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Japanese Invasion of China
Japanese Invasion of China.In 1937 skirmishing between Japanese and Chinese troops on the frontier led to become what is known as the Marco Polo Bridge incident this fighting sparked a conflict known as the Second Sino-Japanese War. Which was fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. -
Rape of Nanking
Rape Of Nanking.In late 1937, over a period of six weeks, Imperial Japanese Army forces brutally murdered hundreds of thousands of people–including both soldiers and civilians–in the Chinese city of Nanking (or Nanjing). The horrific events are known as the Nanking Massacre or the Rape of Nanking, as between 20,000 and 80,000 women were sexually assaulted. Nanking, then the capital of Nationalist China, was left in ruins, and it would take decades for the city and its citizens to recover from the savage attacks -
Germany's Invasion of Poland
German Invasion of Poland.One of Adolf Hitler's first major foreign policy initiatives after coming to power was to sign a nonaggression pact with Poland in January 1934. This move was not popular with many Germans who supported Hitler but resented the fact that Poland had received the former German provinces of West Prussia, Poznan, and Upper Silesia under the Treaty of Versailles after World War I. However, Hitler sought the nonaggression pact in order to neutralize the possibility of a French-Polish military alliance -
Germany Blitzkrieg
German BlitzkriegA German term for “lightning war,” blitzkrieg is a military tactic designed to create disorganization among enemy forces through the use of mobile forces and locally concentrated firepower when successful blitzkriegs result in short military campaigns which preserves human lives and limits artillery expenditures. Germany first tried this tactic out on Poland in September 25, 1939. This tactic was highly successful to the German victories of 1939-1941. -
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor.Just before 8 a.m. on December 7, 1941, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawaii. The United States was particularly unhappy with Japan’s increasingly belligerent attitude toward China. Led to an immediate U.S. declaration of war the following day. -
Bataan Death March
Bataan Death MarchAfter the April 9, 1942, U.S. surrender of the Bataan Peninsula on the main Philippine island of Luzon to the Japanese during World War II (1939-45), the approximately 75,000 Filipino and American troops on Bataan were forced to make a65-mile march to prison camps. The marchers made the trek in intense heat and were subjected to harsh treatment by Japanese guards. Thousands perished in what became known as the Bataan Death March. -
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
Warsaw Ghetto UprisingBetween July 22 and September 12, 1942, the German authorities deported or murdered around 300,000 Jews in the Warsaw ghetto. SS and police units deported 265,000 Jews to the Treblinka killing center and 11,580 to forced-labor camps. The Germans and their auxiliaries murdered more than 10,000 Jews in the Warsaw ghetto during the deportation operations. The German authorities granted only 35,000 Jews permission to remain in the ghetto, while more than 20,000 Jews remained in the ghetto in hiding. -
D-day (Normandy Invasion)
D-Day (Normandy Invasion)On June 6, 1944, over 150,000 Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy France. Supported by over 5,000 ships and 11,000 airplanes, this meticulously planned invasion became the largest air, land, and sea operation ever undertaken. Its goal was to end Nazi domination in Europe. although nearly 10,000 Allied soldiers were either killed or wounded. The D-day normandy invasion was a highly successful in taking back Europe from Germany -
Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge.In December 1944, Adolph Hitler attempted to split the Allied armies in northwest Europe by means of a surprise blitzkrieg thrust through the Ardennes to Antwerp. Caught off-guard, American units fought desperate battles to stem the German advance at St.-Vith, Elsenborn Ridge, Houffalize and Bastogne. As the Germans drove deeper into the Ardennes in an attempt to secure vital bridgeheads, the Allied line took on the appearance of a large bulge, giving rise to the battle’s name. Lieutenant Genera -
Liberation of Concentration Camps
Liberation of Concentration Camps.Soviet soldiers were the first to liberate concentration camp prisoners in the final stages of the war. On July 23, 1944, they entered the Majdanek camp in Poland, and later overran several other killing centers. On January 27, 1945, they entered Auschwitz and there found hundreds of sick and exhausted prisoners. The Germans had been forced to leave these prisoners behind in their hasty retreat from the camp. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
Battle of Iwo Jima.The American amphibious invasion of Iwo Jima during World War II stemmed from the need for a base near the Japanese coast. Following elaborate preparatory air and naval bombardment, three U.S. marine divisions landed on the island in February 1945. Iwo Jima was defended by roughly 23,000 Japanese army and navy troops, who fought from an elaborate network of caves, dugouts, tunnels and underground installations. Despite the difficulty of the conditions, the marines wiped out the defending forces -
Battle of Okinawa
Battle of Okinawa.Last and biggest of the Pacific island battles of World War II, the Okinawa campaign (April 1—June 22, 1945) involved the 287,000 troops of the U.S. Tenth Army against 130,000 soldiers of the Japanese Thirty-second Army. At stake were air bases vital to the projected invasion of Japan. By the end of the 82-day campaign, Japan had lost more than 77,000 soldiers and the Allies had suffered more than 65,000 casualties—including 14,000 dead. -
VE Day
On this day in 1945, both Great Britain and the United States celebrate Victory in Europe Day. 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. -
Dropping of the Atomic Bombs
Dropping of the Atomic Bombs.On August 6, 1945, the American bomber Enola Gay dropped a 5-ton bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. A blast equivalent to the power of 15,000 tons of TNT reduced four square miles of the city to ruins and immediately killed 80,000 people. Tens of thousands more died in the following week from wounds and radiation poisoning. Three days later on August 9, 1945, another bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki killing nearly 40,000 more people. A few days later Japan announced its surrender. -
VJ Day
On August 14, 1945, it was announced that Japan had surrendered unconditionally to the Allies, effectively ending World War II. The Allied naval blockade of Japan and intensive bombing of Japanese cities had left the country and its economy devastated
