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Second Sino Japanese War
Conflict that broke out when China began full resistance to the expansion of Japanese influence in its territory ( which begun in 1931). In an effort to upseat the national government of Chiang Kai- shek, the Japanese occupied large areas of eastern China in 1937-38. Japans defeat by the Allies in 1945 ended its occupation of China. -
Rape of Nanking
The Japanese Imperial Army marched into China’s capital city of Nanking and murdered 300,000 out of nearly 600,000 civilaians and soldiers. There were six weeks of carnage that had taken place. Some even define this as the “single worst atrocity of WWII”. The Japanese wanted to eliminate any threat from the 90,000 soldiers that have surrendered. All attention was later turned toward women. Any women over the age of 70 and even as young as 8 were sexually assaulted. Comfort Women System was made. -
German Blitzkreig
A “blitzkreig” is a military tactic designed to create disorganization among enemy forces through the use of mobile forces and locally concentrated fire power. Germany forces first tried out the blitzkreig in Poland in 1939 before successfully using the tactic with invasions of Belgium, the Netherlands, and France in 1940. The blitzkreig was also used by German commander Erwin Rommel during the North African campaign of WWII. The tactic was later adopted by U.S. General George Patton. -
Germany’s invasion of Poland
On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. The Polish army was defeated within weeks of the invasion. From East Prussia and Germany in the north and Silesia and Slovakia in the south, German units, with more than 2,000 tanks and 1,000 planes broke through Polish defenses along the border and advanced on Warsaw in a massive attack. After heavy bombing, Warsaw surrendered to the Germans on September 27, 1939. British and France, standing by Poland, had declared war on Germany -
Fall of Paris
The Battle of France, aka the Fall of Paris, began in 1940 and consisted of two major operations. The first one being “Case Yellow”/“Fall Gleb” and is when the armored units of Germany have cut off allied units when it had advanced into the country of Belgium in the Ardennes. After the British left, France was left to fight for itself, and Germans launched “Case Red”/“Fall Rot” on June 5th. During this, the French government saw itself split on the best action take. In the end, the Axis won. -
Operation Barbarossa
In July 1942, the Nazi Army bombed the Soviet Union city of Stalingrad, prevailing one of the bloodiest battles in history. Adolf Hitler launched his armies eastward in a massive invasion of the Soviet Union. The invasion covered a front from the North Cape to the Black Sea. The Germans struggled to the gates of Moscow where Soviet counterattacks stopped them in early December. In desperat conditions, a slow retreat was conducted as Soviet attacks threatened to envelop their forces. -
Pearl Harbor
On December 7th 1941, Japan launches a surprise attack on U.S Naval base near Honolulu,Hawaii. Hundreds of Japanese fighter jets descended on the base to destroy nearly 20 Naval vessels and battle ships. More than 2,400 Americans died in the attack. After the attack FDR declared war on Japan, as this attack was the final straw. Pearl Harbor is also known as the day that will last for infamy. -
Wannsee Conference
On January 20 1942, 15 high ranking Nazi Party and German government officials gathered at a villa in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee. At this conference they discussed and coordinated the implemation of what they called the “Final Sollution of the Jewish Question. The final solution was the code name for the mass genicide of the European Jews. At some undetermined time in 1941 Hitler authorized this European scheme for mass murder. -
Bataan Death March
Nearly 75,000 Filipino and American troops on Bataan were forced to make a grueling sixty-five mile march to prison camps. One of the hardships of the march was the intensity of the heat. They were subject to harsh treatment by the Japanese guards. Thousands of people perished. The Bataan Death March took around five days to complete. Any possible survivors were taken by rail from San Fernando to prisoner-of-war camps, where thousands died from diseases, mistreatment, and starvation. -
Warsaw Ghetto uprising
This event took place after German troops and police entered the ghetto to deport its survivors. Survivors were deported to concentration camps of killing centers. German authorities murdered or deported more than 300,000 Jewish people in the Warsaw Ghetto. SS and police units deported 265,000 Jews to they Treblinka killing center and 11,580 to forced-labor camps. German authorities granted only 35,000 Jews to remain in the ghetto, while 20,000 Jews remained hiding. -
