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Rape of Nanking
China fell into Japanese forces, the city of Nanking was destroyed. People were murdered , the city was burnt down, and most of the women were raped; or killed in the process. Any people who were suspects to be part of the Chinese Army had their hands tied behind their backs and were shot, mass graves were made and bodies were just put in, forgotten,and buried.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-rape-of-nanking
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/nanking.htm -
Japanese invasion of China
The Chinese forces were unable to effectively resist the Japanese. The Japanese were organized, very strong, had no mercy,and they had better weapons.The Japanese were trying expand its influence in political and military things. The effects of the war was that the Chinese government was relocated and Japan finally surrendered.
http://histclo.com/essay/war/ww2/camp/pac/china/w2c-inv.html
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/jun/06/china-war-japan-rana-mitter-review -
German Blitzkrieg (Lightning War)
Blitzkrieg was a new military tactic that made it possible to quickly overrun places. It creates disorganization among enemy forces, it makes the military campaigns short, saving human lives. German's first tested Blitzkrieg in Poland, which showed great success, a year later they attempted to use the same tactic on the Soviet Union, but it did not work the same as it did in Poland.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/blitzkrieg
http://history.04007.cn/en.php/HisMain/4557.html -
Germany's invasion of Poland
Germany invaded Poland because the Germans demands were being limited. The Soviet Union and Germany were dividing and annexing Poland lands. The Germans did not like the fact that Poland had received the former German provinces. The Polish army did not stand a chance they were defeated soon after the invasion began. Therefore making Poland under German occupation.
https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005070 -
Battle of France (Fall of Paris)
The Germans invaded France, which ended the Phoney War.Then German armored units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and surround the Allied units that had advanced into Belgium.Because of this France was divided into different zones based on what the Germans thought was right.A German occupation zone in the north and west, a small Italian occupation zone in the southeast and a collaborationist rump state in the south, Vichy France.
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Battle_of_France -
Pearl Harbor
The diplomatic negotiations with Japan were breaking down; the president and his advisers knew an attack was possible but they didn't increase security at the naval base at Pearl Harbor. Because of this most of the Pacific fleet was destroyed by the Japanese air assault, and many people died.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/pearl-harbor-bombed
http://www.historynet.com/pearl-harbor -
Operation Barbarossa
Hitler launched armies eastward in a massive invasion of the Soviet Union.The Germans underestimated their opponent,the German industrial preparations for a sustained war had yet to begin.The Germans greatest mistake made was that they came as conquerors,not as liberators;they were determined to enslave the Slavic population and exterminate the Jews.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/operation-barbarossa https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/operation-barbarossa-in-rare-pictures-1941 -
Bataan Death March
Filipino and American troops were forced to march to prison camps.The trek was in intense heat, and the marchers were harshly treated by the Japanese guards.Thousands died along the way and it became known as the Bataan Death March.The commander of the Japanese invasion forces was held responsible for the march and was executed;U.S.-Filipino forces recaptured the Bataan Peninsula.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bataan-death-march
http://www.battleofbataan.com/photos.html -
Battle of Midway
This was one of the most decisive U.S. victories against Japan during World War II–begins. It was a four day battle,the outnumbered U.S. Pacific Fleet succeeded in destroying four Japanese aircraft carriers while losing only one of its own. In six months of offensives prior to Midway,the Japanese had triumphed in lands throughout the Pacific.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/battle-of-midway-begins https://warontherocks.com/2016/06/the-battle-of-midway-the-complete-intelligence-story/ -
Warsaw Ghetto uprising
It began after German troops and police entered the ghetto to deport its surviving inhabitants.The Germans crushed the uprising and left the ghetto area in ruins.Any surviving people were deported to concentration camps or killing centers. Jews were sent to camps to work,in horrible conditions, with little to no food.Because of this tons of people died, this uprising was labeled the largest, symbolically most important Jewish uprising.
