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Japanese Invasion of China
Conflict between Japanese and Chinese troops on the frontier led to the Second Sino-Japanese War. Under the terms of the Sian Agreement, the Chinese Nationalists (KMT) and the CCP now agreed to fight together against Japan. The Communists had been encouraged to negotiate with the KMT by Stalin, who saw Japan as an increasing threat and began supplying arms to China. China also received aid from western democracies. http://www.history.co.uk/study-topics/history-of-ww2/sino-japanese-war -
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The Rape of Nanking
During the Sino-Japanese War, Nanking fell to Japanese forces. Japanese General Matsui Iwane ordered the city be destroyed. Much of the city was burned, and Japanese troops launched a campaign against civilians. The Japanese butchered an estimated 150,000 war prisoners, an additional 50,000 civilians, and raped at least 20,000 women and girls, many of whom were injured or killed in the process. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-rape-of-nanking -
The Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact
Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Pact. With it, the two countries agreed to take no military action against each other for 10 years. Stalin saw the pact as a way to keep his nation on peaceful terms with Germany while giving time to build up the military. Hitler used the pact to ensure Germany could invade Poland. The pact contained a secret agreement how the countries would later divide up Eastern Europe. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/german-soviet-nonaggression-pact -
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German Blitzkrieg
In the first phase of World War II in Europe, Germany sought to avoid a long war. Germany's strategy was to defeat its enemies in a series of short battles. Germany quickly overran much of Europe and was victorious for over two years by relying on a new military tactic, "Blitzkrieg" (lightning war). German forces would drive a breach in enemy defenses causing shock and disorganization among the enemy defenses, resulting in surrender. https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005437 -
Germany's Invasion of Poland
Soviet troops invaded Poland from the east. Poland fell quickly, and by early 1940, Germany and the Soviet Union had divided control over the nation. Stalin’s forces then moved to occupy the Baltic States and defeated a resistant Finland in the Russo-Finish War. During the six months after the invasion of Poland, the lack of action in the west led to talk in the news media of a fake war. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germany-invades-poland -
The Fall of Paris
By the time German tanks rolled into Paris, 2 million Parisians had already fled, with good reason; the German Gestapo went to work: arrests, interrogations, and spying were the order of the day, as a gigantic swastika flew beneath the Arc de Triomphe. While Parisians who waited in their capital, French men and women in the west cheered as Canadian troops rolled through their region, shedding hope for a free France. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germans-enter-paris -
Operation Barbarossa
Hitler launched his armies east in a mlarge invasion of the Soviet Union. Three army groups with over three million soldiers, 150 divisions, and three thousand tanks smashed across the frontier into Soviet territory. The invasion covered a front from the North Cape to the Black Sea. The operation's failure forced Germany to fight a two-front war against a coalition possessing superior resources. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/operation-barbarossa -
Pearl Harbor
Hundreds of Japanese planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor. The Japanese destroyed eight battleships and over 300 airplanes. 2,000 Americans soldiers and sailors died in the attack, and 1,000 more were wounded. The day after the attack, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan; Congress agreed. Two years later, America joined World War II. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor -
Wannsee Conference
The meeting of Nazi officials in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee to plan the “final solution” to the so-called “Jewish question”. On July 31, 1941, Nazi leader Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring had issued orders to Reinhard Heydrich, SS leader and Gestapo chief, to prepare an extensive plan for this “final solution.” The Wannsee Conference, held six months later, was attended by 15 Nazi senior bureaucrats. http://www.britannica.com/event/Wannsee-Conference -
The Bataan Death March
The U.S. surrender of the Bataan Peninsula on the main Philippine island of Luzon to the Japanese during World War II, approximately 75,000 Filipino and American troops on Bataan were forced to make a grueling 65-mile march to prison camps. The marchers made the trek in intense heat and were subjected to harsh treatment by Japanese guards. Thousands died in what became known as the Bataan Death March. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bataan-death-march -
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The Battle of Midway
Six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States defeated Japan in one of the most decisive naval battles of World War II. Due to major advances in code breaking, the United States was able to acquire and counter Japan’s planned ambush of its few remaining aircraft carriers, inflicting permanent damage on the Japanese Navy. The victory allowed the United States and its allies to move into an offensive position. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-midway -
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The Battle of Midway
Six months after Pearl Harbor, the U.S. defeated Japan in The Battle of Midway. Due to major advances in code breaking, the U.S. was able to acquire and counter Japan’s planned ambush of its few remaining aircraft carriers, damaging the Japanese Navy. During the battle, the U.S. destroyed four Japanese aircraft carriers while losing only one to the Japanese navy. The victory allowed the Allies to move into an offensive position. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-midway -
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The Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was the successful Soviet defense of the city of Stalingrad in the U.S.S.R. during World War II. It stopped the German advance into the Soviet Union and marked the turning of the tide of war in favor of the Allies. There were nearly 2 million combined military and civilian casualties. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-stalingrad -
