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Rape of Nanking
Info LinkOver a period of six months, Japanese army forces murdered hundreds of thousands of civilians and sexually assaulted between 20,000 and 80,000 women. The invasion of Nanking was an effect of the battle in Shanghai that began during the summer of 1937. Chinese forces there put up a strong resistance against the Japanese Army which angered the Japanese, causing them to seek revenge. Due to the savage attacks in the city of Nanking, it was left in ruins and took decades to recover from the attacks. -
Germany's Invasion of Poland
[http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/mobile/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005070] When Germany invaded Poland, it was only a matter of weeks before Germany was successful. German planes broke through the Polish defense and advanced on Warsaw. By September 27th, 1939, Poland was left with no choice but to surrender to Germany. -
German Blitzkrieg
[http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/blitzkrieg] Meaning "lighting war," blitzkrieg was an invasion designed to create disorganization among the enemies, making it easier for Germans to attack. The Germans forced this on Poland and came out successful. This gave them the confidence to later also defeat the Netherlands, France, and Belgium. -
Operation Barbarossa
[http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/operation-barbarossa] Operation Barbarossa was a German invasion on the Soviet Union put into play by Hitler. It was the turning point of the war. Hitler sent over 3 million soldiers and 3 thousand tanks to the Soviet Union frontier. Due to weather and other factors, Germany was unsuccessful in invading the Soviet Union. -
Pearl Harbor
[http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor] Early in the morning on December 7, 1941, Japanese fighter planes attacked Pearl Harbor in Oahu, Hawaii. After causing many deaths and injuries, the U.S. declared war on Japan. Only 3 days later, Japanese allies declared war on the U.S. After 2 years of not being involved, the U.S. had officially joined the war. -
Bataan Death March
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/bataandeathmarch.htm
After the U.S. surrender of the Bataan Peninsula on April 9, 1942, approximately 75,000 U.S. troops were forced to make a 65 mile trek to the prison camps. The day after the Pearl Harbor bombings, the Japanese invasion of the Philippines began. After many months of fighting, the U.S. surrendered due to lack of naval and air support. Thousands of men died on the trek. -
Battle of Midway
[http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-midway] Because Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, 6 months later the U.S. won a decisive naval battle against Japan. The U.S. was able to detect the battle before it happened, so they were prepared and were able to beat Japan. Thanks to this victory, the U.S. was able to move into an offensive position in the war. -
Battle of Stalingrad
Info LinkThe Battle of Stalingrad was the successful Soviet defense of the city in the U.S.S.R. during World War II. Russians consider it to be the greatest battle of their Great Patriotic War and it stopped the German advance into the S. Union, marking the turning of the war in favor of the Allies. The Russians had built up their defenses and continued to bring in reinforcements while Hitler would not allow the German surrender. Stalingained confidence and remained offensive for the rest of the war. -
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005188
The Germans deported/ murdered 300,000 Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto. The Jews in the camp teamed up with the ZOB to fight back against them. This uprising inspired many other uprisings throughout Europe. -
Tehran Conference
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/tehran-conf
This was a meeting between FDR, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Staln in order to coordinate their war strategy for Germany & Japan. This resulted in FDR securing his objectives and Stalin agreeing to join the war against Japan. -
D-Day (Normandy Invasion)
http://www.army.mil/d-day/
D-Day occured when aobut 156,000 American, British, and Canadian forces landed on the coast of France's Normany region. The U.S. wanted to deceive Germany with this, and by August of 1944, France was liberated and the Allies had defeated the Germans. -
Liberation of Concentration Camps
Info LinkThe conditions were inhumane and the US, Britain, and the Soviets helped destroy and invade these camps. They liberated Auschwitz in January 1945. The Nazis had forced the majority of the prisoners to march westward, and Soviet soldiers only found several thousand prisoners alive when they entered the camp, More than 10,000 of them died from the effects of malnutrition or disease within a few weeks of liberation. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-iwo-jima
During this battle, American troops made their first strike of the Japanses home islands at Iwo Jima. They did this because they needed a base near the Japanese coast. The American troops won after a month of fighting, and got their base. -
VE Day
Info LinkCities in both nations put out flags and banners, rejoicing in the defeat of the Nazi war machine. Germans surrendered to their Soviet antagonists in Prague, after the Soviets had lost more than 8,000 soldiers, and the Germans considerably more. The German surrender was realized in a final cease-fire. More surrender documents were signed making it official. Great Britain and the United States now celebrate Victory in Europe Day. -
Potsdam Conference
Info LinkThe Big Three - Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and U.S. President Harry Truman- met in Potsdam, Germany. This meeting took place to negotiate terms for how to handle Germany and the end of World War II. The men determined there would be “a complete disarmament and demilitarization of Germany." Germany would also be deemed "war criminals." -
Dropping of the Atomic Bomb
Info LinkThe 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. As a revenge attempt for the attach on Pearl Harbor, an American bomber dropped a five-ton bomb over the Japanese city with a blast reduced four square miles of the city to ruins and immediately killed 80,000 people. Another bomb was dropped in Nagasaki, killing 40,000 and causing Japan to surrender. -
VJ Day
Info LinkPresident Truman announced that the Japanese Government had agreed to the Potsdam Declaration which demanded the unconditional surrender of Japan. The Allies had delivered Japan a chance to surrender on July 28th, but when they ignored, the US dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. VJ Day is now celebrated as the end of World War II. -
Battle of the Bulge
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-the-bulge
In this battle, Hitler tried to split the Allied armies in Europe by a surprise blitzkrieg. He did not want Europe to be liberated. This attack backfired, and led to the neutralization of the German counteroffensive.
