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Japan Invades Manchuria
the Japanese Kwangtung Army attacked Chinese troops in Manchuria in an event commonly known as the Manchurian Incident. Essentially, this was an attempt by the Japanese Empire to gain control over the whole province, in order to eventually encompass all of East Asia. This proved to be one of the causes of World War II. (Pacific) -
”Rape of Nanking”
The Nanking Massacre was an episode of mass murder and mass rape committed by Japanese troops against the residents of Nanjing, then the capital of the Republic of China, during the Second Sino-Japanese War. (Pacific) -
Kristallnacht
Thousands of Jews were subject to terror and violence by the Nazis. Over 1,000 Jewish synagogues and over 7,500 Jewish businesses were destroyed, and approximately 30,000 Jewish men were arrested and taken to concentration camps. -
Battle of Bataan
(FOP) Japanese aircraft began conducting an aerial assault on American forces in the Philippines.Thousands of USFIP prisoners died before reaching the camps. Following the war, Homma was convicted of war crimes relating to the march and was executed on April 3, 1946. (Pacific) -
German Invasion of Poland
German forces bombard Poland on land and from the air, as Adolf Hitler seeks to regain lost territory and ultimately rule Poland. World War II had begun. The German invasion of Poland was a primer on how Hitler intended to wage war–what would become the “blitzkrieg” strategy. -
Battle of the Atlantic
Longest continuous military campaign in WW2 running from 1939 to the defeat of Germany in 1945. -
Phoney War
The first six months of the war became known as the ‘Phony War’ because there was almost no fighting and no bombs were dropped.This gave the government more time to protect Britain from an attack. -
Fall of France
German bombers hit air bases in France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands, destroying large numbers of Allied planes on the ground and crippling Allied air defenses. -
Dunkirk
The evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force and other Allied troops from the French seaport of Dunkirk to England. -
Battle of Britain
Significant turning point of WW2. Ended when Germany's Luftwaffe failed to gain air superiority over the Royal Air Force despite months of targeting Britain's air bases, military posts and, ultimately its civilian population. -
German Invasion of Soviet Union
The failure of German troops to defeat Soviet forces in the campaign signaled a crucial turning point in the war. -
Siege of Leningrad
An extended siege beginning that September. In subsequent months, the city sought to establish supply lines from the Soviet interior and evacuate its citizens, often using a hazardous “ice and water road” across Lake Ladoga. A successful land corridor was created in January 1943, and the Red Army finally managed to drive off the Germans the following year. Altogether, the siege lasted nearly 900 days and resulted in the deaths of more than 1 million civilians. -
Battle of Coral Sea
Japanese defeated. First Naval battle fought entirely by planes based on aircraft carriers. (Pacific) -
Battle of Guadalcanal
Battle in WWII in the Pacific, the island was occupied by the Japanese and later recaptured by American forces. (Pacific)
Lasted til 1943 -
Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor
On Sunday, December 7, 1941, Japanese planes attacked the base, and the United States entered World War II the following day. Pearl Harbor. (Pacific) -
Manhattan Project
The code name for the effort to develop atomic bombs for the United States during World War II. The first controlled nuclear reaction took place in Chicago in 1942, and by 1945, bombs had been manufactured that used this chain reaction to produce great explosive force. (Pacific) -
Atlantic Charter
The United States and Great Britain issued a joint declaration in August 1941 that set out a vision for the postwar world. In January 1942, a group of 26 Allied nations pledged their support for this declaration, known as the Atlantic Charter. -
Battle of Stalingrad
A major confrontation of WW2 in which Nazi Germany and it's allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in southern Russia. -
Hong Kong & Singapore Fall
Fought in the South-East Asian theater of World War II when the Empire of Japan invaded the British stronghold of Singapore.The fighting in Singapore lasted from 8 to 15 February 1942 although this was preceded by two months of British resistance as Japanese forces advanced down the Malaya peninsula. (Pacific) -
Fall of Philipines
The defense of the Philippines was the longest resistance to the Japanese Imperial Army in the initial stages of World War II. (Pacific) -
Doolittle Raid
More than one of history’s most momentous air attacks. Also one of the most economical.The Allies dropped 2.7 million tons of bombs on Germany, and the United States dropped seven million tons on Vietnam. (Pacific) -
Battle of Corregidor
Was the culmination of the Japanese campaign for the conquest of the commonwealth of the philippines during WWII. (pacific) -
Battle of Midway
United States defeated Japan in one of the most decisive naval battles of World War II. An important turning point in the Pacific campaign, the victory allowed the United States and its allies to move into an offensive position. (Pacific) -
El Alamein
This battle marked an important turning point of the Western Desert Campaign and it was the first major victorious offensive of the Western Allies -
Allies Land in North Africa
Operation Torch was the name given to the Allied invasion of French North Africa in November 1942. The Allies planned to invade Morocco and Algeria. Darlan ordered all French forces in North Africa to cease resistance to the Allies and to cooperate instead. -
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
A resistance by Polish Jews under Nazi occupation in 1943 to the deportations from Warsaw to the Treblinka extermination camp. The revolt began on April 19, 1943, and was crushed four weeks later, on May 16. -
Battle of Anzio
Battle of Italian campaign of WW2. The operation was opposed by German force in the area of Anzio and Nettuno. Ended in the capture of Rome. -
Yalta Conference
The second wartime meeting of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. During the conference, the three leaders agreed to demand Germany's unconditional surrender and began plans for a post-war world. -
D-Day Operation
United States and allied troops invaded at Normandy. This was the largest air, land, and sea invasion in history. The goal was to surprise Germany. Its considered the beginning of the end of world War II. -
Operation Overlord
The invasion of Europe via Normandy, which ended up a great success. Nazi Germany was controlling France and most of Western Europe, making it very hard for the Allies to launch attacks. To get a foothold in Europe, they needed to find a way to get a large amount of men to the other side of the English Channel. -
Liberation of France
It was the start of the Allies invasion of Western Europe and would lead to the victory for the Allies. ... The Allies landed on the coast of Normandy, France and began France's liberation and future defeat of German's war machines. -
Battle of Leyte Gulf
Generally considered to be the largest naval battle of World War II. Crippled the Japanese Combined Fleet, permitted U.S. invasion of the Philippines, and reinforced the Allies’ control of the Pacific. (Pacific) -
Battle of the Bulge
Last major German offensive campaign on the western front during WW2. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
Major battle in which the US Marine Corps landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Japanese Army during WWII. (Pacific) -
Battle of Okinawa
The last major battle of World War II, and one of the bloodiest. More than 180,000 U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps troops descended on the Pacific island of Okinawa for a final push towards Japan. (Pacific) -
V-E Day
Victory in Europe day:With Berlin surrounded, Adolf Hitler committed suicide on 30 April 1945. His successor was Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz. During his brief spell as Germany’s president, Dönitz negotiated an end to the war with the Allies – whilst seeking to save as many Germans as possible from falling into Soviet hands. -
Hiroshima bombing
A Japanese city on which the United States dropped the first atomic bomb used in warfare, on August 6, 1945. After the devastation of the bombing, Hiroshima was largely rebuilt. (Pacific) -
Nagasaki Bombed
The American atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki made Nagasaki the second and, to date, last city in the world to experience a nuclear attack. (Pacific) -
V-J Day
The day in 1945 on which Japan ceased fighting in World War II, or the day (September 2) when Japan formally surrendered. (Pacific)
