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Japanese invasion of China
Japanese invaded China, China fought Japan with the help of Germany, Great Britain, US, and the Soviet Union. After the attack on pearl harbor the war merged into WWII as a major front. It is also known as the Pacific War. -
Germany's Invasion of Poland
This action began WWII, Germany attacked Poland the day after the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Act. This act agreed that the Soviet Union would not defend Poland from the east if Germany attacked form the west. -
German Blitzkrieg
In a blitzkrieg, troops in vehicles, such as tanks, made quick surprise strikes with support from airplanes. These strategies resulted in the swift German win of France in 1940. Blitzkrieg is German for “lightning war.” -
Fall of Paris
Germany over took France. Germany gave them a curfew of 8 p.m. because that was the time Germany would be entering Paris. 2 million civilians fled before Germany arrived. While Parisians who remained trapped in their capital despaired, French men and women in the west felt safe when Canadian troops rolled through their region, offering hope for a free France yet. -
Atlantic Charter
Atlantic Charter was a joint declaration released by Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill on August 14, 1941 following a meeting of the two heads of state in Newfoundland. This declaration was used to set out a vision for the post-war world. 26 allied nations pledged their support for this declaration. The US and Britain agreed not to seek territorial gains from the war, they also agreed to support the restoration of self-government to those who had lost it during the war. -
Pearl Harbor
A big United States naval base in Hawaii that was attacked by the Japanese air force on December 7, 1941, many people lost their lives. Japanese said it wasn't supposed to hurt any civillians but it did. The US entered the war the next day. -
Bataan Death March
Filipino and American troops on Bataan were forced to make a 65-mile march to prison camps. The marchers made the trek in intense heat and were subjected to harsh treatment by Japanese guards. Thousands of troops died in what became known as the Bataan Death March.The men were divided into groups of 100 men, and typically took each group around five days to complete the 65 mile "hike." -
D-Day
Surprise attack from the Allies on German forces in Normandy, France. On President Eisenhower's orders, 6,000 landing craft, ships and other vessels carrying 176,000 troops began to leave England for the trip to France. That night, 822 aircraft filled with parachutists headed for drop zones in Normandy. This attack was known as the largest amphibious attack in military history. -
Liberation of Concentration Camps
Soviet soldiers were the first to liberate concentration camp prisoners in the final stages of the war. On July 23, 1944, they entered the Majdanek camp in Poland, and later overran several other killing centers. On January 27, 1945, they entered Auschwitz and there found hundreds of sick and exhausted prisoners. They set the prisoners free from concentration camps. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The American amphibious invasion of Iwo Jima during World War II stemmed from the need for a base near the Japanese coast. After preparation air and naval bombardment, three U.S. marine divisions landed on the island in February 1945. 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 battle ended on March 26, 1945 -
Battle of Okinawa
The battle of Okinawa was the last and biggest pacific battle of WWII. Japanese sent troops on suicide missions, they also sent their last battle ship. The “special attack” kamikaze tactics the Japanese used on these missions, although not especially sophisticated, were so determined that Allied forces perhaps faced their most difficult Pacific campaign. The battle ended June 22, 1945 -
VE day
Both Great Britain and the United States celebrate Victory in Europe Day. Cities in both nations put out flags and banners, rejoicing in the defeat of the Nazi war machine. German surrender was realized in a final cease-fire. More surrender documents were signed in Berlin and in eastern Germany. -
Dropping of atomic bombs
American B-29 bomber dropped the world’s first atomic bomb over Hiroshima. The explosion wiped out 90 percent of the city and immediately killed 80,000 people, others died of radiation poisoning. Three days later, a second B-29 dropped another A-bomb on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 40,000 people. After the bombing, Japanese emperor announced the country's surrender in a radio address. -
VJ Day
it was announced that Japan had surrendered unconditionally to the Allies, effectively ending World War II. when Japan’s formal surrender took place aboard the U.S.S. Missouri. Coming several months after the surrender of Nazi Germany, Japan’s capitulation in the Pacific brought six years of hostilities to a final and highly anticipated close.
