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Japanese Invasion of China
The July 7, 1937, Marco Polo Bridge incident was a skirmish between Japanese Imperial Army forces and China's Nationalist Army along a rail line southwest of Beijing, This happened becuase Tokyo was determened to annihilate the Kuomintang government. During the Japanese invasions millions of chinese were killed and at the end when China pushed Japan out Mao and the other CCP leaders reestablished the capital in Beiping, which they renamed Beijing.
http://factsanddetails.com/china/cat2/sub5/it -
German Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg tactics required the concentration of offensive weapons (such as tanks, planes, and artillery) along a narrow front.Using Blitzkrieg allowed a quick take over of towns and cities.Blitzkrieg was very succesful at first. This gave confidence to Hitler who decided to declare war on the Soviets and this ultimately lead to its defeat in May 1945.
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005437 -
Operation Barbarossa
Some 4.5 million troops launched a surprise attack deployed from German-controlled Poland, Finland, and Romania. Hitler attacked because he wanted the soviet's resources. Despite massive advances, Hitler's plan to conquer the Soviet Union before winter had failed, at great cost, and that failure would prove to be a turning point in the war.
http://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2011/07/world-war-ii-operation-barbarossa/100112/ -
Pearl Harbor
In the attack, 2,403 Americans were killed and 1,178 were wounded. Japan attacked us because they belived it would take a while for America to get back on its feet so in the mean time they could take land. Instead this made America made and made us start to consider joining the war.
http://www.wnd.com/2014/09/real-reason-japanese-attacked-pearl-harbor/ -
Wannsee Conference
The meeting had been called by the second most important figure in the SS, Reinhard Heydrich, to discuss issues arising from the Nazis’ treatment of the Jewish question. In the words of Professor Richard Evans: ‘it was a meeting in order to sort of smooth the bureaucratic path to the extermination of Jews.’ For the SS this meeting was vital in order to demonstrate that it was Himmler’s men and women who were in control.
http://ww2history.com/key_moments/Holocaust/Wannsee_Conference -
Battle of Midway
Yamamoto Isoroku sent out the bulk of the Japanese fleet, with orders to engage and destroy the American fleet and invade Midway. He did this because Japan was seeking a naval showdown with the numerically inferior U.S. Pacific Fleet, The Battle of Midway brought the Pacific naval forces of Japan and the United States to approximate parity and marked a turning point of the military struggle between the two countries.
http://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Midway -
Battle of Stalingrad
The battle lasted 200 days . The Red Army tore the strategic initiative away from its enemy and did not let go until Berlin itself. It presented the world with powerful emotions and hope and, of course, caused confusion and bewilderment in the camp of Hitler’s allies.
http://orientalreview.org/2013/02/02/the-sword-of-stalingrad/
http://orientalreview.org/2013/02/02/the-sword-of-stalingrad/ -
D-Day
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. The invasion was one of the largest amphibious military assaults in history and required extensive planning. The allies attacked because they were after the Ports. By late August 1944, all of northern France had been liberated, and by the following spring the Allies had defeated the Germans.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day -
VJ Day
On August 14, 1945, it was announced that Japan had surrendered unconditionally to the Allies. Ther surrender 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.”
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/v-j-day -
Liberation of Concentration Camps
Soviet forces were the first to approach a major Nazi so the Germans attempted to hide the evidence of mass murder by demolishing the camp. During this time Germans tried marching the prisoners elsewhere. Germany could only hide for so long as Armies of the allies found the slaves and liberated them. Setting the Jews free for good.
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005131 -
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. Despite the difficulty of the conditions, the marines wiped out the defending forces after a month of fighting, and the battle earned a place in American lore with the publication of a photograph showing the U.S. flag being raised in victory.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-iwo-jima -
Battle of Okinawa
The island of Okinawa is located approximately 350 miles south of mainland Japan. The strategic importance of this island cannot be overemphasized. The battle was in response to Pearl Harbor. The Allied victory gave control of Okinawa which was occupied by the United States until 1972.
https://www.mca-marines.org/gazette/2012/11/okinawa-final-great-battle-world-war-ii -
VE Day
On May 8, 1945, millions of people around the globe took to the streets to celebrate the World War II surrender of Germany on what came to be known as Victory in Europe Day, or V-E Day. At 2:41 a.m. local time the previous day, representatives from the victorious Allied nations met with German officials in Reims, France, to sign the official surrender documents. To this day VE day is still celebrated.
http://www.history.com/news/remembering-v-e-day -
Dropping of Atomic Bomb
The United States becomes the first and only nation to use atomic weaponry during wartime when it drops an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The U.S. dropped the bomb because Japan would not surrender. The bomb had a effect on the entire World. Years later countries are still trying to make atomic bombs which cuases fear and uncerntainty on when the next one will be dropped.
http://www.ushistory.org/us/51g.asp -
Battle of the Bulge
The Germans threw 250,000 soldiers into the initial assault, 14 German infantry divisions guarded by five panzer divisions-against a mere 80,000 Americans. The Battle of the Bulge was an attempt to push the Allied front line west from northern France to northwestern Belgium.The battle raged for three weeks, resulting in a massive loss of American and civilian life.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/battle-of-the-bulge
