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German Blitzkrieg
The German term "Blitzkrieg", translates to "lightening war". The Germans wanted to fight a short war rather than to have a drawn out war that went on for many years. The Germans used this fighting technique that focuses on aircraft, artillery, and tanks to quickly defeat their enemies. They first used this tactic to successfully take over Poland, then Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and France. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/blitzkrieg-lightning-war -
The Fall of France
The Germans launched a major offensive on Paris on June 9, and on June 13, Paris was declared an open city. The French government fled to Bordeaux, then Germans started to enter deeper into the capital and terrorize France. On June 22, 1940, France surrenderred and signed the capitulation document in the same railway carriage that was used when the Germans had surrendered in 1918. The Germans had successfully humiliated France. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/fall_france_01.shtml) -
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, a US naval base near Honolulu, Hawaii, was attacked by the Japanese forces. On that Sunday morning just before 8:00 am, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the base, and did much damage to the US's weapons, such as planes and battleships. More than 2,400 Americans, including civilians were killed in this attack. The president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, afterwards asked Congress to declare war on Japan. (https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor) -
Wannsee Conference
This confrence was attended by the high ranking Nazi officals and took place in a villa in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee. The goal of this meeting was to come up with the "Final Solution" to their "Jewish Problem". They came up with the idea of mass killing. They would first separate them by gender and use the able-bodied ones to do work, such as build roads. Those unable to work would be killed right away without any thought. (https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005477) -
Bataan Death March
The day after Pearl Harbour, the Japanese began their invasion of the Philippines. After the US surrender of the Bataan Peninsula on the main Philippine island of Luzon, all of the Amercian and Filipino soldiers had to march 65 miles to prison camps. They had to make this trek in intese heat and were harshly treated by the Japanese soldiers. Thousands of men died because of the death march. (https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bataan-death-march) -
warsaw ghetto uprising
The uprising was a violent revolt of the residents of the Jewish Ghetto in Warsaw, which was one of the places in Poland that was occupied by Nazis. The Jewish people planned this armed revolution to prevent themselves from being sent to the extermination camps. This uprising in Warsaw was important because it inspired other people in camps and Ghettos to stand up for their rights as well. Started on April 19, ended May 16. (https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/warsaw-ghetto-uprising) -
Operation Gomorrah
Britain had suffered the deaths of 167 civilians from the German bombing raids earlier that July. On the evening of July 24, they decided to return the favour. British aircraft dropped 2,300 tons of incendiary bombs on Hamburg, Germany and over 1,500 Germans were killed by the first British raid. British attacks on Hamburg continued until November of that year. (https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/operation-gomorrah-is-launched) -
Allied Invasion of Italy
After Mussolini's government colasped, Marshal Pietro Badoglio assumed control of the Italian government and made secret connections with the allies. On September 3rd, the allies began their invasion of Italy's mainland. The Italian government agreed to surrender to the allies' agression. The agreement they came to was if the Italians helped the allies remove the Germans from Italy, they would be given some leniency. (https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/allies-invade-italian-mainland) -
D-Day (Normandy Invasion)
D-Day was the actual start of war in Europe. On D-Day, about 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along the French coast of their Normandy region. This invasion was one of the largest military assaults to take place over land and water in history and had taken the Allies a lot of planning. By late August, all of nothern France had been liberated, and a few months later, the Allies defeated the Germans. (https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day) -
Battle of the Bulge
In th December of 1944, Germany launched a major offensive against the Allies. Adolph Hitler had attempted to separate the Allies' armies in northwest Europe with their technique of a "lightning war". The Germans attacked the Ardennes Mountains region to Antwerp in Belgium. As the Germans went deeper into these places, the Allied line took on the appearance of a large bulge, which is how thus battle got its name. (https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-the-bulge) -
Liberation of Concentration Camps
The first major camp to be liberated, was Majdanek, which was found by the Soviet Union in 1944. Germans had attemped to hde the evidence, but pieces of the camp still survived such as the gas chambers. In January 1945, Auschuwitz was liberated by Russian soldiers. The Bergen-Belsen concentration camp was liberated by British forces on April 15. When the soldiers discovered these camps they saw many sad scenes of dead bodies.(https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/liberation-of-the-concentration-camps) -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The main reason for the Americans invading Iwo Jima, was because they needed a base by the Jepanese coast. Iwo Jima was defended by roughly 23,000 Japanese army and navy troops who had many complex methods of defense, such as caves, tunnels, and underground installations. After a month of difficult fighting, the marines, defeated the defending forces and the Americans raised their flag for their victory. (https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-iwo-jima) -
VE Day
VE day was the day the allies celebrated victory in Europe and the defeat of Nazi Germany. This was the formal end of the Second World War in Europe. Formerly occupied cities in Western Europe, put out flags and banners to rejoice in the end of the fear of death and to celebrate their freedom. Their were also many parties because of the end of the war.
(https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/VE-Day/) -
Dropping of the Atomic Bombs
An American bomber dropped the world's first atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, Japan. The bomb wiped out 90% of the city.
This attack also instantly killed about 80,000 people and many more because of radiation exposure. A few days later, a second bomber dropped another A-bomb on Nagasaki, killing approximately 40,000 people. Japan’s Emperor declared an unconditional surrender to WW2 over the radio on August 14. (https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki) -
VJ Day
VJ Day, or "Victoryover Japan Day", is both celebrated on the 14th and 15th of August. This is because of Japan's surrender on August 14, putting an end to the horrid six years of violence of the Second World War. The soldier and citizens could now rest easy and not have to worry so much about death. VJ Day is actually only celebrated in a few States to this day, such as Rhode Island, Seymour, Indiana; Moosup, Connecticut; and Arma, Kansas.(https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/v-j-day)
