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Japanese invasion of China (ushmm.org)
Japan began an expansion into Manchuria in 1931 and then further into China in 1937. Shortly after in September 27, 1937 Japan signed the Tripartite Pact with Germany and Italy forming the Axis Powers. Due to Japans invasion the US put economic sanctions on Japan limiting their oil and natural resources in hopes of forcing them out of Manchuria and China. -
German Blitzkrieg (History.com)
The German term for "lightning war". This tactic was used to cause chaos in the opposing forces. The German Army used highly mobile troops and concentrated firepower. This saved human lives on the attackers side and reduced overall military expenditure. The technique was highly effective and allowed for the quick takeover of Poland, Belgium, Netherlands, and France. The tactic was later adopted by the US General George Patton for European Operations. -
Ribbentrop/Molotov Pact (ushmm.org)
The German-Soviet Pact of nonaggression. The Pact was negotiated that for 10 years neither party would attack each other. There was also the agreement that Germany and Soviet Russia would divide conquered Poland. Eventually Germany broke the Pact on June 22, 1940 and sent an attack on Stalingrad under Operation Barbarossa. The Soviet Army repelled the attack and helped turn the tides of the war in Europe. -
Germany's invasion of Poland (ushmm.org)
Germany's invasion of Poland was the cause of the start of WWII. After Germany invaded Britain and France declared war on Germany. Within a months time Poland was defeated by Germany and the Soviet Union. The land in Poland was divided between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. -
Operation Barbarossa (History.com)
Operation Barbarossa was Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union. The German army had over 3 million soldiers. The failure of this attack was the turning point in the war as Germany now had to fight a two-front war. The coalition Germany was fighting also had much superior resources and numbers. -
Pearl Harbor (History.com)
Pearl Harbor was Japans surprise attack on the US Navy base in Honolulu, Hawaii. The attack was carried out by hundreds of Japanese fighter/bomber planes. The Japanese destroyed nearly 20 navy vessels, including all 8 battleships, and over 300 US planes. More than 2000 US soldiers were killed with another 1000 injured. The US declared war the day after the attack. This essentially "woke the sleeping giant" and led to Japans ultimate defeat. -
Wannsee Conference (History.com)
The Wannsee Conference was a meeting of Nazi officials to discus the "Final Solution". The Final Solution was the genocide of the Jewish population. The main problem was how to eradicate a population in the most effective manor possible, regardless of suffering from the victims. The officials kept very detailed minutes of the meeting; this provided very important evidence during the Nuremberg Trials. -
Bataan Death March (History.com)
The Bataan Death March was a 65-mile march in which 75,000 Filipino and American troops were forced to endure by the Japanese after their surrender on the Bataan Peninsula. They were forced to march the 65 miles to prison camps. The march was also done in extreme heat in which the people were also treated very harshly by their captors. Thousands of men died along this march thus giving the name the Bataan Death March. -
Battle of Midway (History.com)
The Battle of Midway was a key turning point in the war in the Pacific. US intelligence had intercepted and broke the code of Japanese radio transmissions. This allowed them to form a counter attack for the Japanese surprise attack on US ships heading to reclaim Midway. The results of the battle was the sinking of a majority of the Japanese Navy with 4 fleet carriers, their entire task force, and 322 aircraft. They also lost their heavy cruiser. Americans lost 147 aircraft and 300 seamen. -
Battle of Stalingrad (History.com)
The Battle of Stalingrad was the USSR's successful defense against the German invasion at Stalingrad. The battle is considered to be the greatest battle of WWII and also the bloodiest with a combined military and civilian casualties of nearly 2 million. The battle was won when the Soviet army surrounded the remaining German soldiers and eventually their surrender. The results ended with total destruction of the city. This was also the turning point giving the Allied Powers the favor of the war. -
Warsaw Ghetto uprising (History.com)
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was a mainly Jewish revolt against the Nazis in the Warsaw Ghetto. The uprising was sparked by the imminent deportation of 250k-300k Jews leaving only 60k in the Ghetto. A very small group of people, less than 1000, planned an uprising. They succeed due to their surprise advantage. The revolt didn't last but a few weeks as Germany sent in over 2000 men to level and clear out the city. Of the 50,000 Jews captured and sent to Treblinka 14,000 were killed immediately. -
Operation Gomorrah (History.com)
Operation Gommorah was an air raid in which American troops dropped bombs on the German city of Hamburg by day and the British dropped bombs by night. The first raid on July 24 dropped 2,300 tons of explosives, equivalent to the 5 worst bombing raids of German bombers on London. The operation claimed 30,000 German lives, 280,000 buildings (including industrial and munitions plants). The total amount of bombs dropped was over 9,000 tons of explosives. These attacks crippled German Morale as well. -
D-Day (Normandy Invasion) (History.com)
D-Day was the Allied invasion of Germany's heavily armed and defended Normandy beaches. The battle consisted of over 150,000 allied troops invading German controlled Normandy. By the end of the invasion about 156,000 allied troops successfully stormed the beaches while 4,000 lost their lives. Less than a week later 326,000 troops, more than 50,000 vehicles, and around 100,000 tons of equipment had successfully landed at Normandy. This was another turning point towards Germany's defeat. -
Battle of the Bulge (History.com)
The Battle of the Bulge was Germany's last offense of WWII. The German Army hoped to separate and divide the Allied forces. The battle was unsuccessful as the Allied army's line looked like a bulge instead of spiting and thus gave the battle its name. This battle was also the most costly battle in american history totaling in at 100,000 casualties. After Germany's defeat it was a short road till its ultimate defeat. -
Battle of Iwo Jima (History.com)
The Battle of Iwo Jima was the amphibious invasion of one of Japan's home islands Iwo Jima. The island was defended by roughly 23,000 Japanese troops. The troops fought in an elaborate network of tunnels, caves, dugouts, and installations. The US Marines decimated the defending forces within a month. All Japanese forces died except 1083 prisoners (two of them didn't surrender until 1951). There were also 5,900 US casualties and 17,400 injured. -
Battle of Okinawa (History.com)
The Battle of Okinawa was the last and largest of the Pacific island battles in WWII. The battle involved 287,000 US troops against 130,000 Japanese soldiers. By the end Japan had lost 77,000 soldiers and the Allies suffered 65,000 casualties along with 14,000 dead. The battle also resulted in 100,000 civilian casualties. The results of this battle are countless in the navy and air force as far as ships and aircrafts. The end of the battle concluded with US control over Okinawa. -
VE Day (History.com)
VE Day stands for Victory in Europe Day. On this day Great Britian and the US celebrate the victory of the war in Europe and the defeat of the Nazi war machine. On this day German soldiers and armies gave in to surrender and laid down their weapons. There were also many documents of official surrender on this day as well. -
Dropping of the atomic bombs (History.com)
The atomic bomb was created by the US military in an effort to end the war without a land invasion of Japan. The first of two was dropped on Hiroshima and the second on Nagasaki 3 days later. The total number of deaths of the two bombs is in the hundreds of thousand. Each bomb almost entirely leveled the city it was dropped on. This quickly brought Japan to its knees in an unconditional surrender to the US Military on August 15, 1945. -
V-J Day (History.com)
V-J Day is the hyphenated term for "Victory over Japan Day". The term came when Japan officially surrendered to the US in WWII. The term is also used on Sept. 2, 1945; the day Japan's formal surrender took place. This event had finally put and end to WWII.
