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Period: to
WORLD WAR II TIMELINE
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Japanese Invasion of China
Japan took over China by invading Nanjing, which was the capital at the time. They murdered, tortured and raped hundreds of thousands of people. This happened because Japan wanted expansion and imperialism and thus turned to Nanjing of Nationalist China. The impact was that about 300,000 people were killed. This event led to great tension between the two countries even to this day. -
Rape of Nanking
The Nanjing Massacre or the Rape of Naking was where Imperial Japanese Army forces inhumanely killed thousands of soldiers and civilians nd raped thousands of women in the city of Nanjing, China. This happened because Japan wanted to expand and imperialize. The impacts was that at least 20,000 women were raped. Nanjing was ruined and it took decades for it to recover. -
German Blitzkrieg (lightning war) 1939-1940
This was a military tactic that was designed to confuse the enemies by mobile forces and firepower that was concentrated locally. It was first used in Poland in 1939 then in Belgium, Netherlands and France in 1940. The Germans did this to make short military campains that saved human lives and limited the spending of money on ammunition. The effect was the same tactic was used during the North African campaign of WWII by German commander Rommel and by US General Patton for Europe operations. -
German Invasion of Poland
Germany invaded Poland by first opening fire on a Polish fortress. Germany took over Poland to gain the territory they lost by the Treaty of Versailles and to therefore colonize it. This event led the beginning of World War II, that lasted for the next 6 years in the world. -
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbour was when many Japanese fighter planes attacked the US naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Japan did this because they were upset that the US stopped economic sanctions and trade like oil. The attack only lasted about 2 hours but it destoryed 20 American naval vessels, more tha 300 airplanes and 2000 Americans died and 1000 were wounded.. This was significantly important because it made the US President declare war on Japan the next day and therefore made America join WWII. -
Operational Barbarossa
This was when Hitler made his armies go to war and invade the Soviet Union. Germany did this to enslave the Slavic population to gain more land and power. The Germans were not prepared for the harsh and freezing war between the Soviets. They underestimated their enemies and finally surrendered. The impact was that it was the important turning point in WWII because its failure made Nazi Germany fight a 2-front war against an alliance with better resources. -
Wannsee Conference
In this conference, Nazi Officials discussed what would be effective solution to exterminate the Jews. There were proposals of mass sterilization, work-to-death camps, and deportation to Madascar. The Nazis did this conferense to finalize and figure out the details of what would be done to the Jews. This was a huge impact for it determined the fate of thousands of innocent Jews for the next several years. -
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
This was when people of the Jewish ghetto in Nazi-occupied Warsaw, Poland revolted against deportations to death camps. Jews and anyone in the ghettos did this because they did not want to go to extermination camps and were strong, courageous and fought to escape their horrible situation. This is significant because it sparked other ghetto uprisings all through Eastern Europe that was German occupied. -
Operation Gomorrah
During this event, Britain bombed Hamburg, Germany at night while the US bombed the city by day. They did this as reverenge for the deaths of 167 civilians of Britain because of German bombing raids in July. The effect was that 9000 tons of explosives were dropped, killing more than 30,000 people and demolishing 280,000 buildings. Operation Gomorrah lifed the morale in Britain and lowered the morale of Hitler and the Nazi government. -
D-Day (Normandy Invasion)
This was where about 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on the coast of France's Normandy region. The allies did this to liberate France and to help win the war. The result was that it was one of the biggest allied military assaults in history. By the end of August, all of northern France had been freed, this event has been called the beginning of the end of the war in Europe. -
Operation Thunderclap
This event is also called the Firebombing of Dresden because a series of Allies performed firebomb raids in Dresden, Germany. The allies did this to stop war production machine and manufacturing, to disrupt German communication centers and to punish and weaken the moral of the Germans. The effect was that between 35,000 and 135,000 German people and other refugees died. It was the single most destructive bombing of war. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
This event was where Americans invaded the island of Iwo Jima, Japan. The Americans did this because they needed a base that was near the Japanese coast. There was 1,083 Japan prisoners and 5,900 Americans deaths with 17,400 wounded. -
Battle of Okinawa
This included 287,000 troops of the US Army against 130,000 soldiers of the Japanese Army in the Japanese pacific islands. The result were that 77,000 Japanese soldiers died with almost 100,000 civilian casualties and the Allies had 65,000 casualties. This was significant because it was the biggest and last of the Pacific island battles of WWII. -
VJ Day
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VE Day
This is where the US and Great Britain celebrate Victory in Europe Day. This event happened because the German troops all through Europe surrendered and signed surrender documents. The result was that about 1 million Germans tryed to move to the west to keep from being prisoners from the Soviet but were stopped by the Russians and taken captive. Finally the Allied forces defeated the Nazi war machine. -
Potsdam Declaration
This was the last WWII meeting held by the US - Harry S. Truman, Britain - Winston Churchill, and Soviet Union - Joseph Stalin. They did this conference to make a Council of Foreign Ministers and a central Allied Control Council for administration of Germany. They talked about what would happen to the German economy, war criminals, reparations and land boundries. This was a significant event because they discussed matters over postwar Europe and demanded a declaration of surrender from Japan. -
Dropping the Atomic Bombs
This was when the US dropped the first atomic bomb in Hiroshima, Japan. It immediately killed 80,000 people with more later. Three days later, another bomb was dropped in Nagasaki, Japan killkig about 40,000 people. This event was significant because Japan surrendered a few days later, thus it marked the end of WWII. -
Battle of the Bulge
This is when 3 German armies performed the deadliest and desperate battle in heavily forested Ardennes. They did this to try to push the Allied front line west from northern France and northwestern Belgium. It was one of the costliest wars fought by the US Army. There was over 100,000 casualties and it was the last Major German attack on the Western Allies in WWII.