbarossa
Hitler sent his armies into an invasion of the Soviet Union. The invasion took over the North Cape to the Black Sea, which was about 2,000 miles in total. Since this operation failed, Germany had to fight a two fronted war, which was hard for them because splitting up their troops meant they would be weaker. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/operation-barbarossa -
Pearl Harbor
Early morning of December &, thousands of Japanese fighter planes attacked Americas naval base, Pearl Harbor. In two hours more thatn 2,00 Americans were killed and about 20 vessels, 8 battleships, and 200 airplanes were destroyed. The next day America declared war of Japan. -
Wannsee Conference
On January 20, 1942, one SS guard met at the Wannsee Conference in Berlin to sort through the Final Solution to kill all the Jews in Europe, which was about 11 million people. In the meeting the Nazis used codes that meant something else, they would say something that doesn’t sound bad that really meant they were going to gas and kill all Jews. http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/holocaust/h-wannsee.htm -
Bataan Death March
This march included the surrendered Filipinos and Americans that were taken by the Japanese. These prisoners were forced to march about 65 miles from the southern end of Bataan Peninsula to San Fernando. These men were put through 5 days of no food, water, and being beaten. It is said that most of the men died because the brutally.http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bataan-death-march -
Battle of Midway
In this battle, it was the Japanese’s goal to sink our aircraft carriers that they failed to destroy in the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Japanese had a plan to make it look like they were going to attack relatively close to Pearl Harbor, but we were a step ahead of them due to technology and was able to outthink and destroy them. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-midway -
Battle of Stalingrad
In September of 1942 the German armies made their way to the outer region of Stalingrad with the hopes of taking over the city. On the other side the Russians were prepared and built up their defenses and it flooded with people. While the winter weather settled in the German men were running short on fighters and supplies which led to the Germans surrendering on February 2, 1943. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-stalingrad -
Operation Gomorrah
In this operation, Britain sent bombers to raid Hamburg, Germany. Throughout this entire mission, Britain lost 167 civilians due to Germany bombing. In a few short hours, Britain dropped over 2,300 tons of bombs on Hamburg, which ended up killing about 1,500 German civilians. A new technology that saved Britain during this period was called the Window which was strips that threw off the German radar. With this, Britain only lose 12 aircrafts. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/operation -
D-Day (Normandy Invasion)
D-day was first named Operation Overload, which began on June 6, 1944. This battle resulted in the Allies breaking free from Nazi Germanys rule. This invasion was one the largest in World War two, almost 156,000 American, British and Canadian soldiers marched on five beaches along the coast of Frances Normandy region. In late August the Allies took over and Paris was liberated and the Germans were kicked out/ killed out of northwestern France. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day -
Battle of the Bulge
In the battle of the Bulge, the objective was to split the allied armies. Their plan was to plan a surprise Blitzkrieg through the Ardennes to Antwerp which copied what the Germans did three times prier. On December 16th three German armies started the most deadly war in the Ardennes. A German shortage of gas and resources caused them to turn 90 degrees to invade a small town for more which was key to their counter offense. The Americans suffered about 100,000 deaths. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The battle of Iwo Jima was started because the Americans needed a base located by the Japanese coast. Three U.S marine divisions landed on the island in February and after a long month of fighting through tunnels, caves, and dugouts America managed to wipe out the Japanese forces. Besides about 1,000 prisoners, the Japanese forces were completely gone while America only suffered about 5,900 dead and 17,400 wounded soldiers. -
Battle of Okinawa
The battle of Okinawa was the biggest and last battle of the Pacific island in World War II. This battle lasted from April 1st – June 22, 1945 and it needed about 287,000 American troops to fight against about 130,000 Japanese soldiers. What the two were fighting for were important air bases for the invasion of Japan. At the end,America had about 65,000 casualties which included about 14,000 dead troops. On the other side, the enemies lost more than 77,000 soldiers. www.history.com/topics/world- -
VE Day
This day will always be remembered in history because In both Great Britain and the America celebrated the defeat of the Nazi war machine. Not only did Germany surrender and sign a cease fire, but more than 13,000 British prisoners of war were released and sent back home to Great Britain. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/victory-in-europe -
Dropping of the atomic bombs
On this day, it was President Trumans decision whether to drop the atomic bomb or not, which was a very tough decision. On August 6, 1945 a plane named the Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima in Japan and instantly everything was gone. Two days after, the Soviets dropped a bomb on Nagasaki and declared war with them. http://www.ushistory.org/us/51g.asp -
VJ Day
On this happy day news was spread around the country that we defeated Japan and they surrendered. With this news, people everywhere celebrated. V-J day is short for the real name which is victory over Japan day. www.holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/September/vjday.htm