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Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was the successful Soviet defense of the city of Stalingrad in the U.S.S.R. It stopped the German advance into the Soviet Union and marked the turning of the tide of war in favor of the Allies. The Battle of Stalingrad was one of the bloodiest battles in history, with combined military and civilian casualties of nearly 2 million. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-stalingrad -
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The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
The Warsaw ghetto uprising began after German troops and police entered the ghetto to deport its inhabitants. The Germans were able to crush the uprising and leave the ghetto area in ruins. Surviving ghetto residents were deported to concentration camps or extermination centers. https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005188 -
Operation Gomorrah
Britain had suffered the deaths of 167 civilians as a result of German bombing raids. British aircraft dropped 2,300 tons of incendiary bombs on Hamburg in revolt. The explosive power was the equivalent of what German bombers had dropped on London in their five most destructive raids. More than 1,500 German civilians were killed in that first British raid. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/operation-gomorrah-is-launched -
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The Allied Invasion of Italy
The Allieds looked to invade Europe and the finally defeat Nazi Germany. The Allies decided to move next to Italy, hoping an Allied invasion would remove the fascist regime from the war, secure the central Mediterranean, and divert German divisions from the northwest coast of France. The Allies’ Italian Campaign began with the invasion of Sicily. The Allies were successful in driving German and Italian troops from Sicily. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/invasion-of-sicily -
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Liberation of Concentration Camps
Soviet soldiers were the first to liberate concentration camp prisoners in the final stages of the war. The Germans had been forced to leave these prisoners behind in their quick retreat. British, Canadian, American, and French troops also freed prisoners from the camps. Although the Germans attempted to empty the camps of surviving prisoners and hide all evidence of their crimes, Allied soldiers came upon thousands of dead bodies. https://www.ushmm.org/outreach/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007724 -
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Battle of the Bulge
The battle was the largest fought on the Western Front in Europe during World War II. It is also the largest battle ever fought by the United States Army. It was a German offensive created to drive a wedge between American and British armies in France and recapture the port of Antwerp in The Netherlands to deny the Allies use of the port. It fell far short of its goals, but managed to create a bulge in American lines 50 miles wide and 70 miles deep. http://www.historynet.com/battle-of-the-bulge -
Operation Thunderclap
‘Operation Thunderclap’ was the proposal was to bomb the eastern-most cities of Germany to disrupt transport behind what was becoming the Eastern front. It also showed the German people the air defenses of Germany were now no help and that the Nazi regime had failed them. http://ww2today.com/13-february-1945-operation-thunderclap-raf-start-firestorm-in-dresden -
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Battle of Iwo Jima
The American assault on Iwo Jima was due to the desire for a place where damaged planes over Japan could land. Iwo Jima was defended by over 23,000 Japanese troops. Japanese defense plans changed–troops no longer defended the beach; instead, they focused inland. The Japanese fought from a detailed network of caves, dugouts, and tunnels that were difficult to find and destroy. American losses included 5,900 dead and 17,400 wounded. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-iwo-jima -
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The Battle of Okinawa
The Okinawa campaign, the last and biggest of the Pacific island battles of World War II, involved the 287,000 troops of the U.S. Army against 130,000 soldiers of the Japanese Army. At stake were air bases vital to the projected invasion of Japan. By the end of the campaign, Japan had lost more than 77,000 soldiers and the Allies had suffered more than 65,000 casualties—including 14,000 dead. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-okinawa -
Victory in Europe Day (V-E Day)
V-E Day celebrates the surrender of Nazi Germany to the Allied forces in 1945, ending World War II. With Adolf Hitler dead, German military leaders signed surrender documents in Europe, conceding to each of their victorious foes. Germany’s partner in fascism, Italy, had switched sides in 1943, though many Italians continued to fight alongside their German comrades in Italy. http://www.historynet.com/v-e-day-1945-the-celebration-heard-round-the-world.htm -
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The Potsdam Declaration
Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill, and Harry Truman met in Potsdam, Germany to negotiate terms for the end of World War II. After the Yalta Conference, Stalin, Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt had agreed to meet following the surrender of Germany to determine the postwar borders in Europe. Germany surrendered, and the Allied leaders agreed to meet over the summer at Potsdam to continue the discussions from Yalta. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/potsdam-conf -
The Atomic Bomb Droppings
An American B-29 bomber dropped the world’s first atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The explosion destroyed 90 percent of the city and instantly killed 80,000 people; many more would die of radiation exposure. Three days later, a second B-29 dropped another bomb on Nagasaki, killing about 40,000 people. Japan’s Emperor announced his country’s surrender in World War II in a radio address on August 15th. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki -
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The Nuremberg Trials of Nazis
The Nuremberg trials were a series of 13 trials carried out in Nuremberg, Germany. The defendants were held on such charges as crimes against peace and crimes against humanity. Although the legal arguments for the trials were controversial at the time, the trials are now viewed as a milestone toward the formation of a permanent international court. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/nuremberg-trials -
V-J Day (Victory Over Japan Day)
On August 14, 1945, it was announced that Japan had surrendered to the Allies, ending World War II. Coming several months after the surrender of Nazi Germany, Japan’s submission in the Pacific brought six years of hostilities to a final and highly anticipated close. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/v-j-day
