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Operation Gomorrah
On July 24, 1943, British bombers raided Hamburg, Germany during the night while the Americans bomb it by day in its own "Blitz Week". They did this bombing since it was a very effective way to level cities, and also kill civilians. After Germany killed 167 civilians. The effect was horrible, more than 1,500 German citizens were killed and it showed that neither country had boundaries. -
Rape of Nanking
During the Sino-Japanese War, Nanking, the capital of China fall to Japanese forces. The reason the Japanese did this was to stop the spirit of Chinese resistance. The effects were horrible. After they took the city, they murdered 150,000 "war prisoners" and killed another 50,000 male civilians and on top of that raped at least 20,000 women and girls of all ages, many died or were mutilated in the process. -
Japanese invasion of China
On December 17, 1937, Japan launched a week of air raids over Hong Kong. They did this to start their attack on most of Asia to gain power and to have control over all of Asia. The effects were substantial, showing Japan that they can take over a country with ease and start their take over. -
German Blitzkrieg
The term blitzkrieg is a term that means "lightning war" and it was a military tactic designed to create disorganization to take over a place. The Germans used this on Poland and then used it on France and other lower countries. It started with heavy bombing of the area and then troops move in afterward, a very effective tactic. The impact was huge, it gave the Germans a quick easy way to take over countries. -
Germany Invades Poland
On September First, lasting until October Sixth, Germany, led by Adolf Hitler made his first move in taking over Europe by invading Poland. Hitler first started with this to take back land his country had lost during the after affects of World War I. The effects of the was that this was the first move in the European Theater during WWII, which would ultimately lead to the breakout of war all over the world. -
Period: to
Start to end of World War II
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Fall of Paris
After the Germans announced that they were advancing into Paris, around 2 million people had already evacuated. Churchill tried to warn French premier to not try and peacefully solve the situation, but it was already too late. Hitler did this once again to have more power in Europe and it worked, he was controlling Poland and now Paris by this time. The effect was awful, French people were prisoners in their own home and once again were ruled by Germany. -
Wannsee Conference
In July 1941, the Nazi officials meet to discuss the details of the "Final Solution" of the Jewish people. It happened since Hitler was still set on that the Jews were the reason they lost WWI and he needed a way to exterminate them in a quick, easy way. This was important since it was the start of the mass killing of Jews using lethal gas. -
Operation Barbarossa
On June 22, 1941, Hitler launched his army east in a massive invasion of the Soviet Union, however this operation was a failure. The reason Hitler did this was simple, more power. He was always looking for places to take over and he underestimated the Soviets. This was important since it was the crucial turning point in WWII, which forced Germany to fight a two front war. -
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor was an American Naval Base in Hawaii near Honolulu. Early morning, on December 7, 1941, hundreds of Japanese airplanes stormed the base, sinking nearly 20 vessels and over 300 airplanes. More than 2,400 americans died in the attack. The reason the Japanese attacked was because they were looking to expanding their rule over most of Asia and saw Pearl Harbor as an easy target. The effect it had was huge, putting America into the war and dropping two bombs on their cities. -
Bataan Death March
After the U.S. surrender of the Bataan Peninsula, around 75,000 Filipino and American troops were forced to march 65 miles in extreme heat and harsh treatment by guards. They did this since they needed to get the people out of their island, but not in any nice way. This affected the U.S. to be more ruthless towards Japan, since they showed no mercy to us. -
Battle of Midway
Six months after Pearl Harbor, the U.S. launched an attack on Japan and defeated them in one of the most decisive naval battles of World War II. The Americans did this since they were wanting revenge on Japan after Pearl Harbor. The effect of this was that the U.S. sunk aircrafts, submarines and even planes with this attack, taking away from the Japanese. -
Battle of Stalingrad
This was a German attack on the Soviet city of Stalingrad. During the Battle, Stalin ordered his troops to never retreat, those who did could possibly face execution. Hitler ordered this attack with the same motives as before, take over as many cities and countries as possible. The effect was that the Soviets prevailed over the Germans in a crucial battle since they could withstand the cold and they cut off German supplies -
Battle of the Bulge
In December, 1944, Hitler attempted to split the allied armies in NorthWest Europe by a surprise blitzkrieg and he succeeded. He did this since times looked dark, the American troops were advancing and he needed a way to split them up. The effects were the costliest ever fought by the US Army which lost over 100,000 soldiers -
D-Day
The infamous "D-Day" was when around 156,000 allied troops landed on the French beaches of Normandy on the first day. The invasion lasted from June to August 1944, with over 425,000 deaths from both allied and Axis powers on this attack. The reason why the allied forces did this was to regain control of France of liberate them, along with getting hundreds of thousands of troops into Europe. The impact it had was huge, getting France back and getting hundreds of thousands of troops into Europe. -
Operation Thunderclap
On the day before Valentines Day, 1945, a series of Allied firebombing raids began on the German city of Dresden, reducing the city to rubble. It was done since the Germans were already on the verge of surrender. The effects were the reducing a city rubble and killing 135,000, only behind the atomic bomb drops. It was also a key factor in the surrender of Germany. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
On February 19, 1945, U.S. Marines made an amphibious landing on Iwo Jima, and they were faced with no immediate threat, but that was all apart of Kuribayashi's plan to take them off guard. They did this since they were still in war with each other after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The effects were good for the Americans. They had won control over the city. -
Battle of Okinawa
This was the last major battle of World War II. On April 1, 1945, the Americans decided to play a little April Fools day plank on the Japanese by sending in 180,000 of their troops to Okinawa. They did this to seize more control over Japan and part of Operation Iceberg, a complex plan to invade the Ryukyu Islands. This was important since it was the last major battle and it was a crucial battle for Japan. -
VE Day
On May 8, 1945, the fighting in the European Theater had finally had come to an end. VE standing for Victory in Europe day. German troops finally laid down their arms and they had finally given up. The effect was huge. The biggest war in history was now over in Europe, but with major causalities and cities destroyed. -
Dropping the Atomic Bombs
After the U.S. had perfected the deadliest weapon ever created, they decided to drop it on their only remaining enemy. They dropped the first one on the city of Hiroshima which killed 80,000. Three days later they dropped another one on Nagasaki, killing 40,000. Those are only the ones that died from the explosion, tens of thousands would follow from radiation. They did this to finally end the war with Japan. It was the final push to get Japan to finally surrender. -
VJ Day
On August 14, 1945 it had finally been declared that Japan had finally surrendered after the atomic bomb dropping just days before. They had no other option other than surrender either since the U.S. could just drop another nuke. It was one of the biggest days during the war. World War II was finally over in both theaters and from all countries