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Japanese Invansion Of China
Japan's invasion of China was due essentially to Japan's desire to be an imperial power. There was both an economic and a militaristic element to this desire. https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/why-did-japan-invade-china-1937-an-what-was-marco-315915 -
Rape Of Nanking
During the Sino-Japanese War, Nanking, the capital of China, falls to Japanese forces, and the Chinese government flees to Hankow, further inland along the Yangtze River.
To break the spirit of Chinese resistance, Japanese General Matsui Iwane ordered that the city of Nanking be destroyed. Much of the city was burned, and Japanese troops launched a campaign of atrocities against civilians.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-rape-of-nanking -
Germany's Invasion Of Poland
Hundreds of thousands of Jewish and non-Jewish refugees fled the advancing German army into eastern Poland, hoping that the Polish army would halt the German advance in the west.Because they had fled so suddenly, few refugees made contingency plans or took the time to prepare adequately for a long journey. https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005070 -
German Blitzkreig
Blitzkrieg means “lightning war”. A military tactic designed to create disorganization among enemy forces through the use of mobile forces and locally concentrated firepower.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/blitzkrieg -
Fall Of Pairs
Parisians awaken to the sound of a German-accented voice announcing via loudspeakers that a curfew was being imposed for 8 p.m. that evening-as German troops enter and occupy Paris.
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill had tried for days to convince the French government to hang on, not to sue for peace, that America would enter the war and come to its aid.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germans-enter-paris -
Operation Barbarossa
Code name for the German invasion of the Soviet Union,The failure of German troops to defeat Soviet forces in the campaign signaled a crucial turning point in the war. -
Pearl Horbor
On December 7, 1941 the Japanese launched a surprise attack on the US Naval Base Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, using bombers, torpedo bombers and midget submarines. On December 8, President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered a speech, to the American citizens, informing them that this happened while the US was in the midst of talks to keep peace. http://www.historynet.com/pearl-harbor -
Bataan Death March
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bataan-death-march U.S. surrender of the Bataan Peninsula on the main Philippine island of Luzon to the Japanese during World War II the approximately 75,000 Filipino and American troops on Bataan were forced to make an arduous 65-mile march to prison camps. The marchers made the trek in intense heat and were subjected to harsh treatment by Japanese guards. Thousands perished in what became known as the Bataan Death March. -
Wannsee Conference
Nazi officials meet to discuss the details of the “Final Solution” of the “Jewish question.” Reinhard Heydrich, Himmler's second in command of the SS, convened the Wannsee Conference in Berlin with 15 top Nazi bureaucrats to coordinate the Final Solut . http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-wannsee-conference -
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/warsaw-ghetto-uprising residents of the Jewish ghetto in Nazi-occupied Warsaw, Poland, staged an armed revolt against deportations to extermination camps. The Warsaw ghetto uprising inspired other revolts in extermination camps and ghettos throughout German-occupied Eastern Europe. -
Operation Gomorrah
British bombers raid Hamburg, Germany, by night in Operation Gomorrah, while Americans bomb it by day in its own “Blitz Week.
Britain had suffered the deaths of 167 civilians as a result of German bombing raids in July. Now the tables were going to turn. The evening of July 24 saw British aircraft drop 2,300 tons of incendiary bombs on Hamburg in just a few hours. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/operation-gomorrah-is-launched -
Allied Invasion Of Italy
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/allies-invade-italian-mainland The British 8th Army under Field Marshal Bernard L. Montgomery begins the Allied invasion of the Italian peninsula, crossing the Strait of Messina from Sicily and landing at Calabria–the “toe” of Italy. On the day of the landing, the Italian government secretly agreed to the Allies’ terms for surrender, but no public announcement was made until September 8. -
D-Day ( Normandy Invasion )
156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified coast of France’s Normandy region. The invasion was one of the largest amphibious military assaults in history and required extensive planning.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day -
Battle Of The Bulge
Adolph Hitler attempted to split the Allied armies in northwest Europe by means of a surprise blitzkrieg thrust through the Ardennes to Antwerp. Caught off-guard, American units fought desperate battles to stem the German advance at St.-Vith, Elsenborn Ridge, Houffalize and Bastogne. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-the-bulge -
Battle Of Iwo Jima
Roughly defended 23,000 Japanese army and navy troops, who fought from an elaborate network of caves, dugouts, tunnels and underground installations. Despite the difficulty of the conditions, the marines wiped out the defending forces after a month of fighting, and the battle earned a place in American lore with the publication of a photograph showing the U.S. flag being raised in victory. -
Operation Thunderclap
Discussion within the Allied Command for some time, the proposal was to bomb the eastern-most cities of Germany to disrupt the transport infrastructure behind what was becoming the Eastern front. http://ww2today.com/13-february-1945-operation-thunderclap-raf-start-firestorm-in-dresden -
Battle Of Okinawa
The island of Okinawa is located approximately 350 miles south of mainland Japan. It is the largest island in the Ryukyu Island chain, the southernmost prefecture of the then-Japanese Empire. In a time when an invasion of mainland Japan was necessary to end the war, Okinawa was an essential preparation ground and jumping-off point for the impending invasion. https://www.mca-marines.org/gazette/2012/11/okinawa-final-great-battle-world-war-ii -
VE Day
Both Great Britain and the United States celebrate Victory in Europe Day. Cities in both nations, as well as formerly occupied cities in Western Europe, put out flags and banners, rejoicing in the defeat of the Nazi war machine.The eighth of May spelled the day when German troops throughout Europe finally laid down their arms: In Prague, Germans surrendered to their Soviet antagonists http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/victory-in-europe -
Dropping Of The Atomic bombs
The United States becomes the first and only nation to use atomic weaponry during wartime when it drops an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Though the dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan marked the end of World War II, many historians argue that it also ignited the Cold War. -
VJ Day
, it was announced that Japan had surrendered unconditionally to the Allies, effectively ending World War II. Since then, both August 14 and August 15 have been known as “Victoryover Japan Day,” or simply “V-J Day.” http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/v-j-day
