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Japanese Invasion of China
WWII in the Pacific Theater truly began when Japan invaded Manchuria, China. Japan was facing a major economic depression and viewed China as having more reliable resources that would improve the country's economy. They became a major imperial threat, which would make them a very appealing ally for Germany. When presented with an opportunity to conquer more territories, Japan could not refuse. All in all, the invasion of China was really an important turning point for the Axis Powers.(BBC) -
German Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg is a form of war tactic used by Germany. It is fast paced, mobile war fare, named such as Blitzkrieg means "lightning war" (history.com). The Allies had never seen anything like it. They were prepared to go into the war completely defensive. In the past, the wars had been won by the opponent who could last the longest under attack. The Germans however, used this tactic to be completely unpredictable and offensive.It would be copied by many other countries and influenced future wars. -
Germany's invasion of Poland
Although forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles, Germany had been expanding for some time leading up to their invasion of Poland.Eventually the occupation was inevitable, and only two days following, both France and Britain declared war. Soon after that, Russia joined the effort, and invaded Poland as well.It became clear that allies would play a major role as Mussolini announced his support of Germany.It began with a series of bombings on villages and would lead to most impactful war in history. -
Fall of Paris
After Poland had officially been defeated, German began to focus on the rest of Western Europe. They approached Norway, Denmark, and France. Frightened of the aggression, France quickly signed an armistice, signing over the northern portion with hopes that southern France could remain untouched. When Germans marched on into Paris, they imposed restrictions on the Parisians who begged for help from the US. America was not able to join just yet, so they froze assets of the Axis. (History.com) -
Operation Barbarossa
At this point in the war, the Germans were expanding rapidly. Operation Barbarosssa was a German invasion of the Soviet Union (ushmm). This was completely violating the Soviet German Pact, which led the Soviets to become major Allies supporters. It is always strange that a country like the Soviet Union should partner with the US, France, and Britain, but truly it was because of a common enemy. This invasion would prove to be important as it gave Germany yet another powerful opponent. (ushmm) -
Pearl Harbor
Japan launched a surprise attack on an American Naval base in Hawaii. The base faced tremendous damage including the loss of 20 vessels and over 300 airplanes. 3,400 people were left dead or injured and although the attack lasted only two hours, vital components of the base were badly damaged. This event was the major turning point that consequently lead to American involvement in WWII. The attack on Pearl Harbor united the Americans as they finally joined the Allies. (History.com) -
Wannsee Conference
The wannsee conference was a meeting held in a Berlin suburb. There, they discussed the final solution of the Jewish Question (history.com). It was an important meeting as it was where the Axis Powers decided what financial steps needed to be taken to further their plan. This was where they recovered and decided what needed to be done in the future. -
Bataan Death March
The day after Pearl Harbor, Japan began to go after the philippines. They took the capital first and moved from there. General Edward King Jr. found his forces completely starved and beyond exhausted so he was forced to surrender 75,000 troops. (history.com) -
Battle of Midway
Only six months after Japan's brutal attack on Pearl Harbor, the US battled Japan in the Battle of Midway. Due to advancements in technology, the US was able to prepare for an ambush. The Japanese lost a third of their entire fleet but the conflict proved to be extremely important as it allowed America to move into an offensive position. The Japanese planned to attack but the Americans were able to transcribe the codes. After four days and an allied loss of 307 men, they succeeded. (History.com) -
Operation Gomorrah
The bombings of Hamburg, also known as Operation Gomorrah, were an occasion where Germany's second largest city was bombed at such a destructive rate that many refer to it as the German Nagasaki. This attack set forth a new terror as it was the largest air raid in World War II at the time. (BBC) -
Warsaw Ghetto uprising
400,000 Jews were boarded into a square mile in warsaw (history.com). They were confined by brick walls and guarded with a lot of restrictions on their schedules. The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest in Poland but the Jews still managed to smuggle weapons from the outside. Germans killed and captured thousands of jews at a time. -
D-Day
Allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy, France in an effort to gain important ground on Germany and free parts of France. With General Eisenhower as commander, they were able to convince the Germans that other areas were likely for invasion. Catching the Axis off guard, 156,000 allied troops stormed the 50-mile stretch with over 4,000 allied casualties. In the end, victory was an extreme advantage and allowed for the liberation of Western Europe from German control. (History.com) -
Operation Thunderclap
If the atomic weapons weren't terrifying enough, the Thunderclap was the most destructive bombing yet. As the Germans were on the verge of surrender, the Allies firebombed Dresden to ensure their collapse. Over 125,000 people were killed, which is partly why this war was the most destructive to civilians in particular. (History.com) -
VE Day
Victory in Europe came after the Nazi defeat. All across Europe, the Germans finally surrendered. Over 2 million Nazis were taken captive, and they began to prepare for an ending to the most devastating war in history. There remained some German and Soviet confrontation but the war in Europe had officially ended. (History.com) -
Dropping of the atomic bombs
Throughout the war, America had developed a weapon unlike anything known to man: the atomic bomb. Although the European Theater was approaching peace, the Pacific theater had yet to subside. The US under President Truman targeted the city of Hiroshima with the most horrific bomb there ever was. The city was in ruins, and the Americans threatened that there would be more. Nagasaki was next, with yet another terrible fate that would put an end to the war. (BBC) -
VJ Day
Emperor Hirohito Finally announced his surrender after both atomic bombs were unleashed. Victory over Japan represented so much more than the end of a brutal war. The President declared it a win over fascism (history.com). They officially signed the surrender on the USS Missouri, and it was over. -
Liberation of concentration camps
Soon after the end of the war, Allied troops began to discover the atrocities that were the concentration camps. The first one was discovered by passing Soviets, and the world soon began to realize just how brutal the Nazis had been. At Auschwitz alone, over 1.1 million people had been murdered. Although the war had officially ended, there, the Jews remained suffering. (History.com) -
Battle of the Bulge
In this battle, the Americans fought the Germans in a non-forgiving climate of course. What made the battle tactics so important was because of the terrain and ensuring that the Americans could navigate through the snowy hills secretively. When the Germans did see the americans they thought that they were like a large bulge (history.com), which is a reference to its name. This battle was carefully thought out and resulted in an important Allied win as it neutralized Germany. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The US Marines made an amphibious landing on Iwo Jima to fight one of the most important battles in the Pacific Theater. Overall there was an estimated 25,000 casualties as they struggled to take the island. Japan had prepared camouflaged bases on the mountains, making the battle last much longer than expected. Breaking this line of defense was extremely important though very costly. (History.com) -
Battle of Okinawa
Over 14,000 American are estimated to have lost their lives in this battle. This was the important as it was the largest amphibious landing in the Pacific theater of the war. When they first landed, the allies were without any opposition, but they were proved wrong as it was the most devastating battle for the Japanese with over 50,000 casualties on their end. (BBC)
