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Conflict broke out when China began to resist the expansion of Japanese influence in its territory. The majority of the population were Chinese, but Japan controlled them. The Japanese felt that since Chiang and the Nationalist government would not yield to their wishes they had to be eliminated. https://www.britannica.com/event/Second-Sino-Japanese-War -
The Japanese murdered thousands of soldiers, killed infants, and raped and tortured young women, old women, and girls. This took place in the Chinese city of Nanking. The Chinese abandoned their city when 200,000-300,000 were killed. Matsui and Tani Hisao were tried and convicted for war crimes and were executed. www.history.com -
The German Blitzkrieg was a strategy used by Germany to avoid a long war. The Germans wanted to defeat its opponents in a series of short campaigns. This strategy failed because of logistics and the number of Soviet troops. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/blitzkrieg-lightning-war#:~:text=%22Blitzkrieg%2C%22%20a%20German%20word,a%20series%20of%20short%20campaigns. -
3,000,000 Germans launched a major attack on the Soviet Union when they crossed the border. But, 100,000 German soldiers froze and starved to death before the battle was over. 90,000 ended up in Soviet prison camps with only a few surviving.
Operation Barbarossa was a turning point in the war because the Germans had massive casualties. www.annefrank.org -
A surprise attack was launched on the U.S. at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. This took place because the Japanese needed oil to modernize its economy.
The U.S. declared war on Japan and then Germany and Italy declared war on the U.S. https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor -
Nazi Germany held a conference to coordinate the mass murder of Jews. The meeting was to discuss and implement the “Final Solution of the Jewish Question”. Over 11 million Jews were eradicated. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/wannsee-conference-and-the-final-solution -
American and Filipino troops fought the Japanese when they invaded the Philippines. They surrendered to the Japanese and were forced into the Bataan Death March. The death march is important because it shows how the Japanese committed horrific war crimes. https://www.army.mil/asianpacificamericans/bataandeathmarch.html -
The Warsaw ghetto uprising was the first urban uprising in Europe. 700 Jews resisted German forces from taking them to killing centers. The Jews lived underground and 7000 died while hiding. 42,000 were captured and sent to labor and concentration camps. The Jewish resistance in Warsaw inspired uprisings in other ghettos. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/warsaw-ghetto-uprising -
An allied invasion of France took place on the beaches of Normandy. The purpose was to defeat Germany and free France by using land, air, and sea tactics. The war did not end, but D-Day pathed way to victory. https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day -
Battle of the Bulge was the greatest American battle of WWII and was won by the U.S. Germany attempted to advance into Belgium but the U.S. stopped them. Germany failed to divide France, Brittain, and the U.S. in this battle. https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-the-Bulge -
The Battle of Iwo Jima was the last battle fought to invade Okinawa. The land served as an emergency landing site for 2,200 B-29 bombers. Taking the Japanese island saved the lives of 24,000 U.S. airmen. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/sites/default/files/2020-02/iwo-jima-fact-sheet.pdf -
When Germany surrendered to allied forces during WWII in Europe, this became known as VE Day. Because Berlin was surrounded by enemy countries, Hitler committed suicide. Hitler did not want to fall into the hands of Soviet troops. VE Day was declared a national holiday and celebrated in Britain. https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/48201749 -
The Soviets, Americans, and British liberated concentration camps all over Europe. Mass murders and the horrors of being in concentration camps were now over. Inmates resembled skeletons and were very weak. Disease spread and many camps had to be burned down. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/liberation-of-nazi-camps -
The United States detonated an Atomic bomb over the city of Hiroshima. They wanted a quick surrender from Japan to end the war. This bomb killed over 246,000 civilians and left the effects of radiation on survivors. https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/the-atomic-bombs-that-ended-the-second-world-war -
VJ Day is when Japan finally surrendered during WWII. When the U.S. dropped a second atomic bomb over Nagasaki, it killed 70,000 people. Japan realized they could not win and surrendered. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/v-j-day#:~:text=Then%2C%20on%20August%209%2C%20the,qualifications%20on%20August%2014%2C%201945.
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