-
Japanese Invasion of China
SourceIn 1937, Japan invaded the area of Manchuria and started what is known as The Sino-Japanese War. Japan desperately needed raw materials to produce machines for war. The Japanese were able to capture the majority of all major Chinese ports. Though not directly related, the war led to a stalemate with either side unable to pushe the other back, the Japanese were faced with trade sanctions hindering their army from the United States, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor to help advance the war -
Period: to
German Blitzkrieg
SourceThe Blitzkrieg was a German army tactic in which the army continuously moves the front in order to deny the enemy and chance to regroup. It was essentially Germany threw everything at once, catching the enemy (victim) off its guard improving chances for victory. This was used to create an advantage for victory and changed the war by giving Germany a large advantage in most of its battles -
Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact
SourceThe oact was a nonaggression pact between the Soviet Union and Germany. This created the alliance that Hitler soon broke. In their picture of them signing the pact, Hitler hated the fact that Stalin held a cigarette and he felt it degraded the picture. Hitler often had it airbriuhsed our of print when circulated, showing his disdain for the Soviets. -
German Invasion of Poland
SourceWarsaw was the first to be attacked by heavy shelling. he next day Germany maintained air superiority, keeping Poland's air force grounded. Next tanks punched through the lines allowing the army to enter. It happened because Hitler was confident in victory because of his tanks and that the leaders of France and Britain would be indescisive and choose a peaceful retaliation. France and Britain refused Hitler's peace offers after the invasion and both declared war on Germany starting WWII -
Operation Barbarossa
SourceOperation Barbarossa was codename for Germany's invasion of Russia. Originally Hitler hated Soviet Communism and their idea of 'living space' was the opposite of that. When the war broke out against France, Germany and Hitler feared that the Soviets would invade from Russia. Germany invaded Russia in autumn of 1941. The war lasted into the winter and the battles that occurred were some the deadliest and bloodiest battles of the war. -
Pearl Harbor
Early in the morning, 1000's of Japanese fighter pilots attacked the naval base in Hawaii. The surprise attack resulted in 2000 deaths and 1000 more soldiers injured. It resulted in America joining the war -
Wannsee Conference
SourceGerman officials of the SS met in the German suburb of Wannsee to talk about the final solution to the Jewish Question. Their previous plans were to deport all Jews out of the country. They determined that this was ineffective during the war and decided to gather all Jews and send them to Labor Groups. This eventually led to the Holocaust or the mass genocide of the Jewish population -
Battle of Stalingrad
SourceThe battle of Stalingrad was the Soviet defense of their city against the German army. The war resulted in the most casualties of any battle and war with both sides losing a combines 2,000,000 in soldiers and civilians. The Germans were forced to retreat and the Soviets were able to go on the offensive -
Operation Gomorrah
SourceOperation Gomorrah was the codename for the British bombing of the German city of Hamburg. The bombing was part of a two-pronged attack in tandem with the American forces. Gamorrah ocurred at night while the Americans bombed it in the day during "Blitz Week". The attack destroyed German morale as close to 30,000 people were killed as well as many munitions factories were destroyed -
Allies Invade Italy
SourceThe allies invaded Italy but the Italian government had secretly agreed to the Allies terms for surrender. The demoralized Italian troops barely gave any resistance to the advancing troops and within a week Italy joined the Allies and declared war on Germany. -
D-Day, Operation Overlord, or Invasion of Normandy
156,000 American, British, and Canadian forces landed on and stormed the beach of Normandy which was heavily fortified by the Germans. It was the largest amphibious militry assault in history. Previously the Allies had conducted a large campaign to mislead the Germans awy from the beach by liberating France. This was considered the beginning of the end of the war. Confusion in the German army as well as Hitler's ideas that the Seine River would be atacked causing him to not send out -
D-Day, Operation Overlord, or Invasion of Normandy Cont.
SourceHitler did not send reinforcements, and their main general was on leave. This coupled with the excellent support in both air and sea crippling important bridges and movements on the beach ensured an Allied Victory. By August of 1944, the Germans had been effectively been pushed out of north France winning the battle for the Allies. This was the major turning point of the war. -
Battle of the Bulge
SourceThree German armies launched a counterattack on the Allied forces moving through the rdennes mountains. The Germans intended to launch a Blitz attack to split the two American batallions to defeat them. The Americans were caught flat-footed. Because of a German shortage of fuel and the gallance of the Americans, the Americans were able to push back the offensive and defeat the germans. 100,000 American lives were lost, the most ever -
Operation Thunderclap
SourceBritish Codename for the strategic bombing of the easternmost cities of Germany. The main objective of this attack was to cripple infrastructure and weaken the German Army as a whole. At the time, the German army was in total disorder because of the ensuing Soviet Army, as a result they pulled all troops from the western fronts to better defend the capital. The Allies saw this opportunity to bomb them The bombing resulted in the 100,000 civilian casualties, the most ever in any war. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
SourceThe American campaign against Japan required Island hopping. Iwo Jima proved a perfect place to repair and refuel B-29 bombers returning from Japan. Three Mrine batallions attacked the 23,000 Japanese troops stationed there. Eventually the entire Garrison in exception to 1,083 prisoners, was wiped out -
Battle of Okinawa
SourceThe island of Okinawa would be crucial to the assault on Japan for the Americans. This was by far the bloodiest battle of the Pacific war with 100,000 civilians, over 7,000 Americans, and the leading generals of both sides all being killed. This battle introduced the 'kamikaze" japanese fighter pilots who directly targeted american battlements. The Amercans eventually won and the Americans gained a very important airfield for launching an attack on Japan -
VE Day
SourceVictory in Europe day. The day the Germans finally surrendered to the British and Soviet forces. This marked the end of the war in Europe -
Dropping of the Atomic Bombs
SourceThe Americans hoped to quickly end the war with Japan. Truan authorized the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima on the 6th and then on Nagasaki the 9th. The blasts imediately killed 80,000 and 40,000 respectively, with tens of thousands more within weeks from wounds and radiation poisoning. This was not only to end the war but had the intention to show the Soviet Union the power of our weapons after the deterioration of US, Soviet relations -
VJ Day
SourceVictory in Japan Day, this marked the end of the war with Japan with the Americans. The advanced technology and strategy of the Americans led to high Japanese causualties with relatively low American casualties. This