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Japanese invasion of China
Japan invaded China because Japan was growing too big for its island. They tried to expand their rule, and began to take more and more of China. -
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German Blitzkrieg
The German Blitzkrieg, or lightning war, was a method of rapidly demolishing an enemy by dividing them into pockets and cutting them off. Germany captured Poland like this, taking many towns before anything could be done. This lead to retaliation by other nations. -
Germany's invasion of Poland
The Germans invaded Poland with the Blitzkrieg strategy. The Blitzkrieg strategy was a method of rapidly demolishing an enemy by dividing them into pockets and cutting them off. Germany captured Poland by taking many towns before anything could be done. This lead to retaliation by other nations. -
Fall of Paris
France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands were captured by Germany in an event known as the fall of Paris. Germany was hungry for an empire, so they swallowed Europe. Hitler expected to lose a million men, but only lost about 45,000. His popularity in Germany increased greatly. -
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the codename for Germany's invasion of Russia. Hitler planned to repopulate the western soviet union with Germans, using the slavs as slaves. Germany planned to break its peace treaty with Russia as it attacked. It was the largest invasion in military history, yet it stalled in moscow and was forced back by the Soviet winter counteroffensive. -
Wannsee Conference
The Wannsee Conference was a meeting to discuss the execution of the final solution. It was held to iron out the details of the plan, and to discuss the most efficient way to carry it out. It resulted in the holocaust. -
Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was Japan's attempt to scare America into staying neutral in the second Wold War. They took over one thousand lives, losing only 60 men. This is the definite cause of the United States entering World War Two. -
Bataan Death March
In the Bataan death march, the Japanese relocated 70,000 POWs. Only 54,000 made it to their final destination, camp O'Donell. This stirred up much anger against the Japanese, and propaganda whipped many Americans into a frenzy. This may have been why the atomic bombing was so widely accepted in the US. -
The Battle of Midway
The victory in the battle of Midway was one of the most decisive naval battles of World War II. The US was able to preempt a Japanese ambush, crippling Japan's navy, thanks largely in part to incredible innovations in codebreaking. -
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was a huge struggle for Stalingrad, fought between Germany and its allies against Russia. It ended in a decisive soviet victory. It took strategic initiative from the Axis powers on the eastern front. -
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was the largest attempt at Jewish resistance to the Nazis in World War Two. Roughly 13,000 were burnt to death when the police set them on fire to quell the resistance. -
Operation Gomorrah
Operation Gomorrah was one of the largest firestorms raised by the British Royal Air Force and United States Air Force. The attack took place in Hamburg, with almost 80,000 casualties. It was so devastating because of the unusually warm and dry weather; everything burned. The bombing was called worse than Nagasaki. -
D-Day
D-Day was the beginning of the allied invasion of western Europe. The battle, also known as Operation Overlord, was a huge success for the allies, as they pushed through and liberated Europe. -
The Battle of the Bulge
The battle of the Bulge was a result of Hitler's surprise Blitzkrieg in northwest Europe.It was won by the allies, thanks to General George S. Patton's effective use of the Third Army. It lead to the neutralization of the German counteroffensive. -
Operation Thunderclap
Operation Thunderclap was a very controversial bombing. About 35,000 civilians were blown up or incinerated. When looking for survivors, a huge puddle of green-brown liquid with bones sticking out of it was found; roughly 1,000 civilians were melted in an air raid bunker. There was no measurable impact on the war from this bombing of civilians. -
The Battle of Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima was a small island near Japan, containing three airstrips. America wanted the island, although it was not very useful. The battle lasted five weeks, and the airfields were turned into B29 Landing strips. This lead to the capture of other Islands, like Okinawa. -
The Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa was the struggle for the Ryukyu islands, from which the planned invasion of the Japanese mainland would have been launched. Okinawa was the largest of the Ryukyu islands, and was finally captured after 82 days of fighting. -
VE day
VE day, or Victory in Europe day, is now an annual celebration of the Unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany, which ended all fighting in Europe. All that remained was Japan, fairly demoralized by their allies' surrender. -
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki marked a new era in human history, The Nuclear Age. Upwards of 1/4th of a million Japanese citizens were killed in this harsh transition, although the casualties may have been higher if the US invaded the Japanese mainland. -
VJ Day
Victory in Japan day marked the unconditional surrender of Japan after nuclear bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
