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Rape of Nanking
The Rape of Nanking was a brutal massacre of Chinese citizens in the city of Nanjing. This was done by the Japanese Imperial Army so that they would break the Chinese rebellious spirit. They successfully did so through the destruction of the entire city and nearly everyone being brutally murdered. As intended, this entirely broke the Chinese rebellious spirit. -
German Invasion of Poland
After the agreement between Germany and Great Britain to not take more land after the portion of Czechoslovakia, they wouldn't take more land. However, after this, they invaded the rest of the country, but they didn't stop there because after, they invaded Poland. This inevitably caused France and Great Britain to declare war on Germany, and thus, WWII began. -
Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg was the military tactic of choice used by the Third Reich during World War II. This tactic consisted of swiftly taking over a territory through the use of air raids on an area with the Luftwaffe, then sending in the Panzers to clean up the remainder of what was left standing. -
Fall of Paris
The fall of Paris to the Nazis was a key point in World War II as it represented the entire takeover of France. This pushed back one of the major fronts for Germany so that nearly the entire French Army had to retreat to Great Britain. Although, this did end up leading to the battle of Normandy where the United States, Great Britain, Canada, and the remaining French forces invaded German-occupied France and eventually pushed into Germany, finally leading to the end of World War II. -
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain was the failed operation of Hitler's making that was intended to take over Great Britain. Germany primarily bombed London and other tactical points for Britain, however, Germany was never able to launch an invasion due to the Royal Air Force being able to hold off the Luftwaffe. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
On December 7, 1941, Japan launched a surprise attack on the naval base of Pearl Harbor which massacred hundreds of sailors. This also destroyed the US naval fleet in the Pacific and set the tone for Midway. This also completely dragged the United States into World War II. -
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway was one of the largest naval battles in history. The battle was between the United States and Japan fighting over the island of Midway which was a US airfield. Japan was projected to brutally defeat the US, however, the US ended up winning mostly
through aerial bombardment on their aircraft carriers. -
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was the largest turning point in World War II besides the United States joining, however, it was Hitler attempting to take over the city of Stalingrad. The Russians however were able to push the Germans back which was a huge turning tide since this was one of the first times that the Germans brutally lost. -
Battle of Normandy
The Battle of Normandy was one of the most brutal and notable battles of World War II. Designed to liberate France from the Nazis, the armies of Great Britain, the United States, and Canada launched an amphibious assault on Normandy Beach. This was a long-fought battle with the Allies coming out on top and eventually led to the liberation of France. -
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was the final German offensive in the war. This was a surprise attack planned by Hitler that put a massive 'bulge' in the German-occupied territory, however, it was quickly retaken by allied forces, and the fall of Nazi Germany came quickly after this battle. -
Liberation of Auschwitz
The liberation of Auschwitz is what truly provided insight into the atrocities that the Nazis committed against the Jews. This caused Germany to be charged with several war crimes such as gas warfare, the intentional murder of civilians, etc. They were liberated by the Red Army who wasn't prepared for what they were going to face, but they were only able to do it since they were the military force pushing through the Eastern portion of the German territories/ -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima was an American advance on Japanese territory. The island of Iwo Jima had a mountain fixed in the middle, but when the Americans landed on the island there was no struggle since there appeared to be virtually no Japanese forces, however, when they reached the base of the mountain, Japanese forces flooded out of a base that had been built inside of the mountain, however brutally lost. -
Victory in Europe
The long-fought victory in Europe was finally achieved on May 8, 1945, when the allied forces stormed into Berlin finally freeing Europe from the tyrannical rule of the Nazis. After this, Europe was in shamble economically, physically, and mentally. Therefore, there were many efforts put forward to help to rebuild Europe such as the Marshall plan. -
Dropping of Atomic Bombs
The dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan was caused by United States military analysts determining that there would be more casualties than it was worth, so they determined to use the newly tested atomic bombs to destroy a massive amount of military and trade city centers. This caused Japan to finally surrender to the United States and finally ended World War II. -
Victory in Japan
Victory in Japan was achieved on September 9, 1945, after the first two atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagaski. This put Japan in such a spot that they had no choice but to surrender since they had already suffered too many casualties. This finally concluded World War II in one of the most dramatic ways possible and one could say it really went out with a bang.