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Period: to
World War Two
World War Two Events from 1937-1947 -
Japanese Invasion of China (1937)
When the Japanese invaded China they launched the Second Sino-Japanese War. The event turned into a full war leaving China's forces unable to resist fighting. Japan's military was very organized and brutal. Japan wanted items such as oil, rubber, gas, and whatever supplies they found useful.
Source: http://histclo.com/essay/war/ww2/camp/pac/china/w2c-inv.html -
Rape of Nanking (1937)
Japan marched to China's capital city of Nanking and murdered 300,000 out of 600,000 civilians and soldiers. This was preceded by battle at Shanghai that began in the summer of 1937. The Japanese had easily swept China in just three months. Japan didn't except surrender, they took all of their POW's.
Source: http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/genocide/nanking.htm -
German Blitzkrieg (1939-1940)
This was the first phase of World War Two. The Blitzkrieg or Lighting War was full of new military tactics to defeat the enemy. These forces would drive a breach in enemy defenses, permitting armored tank divisions to penetrate rapidly and roam freely behind enemy lines, causing shock and disorganization among the enemy defenses.
Source: https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005437 -
Germany's Invasion of Poland (1939)
Invading Poland was one of the first initiatives of Adolf Hitler. This wasn't popular in terms with the German people but they still supported him. The German army defeated Poland's within weeks. More than 2,000 tanks and over 1,000 planes, broke through Polish defense. From this day millions of Poland's Jews would be captured and brought to camps.
Source: https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005070 -
Operation Barbarossa (1941)
Hitler launched an invasion in the east against the Soviet Union. There were over three million German soldiers in the Soviet Union. This proved the finest most powerful army around. Barbarossa was the crucial turning point in World War II.
Source: http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/operation-barbarossa -
Pearl Harbor (1941)
Japan sent planes in two waves on at 7:53 A.M. and another at 8:55 A.M. This event left 2,403 dead, 188 destroyed planes and a crippled Pacific Fleet that included 8 damaged or destroyed battleships. Approximately three hours later, Japanese planes began a day-long attack on American facilities in the Philippines.
Source: http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/pearl.htm -
Wannsee Conference (1942)
This was the beginning of the end for the Jews. This when the "Final Solution" was brought up at a villa in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee. The "Final Solution" was the code name for the elimination of European Jews. Many already knew they started these mass killings.
Source: https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005477 -
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (1943)
This began after the German troops and police intruded the ghettos for anyone else that was still put there. The people found were captured and transported to concentration camps. SS and police units deported 265,000 Jews to the Treblinka killing center and 11,580 to forced-labor camps. The Germans murdered more than 10,000 Jews during the Warsaw operations.
Source: https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005188 -
Operation Gomorrah (1943)
The British bombed Hamburg, Germany. During the day it's bombed by the U.S. These constant bombings were called "Blitz Week." he evening of July 24 saw British aircraft drop 2,300 tons of incendiary bombs on Hamburg in just a few hours.
Source: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/operation-gomorrah-is-launched -
D-Day (Normndy Invasion-1944)
It was the largest air, land, and sea operation undertaken before or since June 6, 1944. Young men stormed the beaches carrying 80 pounds of artillery. They had no protection, or shield. This battle was a matter of life and death resulting in 10,000 casualties and more than 4,000 were dead. The harsh fighting conditions led to Europe being breached.
Source: https://www.dday.org/history/d-day-the-invasion/overview.html -
Battle of the Bulge (1945)
The Germans launch the last major offensive of the war, Operation Mist, also known as the Ardennes Offensive and the Battle of the Bulge. It was an attempt to push the allied line to northwestern Belgium. The military tactic they used was to form a bulge to push through the American defensive line. The 80,000 American troops were highly outnumbered by the Germans. The Americans were force to retreat.
Source: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/battle-of-the-bulge -
Liberation of Concentration Camps (1945)
As allies move across Europe, they found thousands of working prisoners. These prisoners have been put in concentration camps to be worked to death and killed. The Soviets liberated Auschwitz, the largest killing center and concentration camp, in January 1945. When liberated, only several thousand prisoners were alive when they entered the camp.
Source: https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005131 -
Operation Thunderclap (1945)
This proposal was to bomb the eastern-most cities of Germany which was turning into the Eastern Front. It's goal was to basically shut Germany down. The Soviet Union was eager to bomb Germany. -
Battle of Iwo Jima (1945)
Three U.S. Marine divisions landed on Japanese island armed with roughly 23,000 Japanese troops. These troops fought in caves and underground tunnels. Though they were hard to track, the U.S. defeated the Japanese and raised the flag in victory.
Source: http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-iwo-jima -
Battle of Okinawa (1945)
This battle was the not only the last, but also the biggest yet during World War Two. Fighting were 287,000 troops of the U.S. Tenth Army against 130,000 soldiers of the Japanese Thirty-second Army. This battle was fought for air bases which were crucial for the invasion of Japan. Japan's military tactics also changed.
Source: http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-okinawa -
VE Day (1945)
On this day the NAZI party was defeated. The Germans surrendered to Russia. Russia took 2 million German prisoners before Germany decided to surrender. In Britain, 13,000 POW's were returned back to Britain.
Source: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/victory-in-europe -
Dropping of the Atomic Bombs (1945)
This was the first Atomic Bombing carried out by the U.S.A. ever. It was predicted the U.S. would lose more than one and a half million troops if we didn't bomb them. This killed an estimated 40,000 people. Many that survived the bombing eventually died due to radiation exposure. It brought a new warfare and immediate results.
Source: http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki -
Postdam Declaration (1945)
After the bombing of Nagasaki, Japan surrendered and agreed to sign the Potsdam Declaration. Emperor Hirohito, having remained aloof from the daily decisions of prosecuting the war, rubber-stamping the decisions of his War Council.
Source: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/japan-accepts-potsdam-terms-agrees-to-unconditional-surrender -
VJ Day (1945)
After dropping two atomic bombs on Japan, they finally surrendered on August 14th, 1945. Hostility between the U.S. and Japan has finally come to an end after six years. We call this day Victoryover Japan Day or VJ Day. It isn't celebrated as much now because some people find it offensive. Japan is also one of the U.S.'s closest allies now.
Source: http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/v-j-day -
The Nuremburg Trials of Nazis (1945-1949)
The Nuremburg Trials were a series thirteen trials carried out in Nuremberg, Germany. Defendents consisted of NAZI members, high ranking military member, and other wealthy Germans. Charges against them consisted of crimes against peace and crimes against humanity. Hitler committed suicide and was never brought to trial.
Source: http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/nuremberg-trials
