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Period: to
World War 2
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Japanese Invasion of China
sourceThe invasion of China started with the Japanese claiming that they were shot at by the Chinese military on a bridge near Beijing, called the Marco Polo Bridge incident. The Japanese then led a full-scale invasion from a one of their headquarters in Manchuria. The Japanese wanted all the natural resources found in China. The result of the first invasion was the death of around 250,000 Chinese. -
German Blitzkrieg
(http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/blitzkrieg) Blitzkrieg, or "lightning war", was a German military tactic used to quickly secure and invade other countries. The blitzkrieg relied on planes dropping bombs from the sky, and tanks and foot mobiles shortly behind them picking off any stranglers. Hitler led the assaults that raged on from 1939 to 1940 in Poland, Belgium, the netherlands, and France. The effects of the blitzkrieg caused most of Europe to fall under Hitler. -
Germany Invasion of Poland
sThis event happened when 1.5 million Germans, led by Adolf Hitler, invaded Poland. The Polish army was able to mobilize 1 million men to fight, but were completely annihilated by the German army. Hitler claimed that this invasion was a defensive action, but his real intention was to use Poland as a basis to keep most of their prisoners. The result of the invasion was the complete capture of Poland by German and Soviet troops. -
Fall of Paris
(http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germans-enter-paris) At 8 a.m on June 14, the voice of a German speaking man in the loudspeakers woke most of Paris. This is when Hitler sent his troops to enter and occupy Paris. By this time more than 2 million people living in Paris had fled the city. Hitler took Paris with ease. He wanted France to fall for what they gave Germany after World War 1 in the Treaty of Versailles. -
Operation Barbarossa
(http://www.history.co.uk/study-topics/history-of-ww2/barbarossa) Hitler mobilized a German force of 3 million soldiers to the eastern side of the Soviet Union. Hitler's invasion was a violation of the non-aggression treaty with Stalin. The attack was made to provide Germany with more space on the eastern fronts. The soviets were unprepared, but still had 4.5 million soldiers that met the massive German force. The attack was successful, but did not create the impact that Hitler had wanted. -
Pearl Harbor
(http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor) At 8:00 a.m, the empire of Japan sent hundreds of Japanese fighter planes to bomb the naval base at Pearl Harbor. The sudden attack was meant to neutralize the United States while they invade Malaya and the Dutch East Indies to obtain natural resources such as oil and rubber. The Japanese were successful in destroying nearly 20 naval vessels and 188 US aircrafts. More than 2,400 Americans were killed, with another 1,200 more injured. -
Wannsee Conference
(http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/holocaust/h-wannsee.htm) Germany assembled 15 top Nazi bureaucrats in Berlin to discuss the Jewish issue. They agreed to try and exterminate the entire Jewish population, that estimated around 11 million people. The German people needed someone to blame for the depression they faced after World War 1. The Germans would send many Jews into hiding, and if captured they would be killed or sent to concentration camps to be experimented on, or worse. -
Bataan Death March
(http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/bataandeathmarch.htm) After the Japanese had invaded the Philippines similar to way they did in Pearl Harbor, the allies stationed there were forced to surrender. This led to the Japanese immediately making 76,000 prisoners march northward to Camp O'Donnell. This 60-mile march became a journey through hell itself. Between 5,000 and 11,000 prisoners didn't make the 60-mile march, and those who did met a brand new set of horrors. -
Battle of Midway
(http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/midway.htm) Japan realized that they were not immune to air attacks on their homeland. To protect their homeland, Japan had to extend their defensive perimeter and Midway was the perfect target. Japan sent almost their entire Imperial Fleet to take over Midway and be closer to the US. The Americans had cracked the Japanese code and set up for the attack. Both sides served restating loses, but in the the end the US was victorious. -
Battle of Stalingrad
(http://www.2worldwar2.com/stalingrad.htm) Considered to many Russians as the greatest battle of WW2. This was the invasion of the Soviet Union by a "relentless" German army. This became one of the bloodiest battles in human history, with nearly 2 millions lives lost. This battle became the turning point in the war in favor of the allies. Hitler was hoped to take parts of Russia for "more room" on the eastern side of Europe. Stalin's victory brought confidence to the Soviet Union. -
