WWII Timeline

Japanese invasion of China (1937)

Jul 7, 1937

The Second Sino-Japanese War began in July of 1937 with the Marco Polo bridge incident. Which was a dispute between Japanese and Chinese soldiers that eventually escalated into a battle.

Rape of Nanking (1937)

Dec 13, 1937

The Rape of Nanking was a mass killing and revenging in China on civilians and Chinese soldiers by Japanese soldiers. It happened because japanese soldiers entered China during the second Sino-Japanese war. The reason this event is so significant is because Japanese soldiers entered China where they killed and raped many Chinese soldiers and civilians. This event left 30,000 Chinese civilians dead.
[Link Text]https://www.history.com/.amp/this-day-in-history/the-rape-of-nanking

German Blitzkrieg (1939-1940)

1939

Blitzkrieg is a military tactic where as a spearhead of a densely concentrated army of armored motorized or mechanized infantry formed with nearby air support breaks through enemy defenses.

Ribbentrop/Molotov Pact (1939)

Aug 23, 1939

The treaty of non-aggression between Germany and The Soviet Union. An agreement or pact between the two and it means that they will be non-aggressive. They aren’t allied nor are they enemies. They both agreed to keep the pact of non-aggression until Germany broke it later in the war.

Germany’s invasion of Poland (1939)

Sep 1, 1939

The German invasion of Poland was what marked the beginning of World War II. After Germany invaded Poland and they signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact The Soviet Union invaded Poland. After Germany invaded Poland both France and Great Britain both declared war on Germany. Which is where it began.

Operation Gomorrah (1943)

Sep 19, 1939

Operation Gomorrah, was the Allied bombing of Hamburg during WWII which led to civilian casualties. The bombing destroyed the Hamburg shipyards, which held u-boat pens and the Hamburg oil refineries.

Fall of Paris (1940)

May 10, 1940

The fall of Paris occurred when Germany invaded France. France declared war on germany after they invaded Poland and little did they know Germany would be invading them. The Germans invaded and took control of Paris which is when France surrendered. The impact this had was that France, a strong ally of the US and Britain had surrendered.
[Link text]http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/fall_france_01.shtml

Operation Barbarossa (1941)

Jun 22, 1941

Code name for an axis invasion of the Soviet Union in order to control and populate western Soviet Union with Germans.

Pearl Harbor (1941)

Dec 7, 1941

Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese, who flew planes over the base that held the majority of the US’s naval fleet. The reason why this is so significant is because this is the event that pushed the US out of isolationism and into the war.
[Link text]http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/wwii/jb_wwii_pearlhar_1.html

Wannsee Conference (1942)

Jan 20, 1942

A conference between Nazi germany’s senior government officials in which they discussed the “final solution of the Jewish question”

Bataan Death March (1942)

Apr 9, 1942

Was a forcible transfer of 60,000-80,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war.

D-Day (Normandy Invasion - 1944)

Jun 6, 1944

D-Day was the mission where allied forces invaded the beaches of Normandy, this forced Germany to fight a two-front war which led to not only the end of Germany in WWII but the end of hitler.
[Link text]http://www.iwm.org.uk/history/the-10-things-you-need-to-know-about-d-day

Battle of the Bulge (1945)

Dec 16, 1944

Also known as the Ardennes counteroffensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the western front During WWI.

Operation Thunderclap

Feb 13, 1945

Plan to bomb Berlin, even if it were to inflict many casualties. The plan was never put into action.

Battle of Iwo Jima (1945)

Feb 18, 1945

The United States Navy and Marine Corp landed and eventually captured Iwo Jima. A major battle in history.

Battle of Okinawa (1945)

Apr 1, 1945

Also known as Operation Iceberg, was fought on the island of Okinawa by The US Army and Marine Corp against the Imperial Japanese army.

VE Day (1945)

May 8, 1945

Or Victory in Europe Day, is the celebration of the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany and is known as Victory in Europe Day.

Potsdam Declaration (1945)

Jul 26, 1945

The proclamation defining terms for the Japanese surrender. Statement that called for the surrender of all Japanese armed forces during WWII.

Dropping of the atomic bombs (1945) [Link text] https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/bombings-hiroshima-and-nagasaki-1945

Aug 6, 1945

The atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the effect from the bombing of Pearl Harbor. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor the US joined the war and decided to drop atomic bombs on Japan. The first bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and after Japan refused to surrender they dropped the second one on Nagasaki. The effects of the bombs are still relevant today with deformations and other mutations in children around the two areas.

VJ Day (1945)

Aug 15, 1945

Or Victory over Japan day, not victory in japan day, it marks the surrender of japan and eventually leads to the end of WWII.