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Japanese invasion of China (1937)
In the 1930s, China was split between nationalists and communists. Japan took advantage of this, taking control of northern China. This united the nationalists and communists, and they fought together against Japan. It eventually turned into a stalemate, with China not able to push Japan back and Japan not able to defeat China.
Source: http://www.history.co.uk/study-topics/history-of-ww2/sino-japanese-war -
Germany's invasion of Poland (1939)
This was the start of WWII with germany and the soviets invading poland. The Polish amy held a long defense but kept getting pushed back by the german army. The Polish were defeated on October 6, 1939 with 199,000 casualties
Source: History.com -
German Blitzkrieg (1939-1940)
The blitzkrieg was a war tactic in which disorganization is created in short military campaigns. It was used by Germany in the battles of Poland, Belgium, Netherlands , and France.
Source: http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/blitzkrieg -
Fall of Paris (1940)
This was the invasion of germany into france. Germany showed up unopposed and never had to fight. German officials then met with the french government to decide. The germans won with the fall of the French 3rd republic, second armistice, and free french forces. Allied forces lost around 336,000 soldiers and axis lost 163,000. Source: History.com -
Operation Barbarossa (1941)
This was Hitlers invasion of the soviet union even though 2 years prior they had signed pacts.This was the largest invasion force in warfare history, the germans sending 600,000 vehicles, and 700,000 horses. This was a very bloody war for the soviets losing 4,000,000+ soldiers and the germans only losing 800,000 soldiers. The soviets did win the war despite the amount of soldiers lost.
Source: History.com -
Pearl Harbor (1941)
Japan wanted to destroy America's navy so they couldn't be stopped, so they launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, wounding or killing over 3,000 Americans. The U.S. joined the war after the attack.
Source: http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor -
Wannsee Conference (1942)
This was the conference meeting about the extermination of the whole jewish population. The jews were rounded up and sent to extermination camps.
Source: History.com -
Battle of Stalingrad (1942)
This battle was when germany tried to invade part of the soviet union with their 6th army and their 4th panzer army. Germany was not successful, they lost to the soviets with 1.7-2.2 million wounded, killed, or captured. This is one of the bloodiest battles in warfare history
Source: History.com -
Warsaw Ghetto uprising (1943)
The warsaw ghetto uprising was the resistance of jews in the warsaw ghetto. This opposed the nazis attempt to transport the to the concentration camps. The nazis then burned the ghetto block by block killing 13,000 jews. This was the biggest revolt by the jews in the war. This was a German victory.
Source: History.com -
Operation Gomorrah (1943)
British bombers responded to being bombed by Germany by forming operation Gomorrah, where they confuse German radar and then attack them by dropping bombs on Hamburg. It demoralized Hitler and the rest of Germany.
Source: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/operation-gomorrah-is-launched -
Allied invasion of Italy (1943)
The allies decided that they wanted to invade axis-controlled parts of Europe. They started by invading Italy on September 3rd, 1943. They were met with little resistance from Italy, Who wanted a deal for surrendering.
Source: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/allies-invade-italian-mainland -
D-Day (1944)
This is the biggest sea born invasion in history. The landing of 24,000 allied troops under heavy gun fire, there mission to secure 5 beach heads. Only two were secured on the first day the other 3 weren't secured until June 12. There were 10,000 allied casualties and around 9,000 axis. The US won this with many casualties and this was very important.
Source: History.com -
Battle of the Bulge (1945)
Hitler wanted to split the allied armies, so he launched a huge offensive through the Ardennes mountains. American forces were caught off guard, but they were able to hold their own under the command of General George Patton. There were many casualties, including over 100,000 American casualties.
Source: http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-the-bulge -
Liberation of concentration camps (1945)
Allied troops found many concentration camps on their way across Europe. The Nazis tried to hide the evidence of the concentration camps, but they were found anyway, and the surviving prisoners were freed.
Source: https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005131 -
Operation Thunderclap (1945)
Operation thunder clap was a bombing run by the allies on Germany while they were at a weak point. This was targeted at the eastern German front. About 15 miles away from the target the bombers were called back but then told to carry it out. There were many different types of bombs dropped including fire bombs, carpet bombs, and normal bombs. 110,000 people were killed most of them being important German personnel.
Source: History.com -
Battle of Iwo Jima (1945)
America wanted a base near Japan for aircraft especially to be able to go to without needing to travel very far. The island was defended by 23,000 Japanese soldiers. The marine corps launched an attack and captured the island.
Source: http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-iwo-jima -
VE Day (1945)
VE day is short for victory in Europe day. It was the day and celebration of the Nazis surrendering, making Europe much more peaceful.
Source: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/victory-in-europe -
Dropping of the atomic bombs (1945)
With the permission of the UK The US dropped two nuclear bombs on different days one on August 6,1945 and one on August 9,1945. The first bomb was dropped on Hiroshima,the second was dropped on Nagasaki.These bombs remain the only nuclear weapons used in warfare.6 days after the second bomb was dropped japan surrendered from WWII. Approximately 129,000 people died on the first day and about 246,000 after from the radiation effects and burns from it.This ultimately ended WWII.
Source: History.com -
VJ Day (1945)
Japan's final surrender was on September 2nd, 1945. President Truman declared it victory over Japan day, and it was celebrated because it brought an end to WWII.
Source: http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/v-j-day -
Battle of Okinawa (1945)
The battle of Okinawa is the invasion of the US on the island Okinawa. This island was 430 miles from mainland japan, and the US wanted to use this for an airbase. Nicknamed "Typhoon of steel" because of the intensity of the Japanese kamikazee attacks the amount of allied armored ships and vehicles. The Allies lost about 14,000 soldiers and the japanese reportedly lost 77,166 soldiers. The Allies won the island and occupied it until 1976. Source: History.com