https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005188 -
Operation Thunderclap
The plan envisaged a massive attack on Berlin that would caused a lot of deaths amd many of them key German personnel, which would shatter German morale. The proposal was to bomb the eastern-most cities of Germany to disrupt the transport infrastructure behind what was becoming the Eastern front. The bombing raid was very successful.
http://ww2today.com/13-february-1945-operation-thunderclap-raf-start-firestorm-in-dresden -
D-Day (Normandy Invasion)
This resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany’s control.The invasion was one of the largest assaults in history and required extensive planning; using deception they misled the Germans about the intended invasion target. Allied troops didn't have much protecting while advancing, well not until the Allied air support took out many key bridges making the Germans take long detours.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day -
Battle of the Bulge
The Germans launch the last major offensive of the war, it wasan attempt to push the Allied front line west from northern France to northwestern Belgium. It got its name because the Germans created a “bulge” around the area of the Ardennes forest in pushing through the American defensive line.As a result there was a massive loss of American and civilian life.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/battle-of-the-bulge
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Bulge -
Battle of Okinawa (picture-https://warontherocks.com/2015/04/warchives-the-battle-of-okinawa-and-the-obscenity-of-war/)
It was considered the last major battle of World War II, and one of the bloodiest. They were trying a complex plan to invade and occupy the Ryukyu Islands, including Okinawa. This was the Americans last stop before they reached Japan. It was known that securing Okinawa’s airbases was critical to launching a successful Japanese invasion. As a result tons of people died, ships were lost and damaged, and multiple air crafts were lost.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-okinawa -
Liberation of concentration camps
The concentration camp prisoners had survived forced marches into the interior of Germany from camps in occupied Poland. The prisoners were mistreated and killed. After the camps were taken over people of the camps set fire to the crematoriums.When the Germans dismantled the camps it was too late for most of the Jews from Poland because they had already been killed.
https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005131 -
VE Day (picture-https://www.express.co.uk/news/history/667816/VE-Day-how-Britain-celebrated-in-pictures-end-Second-World-War)
This day represents the day that Great Britain and the United States celebrate their victory in Europe. Cities in both nations, as well as formerly occupied cities in Western Europe, put out flags and banners,rejoicing in the defeat of the Nazi war machine. German troops throughout Europe finally laid down their arms, the Germans also surrendered to their Soviet antagonists, and the German surrender was realized in a final cease-fire.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/victory-in-europe -
Potsdam Declaration
It was the calling for the unconditional surrender of Japan. The declaration was made at the Potsdam Conference near the end of World War II. It was promised that Japan would not “be enslaved as a race or destroyed as a nation.” While the press largely reported that he was refusing or ignoring the declaration he just was saying no comment meaning he knew something but wouldn't say it.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Potsdam-Declaration
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potsdam_Declaration -
Dropping of the atomic bombs (picture-https://history.libraries.wsu.edu/spring2015/2015/01/20/the-effect-of-the-atomic-bombs-dropped-on-hiroshima-and-nagasaki/)
President Truman,made the decision to use the atom bomb to end the war in order to prevent the much greater loss of life that he predicted, in which the United States to invade the Japanese mainland. Tons of people died because of the bomb whether it be in the blast, in the hospital, or months after.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/atomic-bomb-is-dropped-on-hiroshima -
VJ Day
Japan had surrendered unconditionally to the Allies, effectively ending World War II. In an attempt to break Japanese resistance before a land invasion became necessary, the Allies were consistently bombarding Japan from air and sea, and this is the day that Fascism dies. The citizens felt an overwhelming sense of relief and exhilaration at the end of the long and bloody conflict.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/v-j-day -
Battle of Iwo Jima
This battle began from the American need for a base near the Japanese coast. The Japanese fought from an elaborate network of caves, dugouts, tunnels, and underground installations that were difficult to find and destroy. Despite the difficulty of the conditions, the marines wiped out the defending forces after a month of fighting, and the battle earned a place in American lore.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-iwo-jima
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Iwo_Jima
