-
Japan Invades Manchuria
On September 18th, 1931 Japan invaded Manchuria. This is an important event in World War 2 as it was the beginning of the Japanese invasion of the Pacific reason- it was basically the start of World War 2. -
Japan Invades China
On July 7th 1937, Japan invaded China. Although China was not the first country that Japan invaded, since China is a large country, it was a big step for the Japanese. It also lead to the Japanese treating many Chinese civillians very cruelly. An example of this is The Rape of Nanjing on December 15, 1937 where over 300, 000 Chinese civillians were systematically raped, tortured and killed. -
Japanese Bomb Pearl Harbour
On December the 7th, 1941 the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour.
This was a significant event in World War II as it brought the Americans, who were the most powerful country in the world, in to the war. Without this event and without the Americans joined in the war, it is highly likely the allies would have lost the war. -
Australia Declares War on Japan
On December 17, 1941 Australia declared war of Japan. This was significant, at least for Australians, as it meant that Australia and Japan were officially enemies. Through the radio announcment made by the Prime Minister at the time, John Curtin, everyone in Australia was aware that a state of war now existed between the two nations -
The Americans Drop an Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
On August the 6th, 1945 the Americans dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima killing over 100,000 people. Three days later another atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, once again killed thousands of people. As devasatating as this was for the Japanese, the dropping of the atomic bombs were significant as it was this destruction that left the Japanese unable to continue fighting. Therefore this event was a major contributer to the end of the war, occuring only 6 days after the bombing of Nagasaki.