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Period: to
Japanese Invasion of China
There was a small incident on the Marco Polo Bridge where people on both sides died, then Japan reacted by creating a full-scale war. Japan wanted to take Chinese land, so they made provocative maneuvers, and China reacted. Japan got overconfident about the war, espeicially about beating America, and China lost a lot of their land to Japanese takeover.
http://histclo.com/essay/war/ww2/camp/pac/china/w2c-inv.html -
Ribbentrop/Molotov Pact
Germany and the Soviet Union signed a nonaggression treaty. Germany soon invaded the Soviet Union, completely disregarding the pact they had just made. France and the United Kingdom declared war on Germany and the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east.
http://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2011/06/world-war-ii-the-invasion-of-poland-and-the-winter-war/100094/ -
German Invasion of Poland
Germany invaded Poland and annexed the city of Danzig. Britain and France then respond by declaring war on Germany, but Poland was defeated by German and Soviet forces. After concentration camp prisoners dressed in Polish uniforms, shot and then placed inside of the German border, Hitler claimed Poland was attempting to invade Germany. A Polish Home Army was established, which was effective to the resistance of German occupation during the war.
https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=1 -
German Blitzkrieg
Germany started defeating in Belgium, then the French and British forces. Under the new direction of Hitler, the army was doing very well. He set traps that other armies fell into, leading to success of the German army, Wehrmacht. Germany wanted to win quickly and fight offensively. The world was stunned by the sudden defeat of the French/British armies. Today, the term blitzkrieg is known for the German army in WWII.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/blitzkrieg_01.shtml -
Fall of Paris
Germany invaded Paris and took over their government. Paris thought that America would come to the rescue, but America knew if they helped they would ultimately be declaring war on Germany, which they didn’t want. Many citizens fled France before the invasion and Canada came in to aid France.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germans-enter-paris -
Operation Barbarossa
Germany invaded the Soviet Union, directly violating a previous pact made. In December, Soviet troops finally got Germany out of Moscow and they were unable to capture some key cities. Hitler wanted to capture the territory in the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union immediately joined the Allied Powers that opposed Germany and the Axis Powers. It was also a changing point in the history of the Third Reich.
https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005137 -
Pearl Harbor
Japan bombed the U.S. Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. They killed and injured many Americans, and also took out a great portion of the ships there. Japan wanted to remove America from the Pacific long enough for them to get resources from South-east Asia and hopefully to crush American morale. America immediately declared war on Japan and then Germany and Italy declared war on America. This also started the Pacific War.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/pearl_harbour_01.shtml -
Wannsee Conference
High-ranking Nazi Party and German government officials gathered in Berlin to talk about the “Final Solution”, a.k.a. annihilation of the European Jews. They discussed the implementation rather than deciding to do it. Hitler organized the meeting mainly because he wanted to get rid of Jews, as did the rest of the men that went to the meeting. The Holocaust happened after this, which was the mass murder of Jews.
https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005477 -
Bataan Death March
When the U.S. surrendered the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines, troops were forced to walk 65 miles to their death. They walked in the intense heat and got harsh treatment by Japanese guards. Most of them died, either by the treatment or in the POW camps where they died from disease, mistreatment, and starvation.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bataan-death-march -
Operation Gomorrah
An air raid was ordered on the city of Hamburg, which led to firestorms. A fire typhoon was created, and no amount of firefighting would help. America wanted to take out the enemy’s fighters and flak and undermine the morale of the civilian population. They wanted to, “speed up surrender.” The fires destroyed most of the city and many people died [600,000+ civilians]. This was eventually called terror bombing because it didn’t stop until March 1945.
http://spartacus-educational.com/2WWharris.htm -
D-Day (Normandy Invasion)
Before the battle, Allied bombers focused on transportation ways to block off German access to much needed materials. Allied forces stormed the beaches to fight the Germans and take over key cities of France. Towns came under Allied control along with key bridges. The Allies knew they needed France to turn the war around. There were many casualties and it was one of the largest Allied successes in WWII.
http://www.secondworldwarhistory.com/d-day-the-allied-invasion-of-france.asp -
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Battle of the Bulge
The last German blitzkrieg happened in the Ardennes Forest. The Allied troops, mostly American, were caught off guard. Germans tried to split up the Allied forces and attacked the weaker sections of troops, pushing them back 60 miles before being stopped. This was the last major German offensive, American troops targeting the Rhone River. Many Americans died and it depleted Germany’s armoured forces and personnel.
http://www.secondworldwarhistory.com/battle-of-the-bulge.asp -
Operation Thunderclap
Airplanes bombed the city of Dresden, creating a giant fire that Germany couldn’t defend well against. It was meant to disrupt the transport infrastructure behind the Eastern front in Germany. Allies knew Dresden was the largest unbombed city, so troops would be going there to rest along with the rest of Germany. It was the most destructive bombing of the war with very high casualties and destroyed Dresden.
http://ww2today.com/13-february-1945-operation-thunderclap-raf-start-firestorm-in-dresden -
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Battle of Iwo Jima
U.S. Marines landed on the island to take over Iwo Jima from veterans of the Japanese Landing Force. They wanted to capture the airstrips and get a forward air base because they needed the island for an Allied attack that was being planned for the Japanese home territories. The United States Army Air Force was able to use the island to launch bombing attacks on Japan. Many people were killed and left homeless after the battle.
http://spartacus-educational.com/2WWjima.htm
http://spartacus-educat -
Period: to
Battle of Okinawa
It was the largest amphibious assault because it involved the U.S. Marines, Army, and Navy. The Allies began to take over the island, and then Kamikazes [suicidal airmen] from Japan sunk a total of 34 ships. The Allies had victory the island. This was the last island to take before the Allied troops went on Japan mainland to make them surrender. It signaled the end of the Japanese war machine.
http://www.secondworldwarhistory.com/battle-of-okinawa.asp -
VE Day
The German city was overtaken by Russians and then the admiral of Germany came to surrender to Western and Russian demands. The Allies celebrated victory on the next day, VE Day. Everyone celebrated and danced in the streets. There was still uneasiness about who would eventually become our allies and enemies.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/ff7_veday.shtml -
Dropping of the Atomic Bombs
America dropped atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It instantly killed thousands of people and continued to kill more. The Allies needed them to surrender and wanted to keep them from invading again. There were a lot of doubts that arose from the bombings and if they should’ve been dropped. People thought they were an unnecessary evil. Researchers eventually found out that more people would’ve died from an invasion.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/nuclear_01.shtml -
VJ Day
Allies celebrated victory on August 15, but Japan officially surrendered on September 2. This was after Russia declared war on Japan and the U.S. dropped bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This marked the end of the war in the Pacific and World War II.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/ff7_vjday.shtml
