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The rape of Nanking occurred when the city of Nanking was ordered to be destroyed by General Matsui Iwane. The Japanese butchered an estimated 150,000 war prisoners, and an additional 50,000 men, and raped 20,000 women and girls. After the end of WWII General Matsui Iwane was executed because of these crimes. -
Blitzkrieg means “lightning war”, and it's used to describe a strategy of military warfare. The German Blitzkrieg happened because Germany wanted to avoid a long war in the beginning of WWII. If the German Blitzkrieg wasn’t started in the first place, Germany wouldn’t have been able to gain power and control over Europe so easily. This would have avoided WWII all together. The Blitzkrieg happened from 1939-1940. -
On June 14, 1940, a month after the Germans stormed into France, Paris fell to Nazi Germany. Germany invaded France, Belgium, and Luxembourg. This was the result of the German Blitzkrieg. This impacted German forces as they were able to take many resources from France and build up their army even more. -
Pearl Harbour is a U.S. military base located in Honolulu, Hawaii. The event occurred on December 7, 1941, when Japanese military forces sneak attacked the base. Japan did this to eliminate any threats to Japanese conquests in Asia. The attack led to the United States rebounding from the attack and becoming apart of WWII. -
The Wannsee Conference was a meeting between German officials and Nazis to discuss the “Final solution to the Jewish Question”. It happened because they believed the Jews were a problem and that they didn't fit into the German race. This event led to WWII because it weakened Germany's war effort because they were only focusing on creating concentration camps for the Jews. -
The Battle of Stalingrad was a deadly battle fought on the Eastern front of WWII where Nazi Germany and its allies lost to the Soviet Union. The countries fought for control over the Stalingrad City in Russia. The Battle of Stalingrad was a turning point in WWII as it turned in favor of the Allied forces. -
The Invasion of Italy was a military operation hoping to overthrow Italian leader Benito Mussolini. This was supposed to defeat Hitler and weaken his allies. The Invasion led to Italy's surrender, which caused Hitler to lose many resources in WWII. -
On July 24, 1943, British American Bombers raided the city of Hamburg. This attack was named Operation Gomorrah. Americans wanted to get revenge on Germany for the bombing raids that had happened earlier in July. These raids continued to the end of November and caused Germans and Hitler to feel defeated in WWII. -
D-Day is the invasion of the normandy beaches in northern France by the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom on June 6, 1944. It was the start of liberating Europe and defeating Germany. This event was significant in Canada's history because of the success of the battle and the fact that it helped bring an end to WWII. -
Adolf Hitler and German forces launched a surprise attack on allied forces in the area around the Ardennes forest in Belgium and Luxembourg. Hitler hoped the attack would surround the British and American armies and stall the allied offensive against Germany. The battle of the Bulge marked the last German offensive on the western front, which later led to Germany’s surrender in WWII. -
The liberation of concentration camps happened when Soviet troops freed the Jews from the miserable hate camps. The Soviets had no idea what the Germans were doing to the Jews so when they found out they freed them immediately. The liberation of the camps led to the Numereg trials where the Germans were charged and punished for what they did to the Jews. -
The Battle of Iwo Jima was fought between the U.S. Marines and the Imperial Army of Japan. The Battle happened because the US wanted to use the island as an airbase from which to attack Japan's home islands. This affected the war because the U.S. were able to bomb strategic areas of Japan. -
V-E day stands for Victory in Europe Day, it marks the day Germany surrendered to its allies in WWII. After the death of Adolf Hitler, Germany had no choice but to surrender in the war as they had no leader. With Germany's surrender, this marked the end of WWII. -
During WWII an American air bomber dropped the world's first atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. A few days later another atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki. The U.S. decided to drop the bomb to hopefully end the war and threaten the Soviet Union. The atomic bombs led to Japan's surrender and also led to the end of WWII because of the destruction and deaths feared from another bomb. -
VJ Day Is the day Japan surrendered in WWII. Japan finally surrendered because of the destruction caused from the atomic bombs dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This Event affected WWII because this day marked the end of the war.