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Japanese invasion of China
On July 7, 1937, a clash occurred between Chinese and Japanese troops near Peiping in North China. Japan also attacked Beijing, Shanghai, and Nanking. It happened because the Japanese provoked the Chinese into a full-scale war with the Marco Polo Bridge Incident. After the invasion, between 10 and 25 million Chinese civilians and over 4 million Chinese and Japanese military personnel dying from war-related violence, famine, and other causes. History.com -
Rape of Nanking
In late 1937, over a period of six weeks, Imperial Japanese Army forces brutally murdered hundreds of thousands of people, including both soldiers and civilians in the Chinese city of Nanking (or Nanjing). After the victory in Shanghai during the Japanese invasion of China, the Japanese turned their attention to Nanking. The leader of Chinese army ordered to remove all official troops from the city and left untrained troops in Nanking. About 200,000 to 300,000 died in the massacre. History.com -
German Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg means "lightning war" in German.German forces tried this in Poland in 1939, then followed by the invasions of Belgium, Netherlands, and France. It happened because it was a tactic that creates disorganization among enemy forces so it would be much easier to defeat the enemy army. Its successful execution results in short military campaigns, which preserves human lives and lower the cost of weapons used. http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/blitzkrieg -
Battle of Britain
In the summer and fall of 1940, Germany and Britain went into a war against each other. There were bombs raiding all over the sky from both sides and locked in the largest sustained bombing campaign to that date. This war happened because Hitler wanted to invade Britain in 1940. As a result of the lost, Hitler permanently postponed a landing on the British Isles and suspended the Battle of Britain. History.com -
Operation Barbarossa
In 1941, Adolf Hiterly launched his armies eastward in a massive invasion of the Soviet Union. The invasion happened at the front from the North Cape to the Black Sea. It happened because Hitler believed that German people needed more living space, an idea that was used to justify the expansionist policies of Nazi Germany, and that it was to be looked for in the East. The impact of German's failure for this invasion forced them to fight a two-front war. History.com -
Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. As the result of the attack, nearly 20 American ships and more than 300 airplanes were destroyed. Also, most important, 2,403 sailors, soldiers, and civilians were killed and about 1,000 people were wounded. The attack happened because of the following events that happened between both sides that created tensions. History.com -
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, making a turning point in the war in the Pacific theatre. It happened because of the conflict between the United States and Japan previously. The victory allowed the United States and its allies to move into an offensive position. History.com -
Bataan Death March
On April 9, 1942, about 75,000 Filipino and American troops on Bataan were forced to make an arduous 65-mile march to prison camps. Those marches were full of intense heat and fill with harsh treatment by Japanese guards. This happened because of the surrender by the United States to Japan on the main Philippine island of Luzon. During and after the march, about thousands of troops died because of the harsh actions by their captors. History.com -
Operation Gomorrah
On this day, British bombers raid Hamburg, Germany, by night in Operation Gomorrah, and Americans bomb it by day in its own "Blitz Week". This happened because Britain wanted to take revenge on German's bombing raids. When it was over, about 17,000 bombers dropped more than 9,000 tons of explosives and killing more than 30,000 people and destroying 280,000 buildings. History.com -
D-Day
On June 1944, about 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along the fortified coast of France's Normandy region. It was one of the largest invasion and amphibious military assaults in history. It happened to mark the start of a long and costly campaign to liberate northwest Europe from German occupation. By the end of August, Germany had been removed from northwestern France and Paris was liberated. History.com -
Battle of the Bulge
In December 1944, Adolph Hitler threw a surprise blitzkrieg thrust through the Ardennes to Antwerp. As the Germans drove deeper into the Ardennes in an attempt to secure vital bridgeheads, the Allied line took on the appearance of a large bulge. This battle happened because Hitler was planning on split the Allied army. The U.S Army suffered over 100,000 casualties after the battle. History.com -
Battle of Iwo Jima
In 1945, the American amphibious invaded Iwo Jima, a key island in the Bonin chain roughly 575 miles from the Japanese coast. It was sparked with the desired for a place where B-29 bombers damage over Japan. It happened because Japan no long defended at the beach line but rather concentrated inland so the United States decided to attack. After the United States won the battle, the airfields of Japan were shut down. American losses included 5,900 dead and 17,400 wounded. History.com -
VE Day
On this day, both Great Britain and the United States celebrate Victory in Europe Day. It happened when German troops throughout Europe finally laid down their arms. Germans surrendered to their Soviet antagonists in Prague. More surrender documents were signed in Berlin and in eastern Germany. The effects of VE day are cities put out flags and banners, rejoicing in the defeat of the Nazi war machine. History.com -
Dropping of the atomic bombs
On August 6, 1945, the American bomber Enola Gay dropped a five-ton bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. A blast equivalent to the power of 15,000 tons of TNT and immediately killed 80,000 people. It happened because the United States wanted to bring war with Japan to the end, also to show the Soviet Union the new weapon of mass destruction. A few days later, Japan announced its surrender. History.com -
VJ Day
On August 14, 1945, it was announced that Japan had surrendered to the Allies. Since then, both August 14 and August 15 have been known as "Victory over Japan Day", or "VJ Day". It happened because surrendered and quit the World War II. The effect was that it effectively ending World War II.
