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Japanese invasion of China
Japan wanted to be an imperial power. They had both economic and militaristic desires for that to happen. Economically they were low on resources and space in their home land. From a militaristic stand point they wanted to break free and show their strength and power. -
Rape of Nanking
n late 1937, Imperial Japanese Army forces brutally murdered hundreds of thousands of people, in the Chinese city of Nanking (or Nanjing). This included both soldiers and civilians. Roughly between 20,000 and 80,000 women were sexually assaulted. Nanking, then the capital of China, was left in ruins, and it would take decades for the city and its citizens to recover from the attacks. -
German Blitzkrieg
A German term for “lightning war,” blitzkrieg is a military tactic designed to create chaos among enemy forces through the use of mobile forces and locally concentrated firepower. Its successful execution results in short military campaigns, which preserves human lives and limits the expenditure of artillery. German forces tried out the blitzkrieg in Poland in 1939 before successfully employing the tactic with invasions of Belgium, the Netherlands and France in 1940. -
Germany's invasion of Poland
Hitler was continuously being appeased by the French and British. Hitler made a deal with the Soviet Union, the German-Soviet pact of August 1939. This deal stated that German's and the Soviet's were to split Poland in half, after the territory was conquered. This came as a surprise to many because Germany wasn't supposed to be taking anymore land and Hitler and Stalin were enemies. -
Fall Of Paris
On this day in 1940, 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. German tanks rolled into Paris, 2 million Parisians had already fled. In short order, the German Gestapo went to work: arrests, interrogations, and spying were the order of the day, as a gigantic swastika flew -
Pearl Harbor
On December 7, 1941, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the naval base at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawaii. The barrage lasted just two hours. The Japanese managed to destroy nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight enormous battleships, and more than 300 airplanes. More than 2,000 Americans soldiers and sailors died in the attack, and another 1,000 were wounded. The day after the attack, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan. -
Wannsee Confrence
Nazi officials meet to discuss the "Final Solutiion" to the Jewish question. Herman Goering, following Hitler's orders, ordered his men to come up with a complete plan of exterminating the jews -
Battle of Midway
Japanese fleet commander, chose to invade a target relatively close to Pearl Harbor to draw out the American fleet, calculating that when the United States began its counterattack, the Japanese would be prepared to crush them. Instead, an American intelligence breakthrough–the solving of the Japanese fleet codes -
Bataan Death March
April 9, 1942, The U.S. surrendered the Bataan Peninsula on the main Philippine island of Luzon to the Japanese during World War II (1939-45). The approximately 75,000 Filipino and American troops on Bataan were forced to make an long and tiring 65-mile march to prison camps. The marchers made the trip in intense heat and were subjected to harsh treatment by Japanese guards. Thousands perished in what became known as the Bataan Death March. -
Battle of Stalinrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was the successful Soviet defense of the city of Stalingrad in the U.S.S.R. Russians consider it to be the greatest battle of their war, and most historians consider it to be the greatest battle of the entire conflict. It stopped the German advancement into the Soviet Union and marked the turning of the 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. -
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
In the summer of 1942, when reports of mass murder in the killing center leaked back to the Warsaw ghetto, a surviving group of people formed an organization called the Z.O.B. The Z.O.B. issued a proclamation calling for the Jewish people to resist going to the railroad cars. In 1943, Warsaw ghetto fighters fired upon German troops as they tried to round up another group of Jewish people for deportation. This small victory inspired the ghetto fighters to prepare for future resistance. -
D-Day
Operation Overlord, also known as D-Day, when some 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily guarded coast of Normandy region. The invasion was one of the largest military assaults in history and required extensive planning. This was the beginning of the end of the war. -
Battle of the Bulge
In December 1944, Hitler attempted to split the Allied armies in northwest Europe by means of a surprise blitzkrieg thrust through the Ardennes to Antwerp. American units fought desperate battles to stem the German advance. As the Germans drove deeper, the Allied line took on the appearance of a large bulge, giving rise to the battle’s name. Successful maneuvering of the Third Army proved vital to the Allied defense, leading to the neutralization of the German's despite heavy casualties. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The American invasion of Iwo Jima during World War II stemmed from the need for a base near the Japanese coast. Three U.S. marine divisions landed on the island in February 1945. Iwo Jima was defended by roughly 23,000 Japanese army and navy troops, who fought from a 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. -
Battle of Okinawa
Okinawa was the biggest and the last battle of the Pacific islands. This battle involved 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 82-day campaign, Japan had lost more than 77,000 soldiers and the Allies had suffered more than 65,000 casualties—including 14,000 dead. -
Liberation of concentration camps
On April 29, 1945, the U.S. Army’s 45th Infantry Division liberated Dachau, the first concentration camp established by Germany’s Nazi regime. A major subcamp was liberated the same day by the 42nd Rainbow Division. At least 160,000 prisoners passed through the main camp, and 90,000 through the subcamps. -
VE Day
Great Britain and the United States celebrated Victory in Europe on this 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. -
Dropping of the Atomic bomb
The United States became the first and only nation to use atomic bomb during wartime when it dropped 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 people argue that it also ignited the Cold War. The dropping of the bomb was a response to the war but also because of Pearl Harbor. -
VJ Day
It was announced that Japan had surrendered to the Allies, ending World War II. Since then, both August 14 and August 15 have been known as “Victory over Japan Day,” or “V-J Day.” Coming several months after the surrender of Nazi Germany, Japan’s capitulation in the Pacific brought six years of hostilities to a final and highly anticipated close.
