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Japanese Invasion of China
During a small border skirmish at the Lugou Bridge, war broke out between the Japanese and Chinese; the event became known as the Marco Polo Bridge Incident. The incident occurred because of provocative Japanese military maneuvers. Some historians date the beginning of World War II with the Japanese invasion. (http://histclo.com/essay/war/ww2/camp/pac/china/w2c-inv.html) -
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Rape of Nanking
Cite: Japanese Imperial Army marched into China's capital city of Nanking and started to murder 300,000 out of the 600,000 civilians and soldiers in Nanking. This event occured because the Chinese had surprised the Japanese, in a war preceeding this event, by having stiff resistence to the Japanese army. The Japanese army was infuriated by China's resistence and wanted revenge which lead to the Rape of Nanking. About 50% of Nankings population was killed in this period of unprecedented violence. -
Germany's Invasion of Poland
1.5 million German troops invade Poland along its 1,750-mile border with German-controlled territory. The German Luftwaffe bombed Poland's airfields, and German warships and U-boats attacked Poland's naval forces in the Baltic Sea. Germany's leader, Adolf Hitler thought that it would give Germany some living space. The German's defeated the Polish with their more advanced military. (http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germans-invade-poland) -
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German Blitzkrieg
A German term for “lightning war,” blitzkrieg is a military tactic designed to create disorganization among enemy forces through the use of mobile forces and concentrated firepower.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. (http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/blitzkrieg) -
Fall of Paris
Parisians awaken to the sound of a German-accented voice announcing via loudspeakers that a curfew was being imposed for 8 p.m. that evening-as German troops enter and occupy Paris. By the time German tanks rolled into Paris, 2 million Parisians had already fled, with good reason. (http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germans-enter-paris) -
Pearl Harbor
Hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawaii. The Japanese managed to destroy nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight enormous battleships, and more than 300 airplanes. More than 2,000 Americans soldiers and sailors died in the attack, and another 1,000 were wounded. (http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor) -
Wannsee Conference
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." The "Final Solution" was the code name for the systematic, deliberate, physical annihilation of the European Jews. (https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005477) -
Bataan Death March
U.S. surrender the Bataan Peninsula on the main Philippine island of Luzon to the Japanese. Approximately 75,000 Filipino and American troops on Bataan were forced to make an arduous 65-mile march to prison camps. Thousands perished in what became known as the Bataan Death March. (http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bataan-death-march) -
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Battle of Midway
Six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States defeated Japan in one of the most decisive naval battles of World War II. United States was able to preempt and counter Japan’s planned ambush of its few remaining aircraft carriers. The victory allowed the United States and its allies to move into an offensive position. (http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-midway) -
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Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was the successful Soviet defense of the city of Stalingrad. It stopped the German advance into the Soviet Union and marked the turning of the tide of war in favor of the Allies. It was one of the bloodiest battles in history, with combined military and civilian casualties of nearly 2 million. (http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-stalingrad) -
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Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
Cite:Shortly after the German invasion of Poland, in September 1939, more than 400,000 Jews in Warsaw, the capital, were confined to an area of the city that was little more than 1 square mile. Residents of the Jewish ghetto in Nazi-occupied Warsaw, Poland, staged an armed revolt against deportations to extermination camps. The Warsaw ghetto uprising inspired other revolts in extermination camps and ghettos throughout German-occupied Eastern Europe. -
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Allied Invasion of Italy
The British 8th Army under Field Marshal Bernard L. Montgomery begins the Allied invasion of the Italian peninsula, crossing the Strait of Messina from Sicily and landing at Calabria–the “toe” of Italy. On the day of the landing, the Italian government secretly agreed to the Allies’ terms for surrender, but no public announcement was made until September 8. (http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/allies-invade-italian-mainland) -
D-Day
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 invasion was one of the largest amphibious military assaults in history and required extensive planning. The Normandy landings have been called the beginning of the end of war in Europe. (http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day) -
Liberation of Concentration Camps
Soviet soldiers entered Auschwitz and there found hundreds of sick and exhausted prisoners. The Germans had been forced to leave these prisoners behind in their hasty retreat from the camp. There were also victims' belongings: 348,820 men's suits, 836,255 women's coats, and tens of thousands of pairs of shoes. (https://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007724) -
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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. Iwo Jima was defended by roughly 23,000 Japanese army and navy troops.Despite the difficulty of the conditions, the marines wiped out the defending forces after a month of fighting. (http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-iwo-jima) -
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Battle of Okinawa
It was the last and biggest of the Pacific island battles. It involved the 287,000 troops of the U.S. Tenth Army against 130,000 soldiers of the Japanese Thirty-second Army. At stake were air bases vital to the projected invasion of Japan. By the end of the 82-day campaign, Japan had lost more than 77,000 soldiers and the Allies had suffered more than 65,000 casualties—including 14,000 dead. (http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-okinawa) -
VE Day
The eighth of May spelled the day when German troops throughout Europe finally laid down their arms. Both Great Britain and the United States celebrate Victory in Europe Day. Cities in both nations, as well as formerly occupied cities in Western Europe, put out flags and banners, rejoicing in the defeat of the Nazi war machine. (http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/victory-in-europe) -
Dropping of the Atomic Bombs
cite: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. The American bomber Enola Gay dropped a five-ton bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. A blast equivalent to the power of 15,000 tons of TNT reduced four square miles of the city to ruins and immediately killed 80,000 people.Tens of thousands more died in the following weeks from wounds and radiation poisoning. -
VJ Day
Japan surrendered unconditionally to the Allies, effectively ending World War II. August 14 has been known as “Victoryover Japan Day,” or simply “V-J Day.” (http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/v-j-day) -
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. As the Germans drove deeper into the Ardennes in an attempt to secure vital bridgeheads, the Allied line took on the appearance of a large bulge, giving rise to the battle’s name. Germany eventually neutralized their counteroffensive. (http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-the-bulge)
