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On July 7th, 1937, a battle took place near Marco Polo Bridge near Beijing, China. This soon led to an open warfare between Japan and China. The Chinese military retreated deep into the large country, expandig Japanese supply lines in hope of gaining assitstance from other nations. Over one million Japanese troops were involved in an unsuccessful attempt to take over China.
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September 1st 1939, was the beginning of the invasion of Poland. Germany and the Soviets ganged up on Poland, planning to split it right down the middle. Germany attacked from the west and Russia from the east. Britain joined and defended Poland but they were too late. Germany and the Soviets won Poland and split it right down thte middle. Poland ceased to exist until the end of the war in 1945.
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The term blitzkrieg is the German term for lightening war. This military strategy was used to create disorganization among enemy forces through the use of mobile forces and locally concentrated firepower. Germany tried this strategy on Poland in 1939 but did not succeed until 1940 when using it on Belgium, the Netherlands, and France. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii
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Germany had wanted France since the beginning of the war. On June 5th, 1940, Germany began attacking France. The city of Paris was not liberated until August 24th of that same year. But by September most of France was already back in Allied hands.
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Operation Barbarossa was launched on June 22nd, 1941. Hitler's plan was to take down the Soviet Union. The main goal was to capture the capital city of Moscow. Germany had underestimated the Soviet Union's strength and they were no successful. http://www.secondworldwarhistory.com/
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Pearl Harbor was just the beginning of a war that had been in the making for a long time. The Japanese set sail across the Pacific and when they reached Hawaii they did not hold back. They used bombs and torpedoes to destroy a total of eight battleships. After the attack on Pearl Harbor happened, the Japanese declared war on America.
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The Wannsee Conference was when the idea of the Holocaust was put into action. The conference was chaired by Head of the Reich's Security Main Office, Reinhard Heydrich. They plotted the deportation of about 11 million European Jews. This conferences shows that from day one the whole German society and civil apparatus of government was involved in the elimination of the Jews. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/
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On this date Brigadier General Edward King, commanding officer at Bataan in the Philippines, surrendered to the Japanese. American and Filipino soldiers were then forced to walk across the country to many awful camps. Many died from malaria, hunger, thirst, and malnutrition. http://www.historynet.com/world-war-ii
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The battle of Midway was a key early naval battle in the Pacific Theater between the United States Navy and the Empire of Japan. On June 4th, the Japanese launched over 100 fighters and bombers towards Midway. Their plan backfired becasue in the end the United States ended up with four of their key carriers ships. In the end Japan lost. http://www.secondworldwarhistory.com/
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Hitler wanted Stalingradand he was doing everything in his power to make sure the battle favored Germany. The Soviet Army alwasy had the ability to win battles when they needed to and that exactly what they did. The Soviets tried to sureender but Germany said no. The Soviets ended up winning and keeping a majoirty of the German soldiers for torture and other forms of punishment. http://www.secondworldwarhistory.com/
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Operation Thunderclap was a code name used in the Battle of Stalingrad. This operations goal was for the Sixth Army to attempt a breakout to link up with the advancing armoured columns. There was an issue with whether the operation should start sooner rather then later and Hitler said sooner. The Germans ended up being defeated in the Battle of Stalingrad. http://www.historynet.com/world-war-ii
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Jews that were suppossed to be deported to concentration camps for extermination from the Warsaw ghetto were not going to plan. The Germans that tried to calm the uprising were driven out of the ghetto by the angry Jews. Jurgen Stroop said to just subdue the Jews with the resources at hand instead of calling in an air bomber. This would soon lead to the deportation of all Jew's still living in ghettos. http://www.historynet.com/world-war-ii
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The head of British Bomber Command, Sir Arthur Harris, devised a plan to bomb Hamburg. His plan was to hit Hamburg by day and night, dropping at least 10,000 tons of bombs and destroying the city. The Germans knew the British were coming but their radar stopped working right after the attacks began. The British kept releasing bombs but the Germans were still defending. http://www.historynet.com/world-war-ii
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France was the land that would either make or break each side in the war, depending on if they had it or not. The allies invaded by sea boat and air. They took back cities, bridges, and other key aspects of the war that belonged to the Germans. This battle has gone down as the largest amphibious assault ever recorded. http://www.secondworldwarhistory.com/
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The Battle of the Bulge is the last offensive attack by Germany. They unleashed everything they had against the allies. But by the middle of February in 1945, and advancments by the Germans had been undone and the war would soon be over. http://www.secondworldwarhistory.com/
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Iwo Jima was a small island near Japan and the United States decided they wanted to use it for air and supply base. Operations began in Feburary and by March 26th, a majority of the Japanese had been killed while the Americans just had many injured. http://www.historynet.com/world-war-ii
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Okinawa was the last maor battle for a Pacific island. About 107,000 Japanese soldiers and civilians were killed in this battle. The United States lost 13,000 and 49,000 were wounded. Kamikaze attacks sunk 36 British and American ships and damaged 368 of them. http://www.historynet.com/world-war-ii
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On May 8th, 1945 there was an unconditional surrender. Hitler had commited suicide on April 30th, so the war in Europe was finally over and this day will be known as victory day. Although the war in Europe was over, Japan was still going strong so many soldiers recovered quickly so they could get back out there and fight. http://www.historynet.com/world-war-ii
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The U.S. decided to take over the homeland of Japan. They first dropped an atomic bomb over the city of Hiroshima, completely destroying it. When Japan did not surrender they dropped another bomb on Nagasaki. These bombs killed a number of people and caused alot of mass destruction. http://www.historynet.com/world-war-ii
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On this day Japan unconditionally surrendered to the Allies, officially ending World War II. Since then both August 14th and August 15th have been known as Victory over Japan Day. VJ Day brought an overwhelming sense of relief to the people of the United States and the world. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii
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