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Japanese invasion of china
On July 7, 1937 a battle occurred between Chinese and Japanese troops near Peiping in North China. This was followed by indications of intensified military activity on the part of Japan, and led to japan invading China (https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history). -
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German Blitzkrieg
Also known as the “lightning war,” blitzkrieg is a military tactic designed to create disorganization in enemies through the use of mobile forces and concentrated firepower. German forces tried out the blitzkrieg in Poland in 1939 before successfully employing the tactic with invasions of Belgium, the Netherlands and France in 1939 and 1940 (https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/blitzkrieg). -
Germany's invasion of Poland
Over 1.5 million German troops invaded Poland all along its border with German-controlled territory. At the same time, the German Luftwaffe bombed airfields, and German warships attacked naval forces in the Baltic Sea. Hitler claimed the massive invasion was a defensive action, but Britain and France Did not think so, and on September 3, they declared war on Germany, officially starting World War II (https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germans-invade-poland). -
Fall of Paris
The battle of Paris was a German invasion into France. While Germany did successfully take over, President Roosevelt froze the American assets of the Axis powers, Germany and Italy. (https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germans-enter-paris) -
Operation Barbarossa
Adolf Hitler launched his armies eastward in a massive invasion of the Soviet Union. However, Germany greatly underestimated their opponent, and Barbarossa had failed with Nazi Germany confronted by a two-front war that it could not win. Barbarossa was the crucial turning point in World War II, because its failure forced Nazi Germany to fight a war against a coalition possessing very superior resources. ( https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/operation-barbarossa). -
Pearl Harbor
On this day, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes descended on the base Pearl Harbor, where they destroyed or damaged nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight battleships, and over 300 airplanes. More than 2,400 Americans died in the attack, including civilians, and another 1,000 people were wounded. The day after the assault, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan. America then entered WWII. (https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor). -
Wannsee Conference
On this day, Nazi officials meet to discuss the details of the “Final Solution” of the “Jewish question,” or to find a way to get rid of all Jews in Germany. Months later, the gas vans in Poland, which were killing 1,000 people a day, proved to be the “solution” they were looking for. (https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-wannsee-conference). -
Bataan Death March
After 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 65-mile march to prison camps. The marchers made the trek in intense heat and were subject to harsh treatment by Japanese guards. Thousands died in what became known as the Bataan Death March. (https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bataan-death-march) -
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. The United States was able to counter Japan’s planned ambush of its few remaining aircraft carriers, inflicting permanent damage on the Japanese Navy. This was an important turning point in the War, and the victory allowed the United States and its allies to move into an offensive position. (https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-midway) -
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was a military campaign between Russian forces, Nazi Germany and the Axis powers during World War II. The battle is infamous as one of the largest, longest and bloodiest engagements in modern warfare. (https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-stalingrad) -
Operation Gomorrah
In 1943, British bombers raided Hamburg, Germany, by night in Operation Gomorrah, while Americans bombed it by day. When it was over, 17,000 bomber sorties dropped more than 9,000 tons of explosives, killing more than 30,000 people and destroying 280,000 buildings, including industrial and munitions plants. The effect on Hitler, was significant as well and he refused to visit the burned-out cities. (https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/operation-gomorrah-is-launched) -
D-Day (Normandy Invasion)
Codenamed Operation Overlord, the battle began when over 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified coast of France’s Normandy region. The invasion was one of the largest military assaults in history and required extensive planning. This battle resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany’s control. (https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day). -
Battle of the Bulge
This was when the Germans launch the last major offensive of the war, an attempt to push the Allied front line west from northern France to northwestern Belgium. The Battle of the Bulge was the largest fought on the Western front. (https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/battle-of-the-bulge.) -
Liberation of concentration camps
In early 1945, American troops traveled throughout Europe to liberate Jews from concentration camps. The Army liberated Auschwitz in south-western Poland, it was one of six Nazi extermination camps, and was the last one still operating in the final months of the war. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/liberation_camps_01.shtml) -
Operation Thunderclap
Operation Thunderclap was a series of Allied firebombing raids against the German city of Dresden, reducing the “Florence of the Elbe” to rubble and flames, and killing as many as 135,000 people. It was one of the single most destructive bombing of the war and all the more bad because little was accomplished strategically, since the Germans were already on the verge of surrender. (https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/firebombing-of-dresden) -
Battle of Iwo Jima
American forces invaded the island of Iwo Jima on the coast of japan. In some of the bloodiest fighting of World War II, it’s believed that all but 200 or so of the 21,000 Japanese forces on the island were killed, as were almost 7,000 Marines. But once the fighting was over, the strategic value of Iwo Jima was poor and neither the U.S. Army nor the U.S. Navy was able to use Iwo Jima as a World War II staging area (https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-iwo-jima) -
Battle of Okinawa
In a complex plan to invade and occupy the Ryukyu Islands, The Battle of Okinawa was the last major battle of World War II, and one of the bloodiest. On April 1, 1945, the Navy’s Fifth Fleet and more than 180,000 U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps troops descended on the Pacific island of Okinawa for a final push towards Japan. The U.S was able to defeat Japan, and this led to the bombing of Hiroshima. (https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-okinawa) -
VE Day
VE Day, Also known as Victory in Europe, was when German troops throughout Europe finally laid down their arms. This marks the end of wwii in Europe. (https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/victory-in-europe) -
The dropping of the atomic bombs
The United States becomes the first and only nation to use atomic weaponry during wartime when it drops 2 atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in an act for revenge of Pearl Harbor. The dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan marked the end of World War II everywhere. (http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii). -
VJ Day
On August 14, 1945, it was announced that Japan had surrendered to the Allies, effectively ending World War II. Since then, both August 14 and August 15 have been known as “Victory over Japan Day,” or “VJ Day.”
