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Japanese invasion of China
Japan and China’s armies clashed near Peiping, China. This small confrontation quickly escalated into a full out invasion due to Japan’s growing interest in China’s natural resources. This later resulted in a war between Japan and China. -
Germany’s invasion of Poland
On September 1st, 1939, Germany Invaded Poland with great success, defeating the Polish army within weeks of the invasion. Germany invaded Poland to gain territory lost in the treaty of Versailles. This event signified the start of World War 2, since France and Brittan declared war on Germany after the invasion. -
Rape of Nanking
In December of 1937, The Japanese army proceeded to march into China’s capital of Nanking and kill 300,000 of the 600,000 civilians. Many of said civilians were beaten, and most likely suffered greatly before their death. Japan did this in an attempt to completely take over China, they even bragged that they could do it in 3 days. This atrocity left the Chinese people very bitter, and eager for revenge. -
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German Blitzkrieg
A Military tactic designed to cause disruption and disorganization among the enemy troops through the use of mobile forces and locally concentrated firepower. It was first used on September 1st, 1939, Against Poland. This tactic was so effective that the German Nazis used it in the invasions of Belgium, the Netherlands, and France -
Fall of Paris
on June 14th, 1940, the French army had finally colasped to the German army, and Germany took Frances capital, Paris. This signified the fall of France -
Operation Barbarossa
On June 22, 1941, 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, a distance of two thousand miles. By this point German combat effectiveness had reached its peak. Barbarossa was the crucial turning point in World War II, for its failure forced Nazi Germany to fight a two-front war -
Pearl Harbor
On December 7th, 1941, Japan Bombed an American naval base near Honolulu, Hawaii. The two hour attack killed roughly 2000 and injured 1000 American soldiers and sailors. A day after the attack, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked congress to declare war on Japan. It was swiftly approved and 3 days later Japanese allies Germany and Italy declare war on America. Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in an attempt to distract America from the atrocities going on overseas, so they wouldn’t get involved. -
Bataan Death March
After the April 9th, 1942 U.S surrender of the Bataan Peninsula, approximately 75,000 Filipino and American troops on Bataan were forced to make a 65 mile march to prison camps. The marchers were forced to endure intense heat and unforgiving punishment from the Japanese guards. Thousands died on this march. This left America bitter and eager for revenge, which they got in 1945. -
Battle of Midway
in June of 1942, the United States defeated Japan in one of the most decisive naval battles of World War II. Thanks in part to major advances in code breaking, the United States was able to predict and counter an attack of American naval ships. An important turning point in the Pacific campaign, the victory allowed the United States and its allies to move into an offensive position -
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Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad (July 17, 1942-Feb. 2, 1943), was the successful Soviet defense of the city of Stalingrad.Russians consider it to be the greatest battle of their Great Patriotic War, and most historians consider it to be the greatest battle of the entire conflict. It stopped the German advance into the Soviet Union and marked the turning of the tide of war in favor of the Allies. -
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Warsaw Ghetto uprising
From April 19 to May 16, 1943, during World War II, residents of the Jewish ghetto in Nazi-occupied Warsaw, Poland, staged an armed revolt against deportations to extermination camps. -
Operation Gomorrah
On July 24th, 1943, British bombers raid Hamburg, Germany, by night in Operation Gomorrah, while Americans bomb it by day in its own “Blitz Week.” This gave the Allies a great advatage in the war by making Germany dump a great amount of resources into anti-bombing solutions. -
D-day
D-day resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany’s control. The battle began on June 6, 1944, , when some 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified coast of France’s Normandy region. -
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Liberation of concentration camps
On July 23, 1944, Soviet soldiers 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. these rescuses helped signify the end of the war. -
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. The allies were a -
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. Despite the difficulty of the conditions, the marines wiped out the defending forces after a month of fighting. -
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Battle of Okinawa
Last and biggest of the Pacific island battles of World War II, the Okinawa campaign 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. -
VE day
on may 8th, 1945, both Great Britain and the United States celebrate Victory in Europe Day. Cities in both nations put up flags in rejoice to the defeat of Nazi Germany -
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Dropping of the attomic bombs
On August 6th, 1945, an American B-29 bomber dropped the world’s first deployed atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The explosion wiped out 90 percent of the city and immediately killed 80,000 people; tens of thousands more would later die of radiation exposure. Three days later, a second B-29 dropped another A-bomb on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 40,000 people. Jappanese Emporor surrendered 6 days on the attack on Nagasaki. -
VJ Day
On August 14, 1945, it was announced that Japan had surrendered unconditionally to the Allies, effectively ending World War II. Since then, both August 14 and August 15 have been known as “Victoryover Japan Day,” or simply “V-J Day.”