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Sino-Japanese War (Japanese Invasion of China)
So, Japan had been going after Chinese land for the resources for a really long time. (Specifically about 1931) It didn't really become a full fledged war until the Marco Polo Bridge Incident when some Chinese and Japanese got into a skirmish. Everything went downhill from there. This should be considered the beginning of World War II. It's also a reason the Japanese attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor, the USA was giving financial support to China for their war efforts. -
Germany's Invasion of Poland
So, Germany attacked Poland. First they bombed everything Poland had for communication then they came in with an overwhelming number of troups. Poland just didn't have the military to stop Germany and they were defeat in about a month. Concentration camps were set up in Poland. This started World War II for the Western nations. -
German Blitzkrieg (1939-1940)
This isn't really an event. It's more of a tactic that Nazi Germany used and dominated with. First used it against Poland. They dropped a whole lot of bombs to destroy the country's means of communication and transportation then they would invade with a crazy amount of troups. It's one of the main reasons Germany lasted so long in WWII. -
Operation Barbarossa
This was Hitler's attempt to invade the Soviet Union. The German forces came in and attack and they got pretty far into the Soviet Union, if you ignore how massive the country is. Germany had a lot of trouble after awhile just because of the crazy Russian weather. This was supposed to stop Germany from having to fight another two front battle, but it didn't work out so well and Germany had to fight in Russia too, It was a kind of turning point of the war because how much a failure it was. -
The Attack at Pearl Harbor
Japan fighter pilots attacked Pearl Harbor, near Honolulu,Hawaii, The next day the United States of America declared war on Japan, and three days later Japan's allies, Italy and Germany, declared war on the United States. The United States was now in World War II. -
Wannsee Conference
This is when Nazi Germany decided how they were going to kill all the Jews. I think this would be the official start of the Holocaust. Some German officials met up to find the solution for the "Jewish Question". Basically this is when they decided how they were gonna kill all the Jews. -
Operation Gomorrah
This is when the British bombed Hamburg by night and the USA bombed it by day. The British attacks didn't end until November of that year. They killed 30,000 people. It shook up the German morale. It showed that Germany could be defeated and that other people could use the same tactics that Germany had. -
D-Day (Normandy Invasion)
This was when the Aliies invades Normandy, France and took it back from Germany. It was near the end of the European WWII, but not quite the end of WWII. It went on from June to August and by May of the next year Germany surrendered. -
Battle of the Bulge
Germany's last desperate attempt to split the allies in northwestern Europe. It didn't really work. Germany still lost the war. -
Operation Thunderclap
Basically the Allies bombed Dresden, the seventh largest city in Germany at the time. It was to disrupt transportation and demonstrate to the people that the Nazis couldn't do anything for them, and it did. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
Basically, Iwo Jima was in a very good tactical position and the USA wanted that position. The island was heavily protected by the Japanese that held the island. The USA sent in a lot of troups to take the island. It took a month before the USA took the island. The United States Marines took heavy casualties, 6,891 men killed and 18,070 wounded. The Japanese suffered even worse, of the 22,000 Japanese soldiers on the island, only 212 were taken prisoners. -
Battle of Okinawa
During these battles, Japan used their famous Kamikaze tactics. It was a mostly defensive battle for Japan, and it showed how truly fierce Japan could be. This was another battle leading up to the dropping of the atomic bombs. -
VE Day
This was the day that victory in Europe was announced. World War II was now over in Europe. -
Dropping of the Atomic Bombs
So, this is the only time that atomic bombs have been used during wartime. America dropped two atomic bombs on Japan, first Hiroshima then three days later Nagasaki. It ended WWII, but it killed so many people because of the immediate blast and the radiation that was left as scar. -
VJ Day
The day that the victory over Japan was announced. WWII is now officially over.
