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Japanese invade China
In 1937, the islands in Japan began to grow crowded. Many Japanese wanted to expand their territory and gain greater access to wealth and resources. The Japanese moved to invade Manchuria without the approval of the Japanese government, to gain the land and resources for the rise of the Japanese people. This event showed how much stronger Japan’s nationalists were opposed to its government.
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Rape of Nanking
During the Sino-Japanese War the capital of China, Nanking, fell into the hands of Japan. To break the spirit of Chinese resistance, the Japanese General Matsui ordered that Nanking be destroyed. After butchering 150,000 “war prisoners", they killed an additional 50,000 men, and raped around 20,000 women. Many of these women were mutilated or killed in the process. This horrific event is known as the Rape of Nanking.
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Germany invades Poland
Germany framed Poland for killing a German man dressed in a Polish uniform. The morning after, Germany claimed it was attacked by Poland and they immediately launched a massive invasion. Poland was not able to defeat Germany, for their landscape offered few natural barriers and their troops were no match for German armour. By the end of the month, Poland was in German hands.
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German Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg is another word for “lightning war” that featured an overwhelming combination of air attack and armoured strikes that drove deep into enemy territory. Using this tactic, Germany was able to capture Norway and Denmark with little resistance. The Allies that planned to slow Hitler in Poland were little help, for he didn’t strike in the places that they thought he would.
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Fall of Paris
While Hitler’s troops were taking over the Netherlands and Belgium, the Germans set in on France. They planned a surprise attack through the Ardennes. When they broke through the forest, they overwhelmed the soldiers waiting there. After shattering France’s defensive plan, Hitler’s troops head toward the capital. By the end of the month, France surrendered to Germany and Italy.
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Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was a plan for Germany to advance into Soviet territory. After making their way into Minsk and Smolensk, the Soviets slowed their advance by counterattack. As the Soviets threatened to engulf most of their troops, the Germans made a slow retreat. In March of 1942, operations were brought to a halt. Barbarossa had failed and now Germany took on a two-front war that it could not win.
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Pearl Harbor
Problems arose between the Us and Japan over French Indonesia, along with Japan joining the alliance between Germany and Italy. Home of the United States Navy’s Pacific Fleet, Japan attacks Pearl Harbor via aircraft loaded with bombs and torpedoes. Unprepared to defend their territory, the Pacific Fleet became a tangled mass of smoking metal. With the resulting damage of 8 battle ships, 200 aircraft, and almost 2,400 Americans killed, the United States prepared for war.
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Wannsee Conference
On this day, Reinhard Heydrich called for the Wannsee Conference in which 15 top Nazi bureaucrats would plan the Final Solution. They were about to kill 11 million Jews, perhaps the entire Jewish population in Germany. They used code words when speaking of the killing of the Jewish people during the few minutes of the conference. At this time they established the rules and the ways that these murders would take place.
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Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway was supposed to be a secret attack on Midway Island by the Japanese but Americans learned of the plans after breaking a Japanese code. The Japanese launched their attack in the early morning hours of June 4th, 1942. They planned to attack by air at first, but the US was able to fight them off. The American bombs severely damaged all of the Japanese aircraft carriers and all three of their ships. The US only lost one carrier, the USS Yorktown.
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Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
Himmler sent in SS forces to destroy the Warsaw Ghetto. Heavily out numbered by the German soldiers, a group of resistance fighters gathered weapons and fired at the Germans for nearly a month. This hardly slowed the Germans as they took down bunkers several at a time, and captured or killed thousands of Jews. By May 16, the ghetto was firmly under Nazi control and the Germans blew up Warsaw’s Great Synagogue.
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Operation Gomorrah
On this day, British bombers raid Hamburg, Germany by night while Americans bomb it by day in its own “Blitz week.” Britain aircraft dropped 2,300 tons of incendiary bombs within a few hours that evening, killing more than 1,500 people in that first raid. Britain lost 12 out of 791 aircraft that flew that day. This was another day of defeat for Germany.
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D-Day
A “codenamed operation overlord” resulted in 156,000 American American, British and Canadian forces landing on five beaches of France’s Normandy region. By late August 1944, all of northern France had been liberated, and by the following spring the Allies had defeated the Germans. D-Day resulted in a total of 425,000 German and Allied troops that were wounded, killed, or went missing.
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Battle of the Bulge
Hitler attempted to split the Allied armies in northwest Europe by a surprise attack through the Ardennes. Unaware, American units fought to stop the German advance at St.-Vith, Elsenborn Ridge, Houffalize & Bastogne. The Allied line took on the appearance of a large bulge, resulting in battle’s name. George S. Patton’s successful maneuvering of the Third Army to Bastogne was vital to the Allied defense.
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Liberation of Concentration Camps
After pushing back the German advances, the Soviets discovered the Nazi camps in 1944. In 1945, they reached Auschwitz, a huge extermination camp that was used to house and kill Jews. Soon Americans and British forces began to discover these camps. In one camp alone some 240,000 prisoners suffered.. Of those, at least 43,000 died and 10,000 were shipped to be killed elsewhere.Many of the released did not survive because of how ill and malnourished they were.
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Operation Thunderclap
Operation Thunderclap was a proposal by the Allies to bomb the easternmost cities of Germany. They wanted to disrupt the transportation infrastructure behind what was coming the eastern front and to demonstrate that the air defenses in Germany were of little substance. They moved to bomb all but one city which was kept for a new administrative centre.
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Battle of Iwo Jima
The US sought out for Mount Suribachi first, the Iwo Jima's tallest point. American soldiers hid in caves and tunnels protected by concrete bunkers, which helped them to fight ferociously. The fighting raged for several weeks. By the end, there were 7,000 American soldiers dead and many more wounded. Upon arrival, there were 20,000 Japanese defenders on Iwo Jima and all but a thousand of them fought until the death.
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Battle of Okinawa
The American defenders also sought out for Okinawa. This was the bloodiest task that the Americans would face of all the Pacific battles. American troops invaded Okinawa on April 1, 1945. Five days later, the Japanese attacked. Their soldiers used the Island’s caves and tunnels to launch deadly assaults. In the end, 12,000 American soldiers died and a staggering 110,000 Japanese troops were killed. The Americans gained control of the island in June of 1945.
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VE Day
In the final days of April 1945 the Germans resistance caused steady destruction. Berlin was under heavy bombardment at the same time. After realizing that all hope was lost, Hitler committed suicide in his Berlin bunker.. After news of his death, all fighting came to a halt and Berlin surrendered on May 2. Other German armies also surrendered. Germany’s new leader agreed to surrender on May 7 and it was to take effect on May 8th. This is known as Victory in Europe Day.
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Dropping of the Atomic Bombs
After Roosevelt’s death, Truman stepped in as President and was informed of the plans of dropping the atomic bomb. He decided to drop it on Japan unannounced. After failing to respond to their final chance to surrender, the plan moved forward. On August 6, 1945 the American B-29, Enola Gay, flew over Hiroshima to drop the bomb that exploded seconds later. 80,000 residents died immediately, 35,000 were injured, and 90,000 buildings were destroyed.
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VJ Day
After being bombed by the Americans in Nagasaki and Hiroshima, the Japanese emperor favored surrender, but the military leaders did not. Some tried to overthrow the government even. On August 15, after failing, the day was going to be forever known as VJ-day, or Victory over Japan day. It was announced by the Japanese emperor via radio.
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