Operation Gomorah
British bombers raided Hamburg, Germany during the night. During the day, Americans bombed in its own “Blitz Week”. Britain suffered nearly 167 million civilian deaths. Bristish aircraft dropped nearly 2,300 tons of bombs on Hamburg in just a few hours. U.S. Eighth Air Force began a more comprehensive run of bombing northern Germany, which included at least two raids on Hamburg. The attacks continued until November of that year. -
Operation Thunderclap
Operation Thunderclap, otherwise known as the Thunderclap plan. The plan envisioned a massive attack on Berlin that would cause 220,000 casualties with 110,000 killed, many of them key German personel, which would shatter German morale. The cities designated for attack points were, Berlin, Presdin, Chemintz and Kipzig. -
D-Day (Normandy Invasion)
On June 6, 1944, more than 160,000 allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of French coastline to fight Nazi Germany on beaches of Normandy, France. Nearly 5,000 ships and 13,000 aircrafts supported the D-Day invasion. At the days end, the Allies gained a foothold in Continental Europe. More than 9,000 Allied soldiers were killed/wounded. -
Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge was an attempt to push the allied front line west from Northern France to northwestern Belgium. Germans threw 250,000 soldiers into initial assualt, 14 German infantry divisions guarded by five panzer divisions against Americans. Battle raged for 3 weeks, resulting in a massive loss of American and civilian life. -
Liberation of concentration camps
On July 23, 1944, Soviet forces liberated the Majdanek Camp. On April 11, 1945, American forces liberated the Buchenwald Camp. On April 15, 1945, British forces liberated the Bergen-Belsen Camp. On January 27, 1945, forces entered Auschwitz, where hundreds of sick and exhausted prisoners were found. Any survivors left were incredibly weak, even to the point were they couldn’t be saved so in turn, passed away. Other survivors were happy to have lived, but some felt guilty that they have survived. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
U.S. marine corps landed on and captured the Island of Iwo Jima in Japan. Roughly 23,000 Japanese army and navy troops defended the island. One of the reasons the battle occurred was the desire for a place where B-29 bombers damaged over Japan could land without returning all the way to the Marinas, and for a base for escort fighters that would assist in the bombing campaign. Due to this battle, Japan’s two airfields were shut down. -
Battle of Okinawa
The Batlle of Okinawa, which was codenamed Operation Iceburg, was technically the last major battle of WWII. This battle was part of a three-point plan that that Americans had for winning the war in the Far East. Allied and Soviet troops were weeks away from forcing Germany’s surrender. American forces were still conquering Japan’s home islands, so if Okinawa fell, so would Japan. The Allies won this battle and conquered Okinawa. -
VE Day (Victory on Europe Day)
VE Day, or Victory in Europe Day, marked the ending of World War II in Europe. German troops throughout Europe have finally put it to rest, and laid down their arms. Numerous cities throughout Great Britain and the United States celebrated the triumph. Many cities throughout Western Europe put out flags and banners, rejoicing in the defeat of the Nazi Germany. -
Dropping of the atomic bomb
The Ebola Gay, which was an American B-29 bomber, dropped the world’s first atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima in Japan. More than 80,000 people were killed and 35,000 left inured. The dropping of the bomb was approved by President Harry S. Truman. His decision to drop the bomb was to end the war and to saves American lives. On August 5, 1945, “Little Boy” was loaded onto Lt. Col. Paul W. Tibbet’s plane on Tinian Island. When “Little Boy” was dropped, 1,900 feet of landed exploded. -
VJ Day (Victory Over Japan Day)
On August 14, 1945, it was announced that Japan had surrendered to the Allies, effectively ending World War II. Since then, both August 14 and August 15 have been known as “Victory Over Japan Day”. Many celebratations occurred across the country in response to the news. However, the term “Victory over Japan Day” has been used for another date as well. The term has also been used for September 2, 1945, in reference to when Japan’s formal surrender took place aboard the U.S.S. MIssouri.
