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German Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg was an early military strategy that included air-ground attacks and the use of Panzer tank divisions to quickly crush the poorly equipped Polish troops. Many victories resulted from this strategy, since it was very effective.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/blitzkrieg -
Japanese Invasion of China
Japan used the Mukden Incident as an excuse to invade China, they did it directly following the incident; they saw this as the perfect time to invade China. As a result, the Japanese established the puppet state of Manchukuo.
https://www.britannica.com/event/Second-Sino-Japanese-War -
Rape of Nanking
The Rape of Nanking began with a dispute between the Japanese and China which led to a battle. Between 20,000 and 80,000 women were raped and many others were killed. In the end, there were 200,000- 300,000 deaths and Matsui and Hisao were tried and convicted of war crimes.
https://www.history.com/topics/japan/nanjing-massacre -
Germany's Invasion of Poland
This is when German forces bombed Poland on land from the air; the purpose was for Hitler to regain lost land and rule Poland. He used the "blitzkrieg" strategy which was lots of bombing to destroy railroads and communication lines. Then, they invaded the land with many troops, tanks, and artillery. Poland was under-equipped and unprepared therefore, could not fight back.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germany-invades-poland -
Fall of Paris
The new French Third Republic wasn't ready to accept German peace terms and in order to end the Franco- Prussian War, the Germans besieged Paris; it helped to save French pride. When the city fell, the city suffered the humiliation of a triumphal German march through its street; 146,000 French were captured and 24,000 were wounded or died and 12,000 Germans were dead or wounded.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Siege-of-Paris-1870-1871 -
Pearl Harbor
Japan planned a surprise on the US naval base in Hawaii which cause the relations between Japan and the US to be weakened. The Japanese were trying to prevent the Pacific Fleet from interfering with Japanese conquest of the Dutch East Indies and Malaya. In the end, there were 3,400 casualties and 2,300 of them were deaths.
https://www.britannica.com/event/Pearl-Harbor-attack -
Battle of Stalingrad
This battle was a successful Soviet defense of the city; it stopped Germany from advancing into the Soviet Union and was the turning point of war in favour of the Allies. Capturing the city would stop Soviet transport with Russia and it would be a great victory for Hitler. They divided their forces and advanced to the city; there were more than 800,000 casualties for Axis forces and more than 1,000,000 for the Soviets.
https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Stalingrad -
Bataan Death March
It was a march in the Philippines of about 66 miles that 76,000 prisoners of war were forced by the Japanese military to endure. After that they were forced north in cramped cars and then had to walk 7 more miles to a camp; they were beaten, shot, and beheaded along the way. After this March, the Japanese military forced others to march in other areas too.
https://www.britannica.com/event/Bataan-Death-March/The-march-and-imprisonment-at-Camp-ODonnell -
Battle of Midway
This took place 6 months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, 4 Japanese and 3 American aircraft took place in the battle. US torpedo bombers attacked Japanese ships, most of them were shot down by by Zero fighters. Yamamoto ordered his ships to retreat; Japan lost about 3,000 men, 300 aircraft, one heavy cruiser, and 4 aircraft carriers. The Americans lost Yorktown, Hammann, about 145 aircraft, and 360 servicemen.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-midway -
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
This was Hitlers “final solution” for ridding Europe of Jews; he wanted to get rid of them all. They created ghettos in areas under German control to keep Jews together until they could be executed. Of the Jews captured, 7,000 were shot, 7,000 were brought to one death camp and 15,000 to another; the rest went to labor camps. Germans also got lots of weapons from the uprising.
https://www.britannica.com/event/Warsaw-Ghetto-Uprising -
Allied Invasion of Italy
This was the invasion of mainland Italy by the Allies, it was done by General Harold Alexander's 15th Army Group. Since the Allies already gained control of North Africa, they were able to invade Italy. The Italian government agreed to surrender the Allies in the end.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/allies-invade-italian-mainland -
Liberation of Concentration Camps
The Nazi concentration camps were liberated by the Red Army to hide the evidence of mass murder by destroying much of the camp. However, parts, like the gas chambers were still standing.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/liberation-of-the-concentration-camps -
D-Day
This was a battle when 156,000 Americans landed on 5 beaches along the coast of Normandy after the US entered the war; it was one of the largest military assaults in history and required lots of planning. It resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany's control.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day -
Battle of the Bulge
This was Germany's last attempt to get the Allies off the mainland; it was one of the greatest battles fought by the US military. Germany attacked using over 200,000 troops and about 1,000 tanks to break through to the US. They chose this time for the attack because they knew the US wouldn't be ready because of the weather. As a result, thousands of American troops were killed.
https://www.ducksters.com/history/world_war_ii/battle_of_the_bulge.php -
Battle of Iwo Jima
This was a battle between the US Marines and the Imperial Army of Japan; it lasted 5 weeks. The Japanese Navy wasn't able to defend itself since it had been so hurt from WWII, and that's why Americans planned the attack. In the end, all but 200 of about 21,000 Japanese forces on the island were killed.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-iwo-jima -
Battle of Okinawa
This battle was also known as Operation Iceberg, it was the largest landing in the Pacific theater of WWII. It was part of the Americans three- point plan for winning the war in the Far East. It resulted with 100,000 Japanese casualties and 50,000 casualties for the Allies.
https://study.com/academy/lesson/the-battle-of-okinawa-summary-facts.html -
VE Day
Victory in Europe Day marks the end of WWII with Germany; the day Japan surrendered to the Allies after about 6 years of war. However the war against Japan didn't end until August.
https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/what-you-need-to-know-about-ve-day -
Potsdam Declaration
This was an ultimatum issued by the US, Great Britain, and China which called for the surrender of Japan; this was made near the end of WWII. They wanted to make peace settlements but the war continued in the Pacific theatre.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Potsdam-Declaration -
Dropping of the Atomic Bombs
The US dropped the world's first deployed atomic bomb over the Japanese city, Hiroshima. This killed 80,000 people immediately. Then 3 days later a second bomb was dropped over Nagasaki, killing about 40,000 people. The US created these weapons because they were concerned with weapons being created in Germany.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki -
VJ Day
Victory over Japan Day was the day Japan surrendered and WWII ended; which had lasted more than 3 years. This event caused so much celebration around the world since this was the day everyone had been waiting for since Pearl Harbor.
https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/VJ-Day/
