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Rape of Nanking
Rape of Nanking (1937)
The Japanese army murdered hundreds of thousands of civilians and soldiers in the city of Nanking. 20,000 to 80,000 women were sexually assaulted. They did this because they wanted to take control of China.
http://www.history.com/topics/nanjing-massacre -
Japanese invasion of China
Japan occupied large regions of eastern Chinese land to try to eliminate the nationalist government. Japan forces were soon diverted during WWII because they had to focus their attention on the allies.
https://www.britannica.com/event/Sino-Japanese-War-1937-1945 -
Period: to
WORLD WAR II
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Germany's invasion of Poland
Britain and France used a policy of appeasement with Hitler in order to maintain the peace of Europe. Hitler used this to his advantage to remilitarize and annex certain territories. Britain and France reluctantly agreed and guaranteed the integrity of Poland. Hitler signed the German-Soviet Pact and then he invaded without worrying about intervention. Germany successfully annexed Poland and controlled it. Appeasement did not work.
https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005070 -
German Blitzkrieg
This is a German military tactic that used concentrated firepower which limited casualties and conserved their artillery. By using this tactic, they forced the opponents to fight unexpectedly and not very strategically.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/blitzkrieg -
Operation Barbarossa
Germany naively invaded the Soviet Union assuming their opponent was weak. This was not the case because the Soviet Union had superior resources. The Soviets counterattacked Germany and this stalled their attempts to advance. Germany was extremely low on supplies and soon enough, they failed to advance.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/operation-barbarossa -
Pearl Harbor
Japanese fighters attacked an American base in Hawaii for two hours. They managed to destroy about 20 naval vessels, 300 airplanes, and eight battleships. In addition, around 2000 soldiers lost their life in the attack. The Japanese attacked the Americans because they did not want them fighting back when Japan spread across the south Pacific. This deadly attack prompted Roosevelt to call war upon Japan. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor -
Wannsee Conference
Nazi authorities discuss the financial and materialistic measures needed to carry out the solution of the Jewish question. They discussed the deportation, mass sterilization, and transportation of Jewish people. Nazis suggested that they bring Jews to concentration camps in Europe and work them to death. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-wannsee-conference -
Battle of Stalingrad
This battle was one of the deadliest battles because they killed about 2 million military troops and civilians, however it was to defend the Soviet Union from Germany advancing into their territory. This was humiliating for Hitler however, it significantly boosted the confidence of Joseph Stalin so they became extremely offensive for the rest of WWII.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-stalingrad -
Battle of Midway
Japan wanted to sink more American aircrafts that they didn’t successfully destroy during Pearl Harbor. Before they began their attack, American intelligence successfully decoded Japanese messages and figured out the exact plans of the Japanese. The Americans sunk four fleet carriers and 322 aircrafts which had more than 5000 sailors. The losses and casualties of the Japanese were higher than those of the United States.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-midway -
Warsaw Ghetto uprising
Jews were confined to urban ghettos where there were horrible living conditions and where all contact with the outside world was gone. Nazis were informed that some Jews would be relocated to death camps and somehow Jews in the ghetto got ahold of this news. Obviously furious, the Jews rebelled against the Nazis and set fire to German tanks and threw grenades at German troops. Troops responded by destroying the ghetto.
http://www.history.com/news/remembering-the-warsaw-ghetto-uprising -
Operation Gomorrah
British bombers raid Hamburg, Germany at night and America bombs Hamburg by day. Britain drops 2,300 tons of bombs which kill 1,500 civilians. Britain’s losses were not that drastic because they developed a new technology that confused German radars. This allowed Britain to divert Germany’s bombs. This operation killed over 30,000 people and destroyed 280,000 buildings.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/operation-gomorrah-is-launched -
D-Day
The Allies wanted to take back France and eliminate the German power. So, they strategically landed along the beaches in France’s Normandy area. This was a deceptive plan because they needed to trick the Germans in order to successfully liberate France. The allies invaded with more than 5000 ships and 11000 aircrafts to aid the invasion. As a result, the Allies successfully took France back. D-Day was known as the beginning to the end of the war.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day -
Battle of the Bulge
With the purpose of splitting up the allies in northwest Europe, Hitler and his army fought using a blitzkrieg tactic. America was not prepared for this, however, they counterattacked with a lineup that was similar to the appearance of a bulge. They neutralized Germany but suffered many casualties (100,000).
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-the-bulge -
Operation Thunderclap
This was an allied attack against the German city of Dresden. It killed 135,000 people. British and American aircrafts dropped 3400 tons of explosives which destroyed the cities and burned many corpses. Unfortunately, there was not much need for this military offensive because Germany was about to surrender anyway.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/firebombing-of-dresden -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The United States desired a military base near the Japanes coast American marines and Japanese troops fought in caves and underground instillations. The marines surpassed the Japanese and won after a month of battling. This event occurred because the United States desired a military base near the Japanese coast. This battle provided one of the most iconic pictures for American history. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-iwo-jima -
Battle of Okinawa
The final battle between Japan and the United States suffered heavy losses of civilians and troops. Almost as a last ditch effort, Japan used the kamikaze tactics and flew many planes into specific targets that belonged to the Allies. They were able to resist counterstrikes by placing themselves in areas where they could defend themselves well. The battle was unfortunately in a highly populated area so 100,000 civilians were lost.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-okinawa -
VE Day
This marked the surrendering of Nazi Germany. This was a victory for the allies because they had successfully stopped Nazism from spreading. German troops had surrendered throughout Europe and to the Soviet Union. German soldiers wanted to avoid being taken prisoner by the Soviets and this was one of the main reasons they surrendered.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/victory-in-europe -
Dropping of the atomic bombs
The United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Thousands of people died in the initial blasts but many more died because they were exposed to radiation. Shortly after these tragic events, Japan surrendered because they did not want any more civilians to die.
https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005155 -
VJ Day
Japan surrendered to the Allies which marked the ending of the second world war. After warning the Japanese to surrender in the Potsdam Declaration, the U.S. dropped two atomic bombs; one on Hiroshima and one on Nagasaki. The loss was too devastating that the Japanese had to surrender in order to avoid the obliteration of their nation. V-J Day is no longer celebrated because America does not want to be offensive towards our modern ally.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/v-j-day -
Potsdam Declaration
This was a compiled list of terms that Japan had to follow when and if they surrendered. After the dropping of the atomic bombs, Japan quickly obliged to the Potsdam declaration in order to prevent their own people from dying.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/japan-accepts-potsdam-terms-agrees-to-unconditional-surrender
