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Japanese invasion of China
China was a divided country in the 1930s. In 1937, the clashing between Japanese and Chinese troops on the frontier led to the Marco Polo Bridge Incident. The combat started a full-blown conflict, the Second Sino-Japanese War. Japanese quickly captured the key Chinese ports and industrial cities. It was a brutal conflict and Japanese troops killed around 300,000 civilians and raped 80,000 women.
End Date: September 9, 1945
http://www.history.co.uk/study-topics/history-of-ww2/sino-japanese-war -
Germany's invasion of Poland
Germany started World War II by invading Poland on September 1, 1939. Germany started the war after securing the neutrality of the Soviet Union. Britain and France response was declaring war on Germany. The German and Soviet forces defeated Poland within a month.
End Date: October 6, 1939
https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005137 -
German Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg is a military tactic designed to disorganize enemy forces by mobile forces and concentrated firepower. Short military campaigns was the result of the successful execution. German forces tried out the tactic in Poland in 1939 and then successfully used it on invasions with Belgium, the Netherlands and France in 1940.
End Date: May 1, 1940
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/blitzkrieg -
Fall of Paris
Germany began its assault on western Europe by invading the Low Countries. That took neutral positions in the war including France. That occured on May 10,1940 and on June 22,1940, France signed an armistice with Germany. German forces defeated Allied forces in a series of mobile operations leading to the conquest of France.
End Date: June 25, 1940
https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005137 -
Operation Barbarossa
Adolf Hitler sent his armies eastward in an invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22,1941. The distance of the invasion covered two thousand miles. Operation Barbarossa was a very crucial turning point in World War II. Russia represented the finest army to fight in its century. Nazi Germany was forced failure against a coalition who showed very great resources.
End Date: January 7, 1942
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/operation-barbarossa -
Pearl Harbor
On December 7, 1941, there was a surprise assault on Pearl Harbor and was a success. The overall mission failed as the American aircraft carriers were not in the harbor when the attack occured. The Japanese had worked hard at developing the tools for the Imperial Japanese Navy to get the job done before the assault on Pearl. The Japanese lost 29 aircraft and 1,178 people were reported wounded and 68 civilians were killed.
http://www.secondworldwarhistory.com/attack-on-pearl-harbor.asp -
Wannsee Conference
15 high-ranking Nazi Party and German government officials got together at a villa in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee on January 20, 1942. They planned to discuss and coordinate the implementation that would attempt to exterminate the entire Jewish population of Europe. The members discussed a number of issues that were raised by the new policy.
http://spartacus-educational.com/2WW.htm -
Japanese Internment
Not long after the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066. That authorized the secretary of war to designate military zones within the U.S. which is "any or all persons may be excluded." Although it wasn't targeted at a specific group, it ended up being the basis for the mass relocation and internment of many Japanese.
End Date: June 30, 1946
http://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2011/08/world-war-ii-internment-of-japanese-americans/100132/ -
Bataan Death March
On April 9, 1942, the U.S. surrendered to the Japanese of the Bataan Penninsula at Luzon. There was about 75,000 Filipino and American troops on Bataan who were forced to makr a 65-mile march. They marched to prison camps in harsh heat and treatment by Japanese guards. Thousands perished in what is known as the Bataan Death March.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bataan-death-march -
Battle of Midway
With the American naval victory in the Battle of Midway, that was the turning point in the Pacific war. Heavy losses occured in the Japanese fleet and were turned back. The Japanese was attacked by American forces in the Solomon Islands. It caused a withdrawal of Japanese forces but however, they successfully defended their positions on the Chinese mainland until 1945.
End Date: June 7, 1942
https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005155 -
Battle of Stalingrad
The Germans and their Axis allies renewed their offensive in the Soviet Union and they aimed to capture Stalingrad on the Volga River. In the late summer of 1942, the German offensive stalled on both fronts. The Soviet troops launched a counteroffensivw and the German Sixth Army surrendered.
End Date: Feburary 2, 1943
https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005137 -
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising began on April 19,1943. It started when SS units arrived for final deportations and were greeted with an ambush. Insurgents had fire set to German tanks, gernades hurled and SS was stalled before they were forced to retreat. Of the 50,000 Jews captured, 14,000 were executed immediately or killed when arrived at Treblinka.
End Date: May 16, 1943
http://www.history.com/news/remembering-the-warsaw-ghetto-uprising -
Allied invasion of Italy
After the defeat of the Axis Powers in North Africa in May 1943, Winston Chrchill decided he wanted to invade Italy. During the early stages of the Italian Campaign, the Allied invasion of Italy occured. The landing came from sea onto the mainland of Italy on 3 September 1943. The invasion was successful on Sicily. The main invasion landed on September 9 and two operations took place in Calabria while the invasion occured.
End Date: September 16, 1943
http://spartacus-educational.com/2WW.htm -
D-Day (Normandy Invasion)
On the beaches on the Normandy coast in north western France, Normandy invaded. The Normandy landings were massive joint services operations. There were naval, ariel abd paratroop elements which supported the assault. They waited on almost ideal meteorological conditions to schedule the operation. The outcome was the establishment of Allied beachheads on the Normandy coast which was a successful startf for the Allies.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/ff7_dday.shtml -
Battle of the Bulge
The Allied advance across Europe was a front that held its check by the Canadians and English forces and Americans and General Patton. Hitler developed the plan and the goal was to reach the post city of Antwerp and disrupt the Allied front. It was a surprise attack and the German Army showed one of their largest displays of artillery bombardment ever.
End Date: January 25, 1945
http://www.secondworldwarhistory.com/battle-of-the-bulge.asp -
Battle of Iwo Jima
Supreme Commander of the Southwest Pacific Area decided to attempt and capture the small volcanic isalnd of Iwo Jima. It was defended by 20,000 veterans of the Japanese Special Naval Landing Force. They faced a huge air and sea bobmbardment lauched by the 5th Fleet under Admiral Raymond Spruance. Of the Japanese soldiers, 216 were taken alive and 5,391 Marines were killed during fighting.
End Date: March 26, 1945
http://spartacus-educational.com/2WWjima.htm -
Battle of Okinawa
Okinawa was the site of the final Japanese stand of World War II. It was also the staging point for the Allied invasion they planned on the Japanese mainland. The Japanese defended the island against American assaults. It ended as the islnd fell into the control of the Allies.
End Date: June 22, 1945
http://www.secondworldwarhistory.com/battle-of-okinawa.asp -
VE Day
After many bombing raids devastating German cities, it lead to the invasion. Western Allies raced the Russians to Berlin and the Russians made it first and enetered the German capital. Hitler killed himself around this time on April 30. Grand Admiral Dönitz, President of the Third Reich for a week, surrendered unconditionally to the Western and Russian demands on May 7. The next day is now celebrated as Victory in Europe Day.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/ff7_veday.shtml -
Dropping of the atomic bombs
On August 6, 1945, the United States Air Force dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Thousands of people lost thier lives in the explosion and others died later from radiation exposure. Only three days later, the U.S. dropped a second atomic bomb on another Japanese city, Nagasaki. About 120,000 people died from the two bombings.
https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005155 -
VJ Day
It was announced that Japan surrendered to the Allies which effectively ended World War II. It was announced on August 14, 1945. Since then, the date is known as "Victoryover Japan Day" or "V-J Day." The term has also been used for September 2, 1945 when Japans formal surrender took place.
End Date: (Still known as VJ Day)
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/v-j-day
