-
Japanese Invasion of China
Japan attacked Manchuria China in July 1937, starting the Japan-China War. The attack on China was one of intense brutality. Within a time-span of about five months, one million Chinese people were under the control of the Japanese. All major cities and communication systems were captured by Japanese. The war ended with four million Chinese injuries and left 60 million homeless. In June of 1945, the Japanese surrendered, leading each to fight the other for supremacy in China. -
Germany invades Poland
German forces crossed into Polish territory and officially began World War II. Luftwaffe bombers neutralized key Polish infrastructure and fighters countered Polish fighters in return. Polish defenders surrendered on October 6th, ending the German-Soviet campaign against Poland. The invasion of Poland meant that France and Britain would have to enter into the war. This was part of Hitler's plan. A few days after the invasion of Poland, Britain declares war on Germany. -
Blitzkieg
Blitzkrieg was the German war tactic. which means "lightning war." Blitzkrieg created disorganization among the enemies through the use of mobile forces and concentrated firepower. Blitzkrieg was created so that the deadlock of WWI would not be repeated. With the use of the blitzkrieg, the war could move much faster. -
Fall of Paris
German tanks rolled into Paris, but about two million Parisians had already left. The Gestapo started making arrests and spying on people. A swastika flag was hung on the Arc de Triomphe. Canada came to the rescue for the French. -
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the German invasion of the Soviet Union. Germany had made a plan to use blitzkrieg tactics on invading Moscow, and they planned that the process would take only about eight weeks. Germany planned to invade and capture the Soviet Union to the advancement of their empire. With a myriad of people, Hitler planned to take over and make them slaves for his new empire. The Operation Barbarossa led to the Battle of Moscow. -
Pearl Harbor
Japanese surprised the United States with a bombing of Pearl Harbor, the United States Pacific fleet. The bombing left the fleet in ruins and prevented American intervention with Japanese military operation for a short while. In response to the attack, the United States declared war on Japan, leading Germany to declare war on the United States and vice-versa. -
Wannsee Conference
The Wannsee Conference was the beginning of the extermination of the Jewish population, an estimated 11 million. Reinhard Heydrich, second in command of SS, convened this conference in Berlin with fifteen Nazi bureaucrats to plan the Final Solution. The aim of this was to take away the Jews from German living space in a legal manner. This event led to what is known as the Holocaust. -
Bataan Death March
The Bataan Death March took about five days for each group of about 100 men. About thousands of men died because of brutality of their captors who starved, beat, and bayoneted the marchers. Thousands of more died from being captured and taken to prison-of-war camps. America invaded the island in 1944. -
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway occured about six months after the attack of Pearl Harbor. The battle was a victory for the U.S. against the Japanese. Torpedo bombers became separated from the American dive-bombers and were killed, but they distracted the Japanese defenses just in time for the dive-bombers to arrive. Some historians say this battle was the turning point in the Pacific side of war. -
Battle of Stalingrad
This was a successful Soviet Union defense for the city of Stalingrad. It is thought to be the greatest battle of conflict and one of the bloodiest in history. It stopped Germany from advancing into Russia. This battle was the turning point of the war. This war was one of humiliation for Hitler. -
Kasserine Pass
German General Erwin Rommel and his Afrika Korps launch an offensive against an Allied defensive line in Tunisia, North Africa. The Kasserine Pass was the site of the United States’ first major battle defeat of the war. Rommel determined that the weakest point in the Allied defensive line was at the Kasserine Pass, a 2-mile-wide gap in Tunisia’s Dorsal Mountains, which was defended by American troops. His first strike was repulsed, but with tank reinforcements, The US wa defeated. -
Operation Gomorrah
Operation Gomorrah is the bombing of Hamburg, Germany by the British. The British bombed Germany by day, while the Americans bombed by night. Operation Gomorrah was revenge on Germany for all of the bombing raids they had on the British. Operation Gomorrah left Germany devastated. The effect on Hitler was dramatic. He could not bear to see his beloved Germany in ruins. -
Allies invade Italy
Montgomery’s 8th Army began its invasion of the Italian mainland and the Italian government agreed to surrender to the Allies. By this agreement, the Italians would be treated with leniency if they aided the Allies in expelling the Germans from Italy. In October, the Bagdolio government declared war on Germany. -
D-Day
The "Day of Days" is, today, known as "D-Day." The operation was known as Operation Overlord. By 6:30 a.m., the first of many Allied landings began in Northern France, formally initializing D-Day. Five beach sectors were codenamed for the landing of further infantry, armor and supplies: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Sword, and Juno. At the end, the operation was a success and roads to Paris were now open. Operation Overlord is the largest amphibious assault in recorded history. -
Battle of the Bulge
Adolph Hitler attempted to split the Allied armies in northwest Europe by means of a surprise blitzkrieg thrust through the Ardennes to Antwerp. Mechanized forces of the German 5th 15th Panzer armies, as well as 6th SS and 7th Army, attacked US VIII forces in a line between Aachen and Bastogne. Lieutenant General George S. Patton’s successful maneuvering of the Third Army to Bastogne proved vital to the Allied defense, leading to the neutralization of the German counteroffensive. -
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. Following elaborate preparatory 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. Despite the difficulty of the conditions, the marines wiped out the defending forces. -
Battle of Okinawa
Japanese forces changed their typical tactics of resisting at the water’s edge to a defense in depth, designed to gain time. In addition, the Japanese navy and army mounted mass air attacks by planes on one-way “suicide” missions; the Japanese also sent their last big battleship, the Yamato, on a similar mission with a few escorts. The commanding generals on both sides died in this battle: American general Simon B. Buckner by artillery fire, Japanese general Ushijima Mitsuru by suicide. -
VE Day
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, and the Germans considerably more; in Copenhagen and Oslo; at Karlshorst, near Berlin; in northern Latvia; on the Channel Island of Sark—the German surrender was realized in a final cease-fire. On May 9, the Soviets would lose 600 more soldiers in Silesia before the Germans finally surrendered. -
Dropping of Atomic Bomb
The United States becomes the first and only nation to use atomic weaponry during wartime when it drops an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Though the dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan marked the end of World War II, many historians argue that it also ignited the Cold War. The bomb was created by Albert Eintstein. -
VJ Day
On VJ Day it was announced that Japan had surrendered unconditionally to the Allies, effectively ending World War II. Since then, both August 14 and August 15 have been known as “Victoryover Japan Day,” or simply “V-J Day.” The term has also been used for September 2, 1945, when Japan’s formal surrender took place aboard the U.S.S. Missouri, anchored in Tokyo Bay. The world was free from war.