Operation Gomorrah
(http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/operation-gomorrah-is-launched) Britain had finally turned to the offensive, and sent 791 aircrafts to drop 2,300 tons of bombs on Hamburg. The bombing on Hamburg was retribution for the many bombings that happened in Great Britain. More than 1,500 German civilians were killed on the first set of British planes that lasted all the way to November of that year. Only twelve planes were lost during the first raid. -
Allied Invasion of Italy
(http://www.shmoop.com/wwii/invasion-italy.html) Allied troops began the invasion of Italy by landing at Calabria. Once the allies landed, the Italian government secretly agreed to surrender to the allies. The people of Italy agreed to help the Allies take Italy back from the Germans. After being sent to prison, Mussolini was then rescued by Nazis and put in charge of northern Italy. The battle for Italy lasted all the way to 1945, but the Italian government was now helping the Allies. -
D-Day (the invasion of Normandy)
(http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day) The Invasion of Normandy was an attack against Germany to regain control of 5 beaches along a 50-mile stretch of German defenses. With tons of planning and preparations, the allies sent 156,000 to storm the beaches and regain France. The allied soldiers lost an estimate of 10,000 soldiers with 6,600 of them being Americans, D-day was a success. By July, almost a million soldiers and 180,000 vehicles had landed on the northern beaches of France. -
Battle of the Bulge
(http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-the-bulge) The Battle of the Bulge was Hitlers big response to D-day. He sent 250,000 troops toward the allies again using his blitzkrieg tactic. Being very unexpected, an unprepared allied force fought desperate battles to stop the German force. Hitlers main plan was to split the allied armies. Even with the Germans losing the battle, this would be the United States' costliest battle ever fought with 100,000 casualties. -
Operation Thunderclap
(http://ww2today.com/13-february-1945-operation-thunderclap-raf-start-firestorm-in-dresden) Operation Thunderclap was the name of the mission to bomb the German city of Dresden. Attacked by the Royal Air Force, the bombings last for 3 days. Dresden was completely demolished by bombs and strong winds that made the flames grow. To this day people still ask why this unnecessary attack took place. As high as 250,000 civilians died from these bombings. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
(http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-iwo-jima) This was Americas first attack on one of the Japanese home islands. The Japanese, which consisted of roughly 23,000 soldiers, used a network of caves, dugouts, tunnels, and underground installments against the Americans. The Americans invaded the island to get closer to Japan and end the war. All the Japanese were wiped out except for 1,083 prisoners, the Americans suffered a loss of 5,900 and 17,400 wounded. -
Battle of Okinawa
)http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-okinawa) This Battle of Okinawa became the bloodiest battle to happen in the Pacific Ocean. The US sent a little more than 287,000 troops to the big island of Okinawa. The Japanese used their same kamikaze tactic to slow down the Americans. This was the last island that the US had the capture before hitting Japan directly. Japan had lost more than 77,000 soldiers, while a victorious American army had suffered more than 65,000 casualties. -
VE Day
(http://www.infoplease.com/spot/veday1.html) VE Day, or Victory in Europe Day, became the day that the allies marched into the city of Berlin and officially end the war in Europe. The German General Jodl signed the surrender document to end the war in Europe. In Great Britain and the United States back at home were all celebrating the victory in Europe. Still, the war was not officially over. With Japan still fighting with their last breath on the eastern side of the Pacific Ocean. -
Dropping of the Atomic Bombs
(http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki) In 1940, the United States was working on the development of a new atomic weapon. President Harry S. Truman said that if they invaded Japan it would cost devastating American casualties. That's when he decided to drop the first ever atomic bomb on a civilian population in Hiroshima. When Japan refused to surrender, the US dropped another atomic bomb on Nagasaki. Japan suffered a total of around 120,000 civilians. -
VJ Day
(http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/v-j-day) With the drop of the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Hideki Tojo became the first Japanese Prime to ever surrender. VJ Day, or Victory over Japan Day, was the official surrender of Japan. The surrender took place on the U.S.S Missouri in Tokyo Bay September 2, 1945. This document of surrender ended 6 years of war. World War 2 was finally over. Celebrations swept across the globe in the allied countries.
