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World War II
This is a timeline of the events in the second world war. -
Japanese Invasion of China
The Japanese and the Chinese had been bickering a long time. The Chinese had valuable resources that the Japanese wanted, and they wanted to expand their political influennce, and so the Japanese invaded China. Initially they had many victories. There was a total Japanese surrender in the end. -
Rape of Nanking
This is often considered one of the most brutal acts in all of WWII. The Japanese invaded the Chinese city of Nanking in 1937 because of China's wealth of natural resources. There, they proceeded to murder half of the city's population, The Japanese soldiers also raped and killed thousands of women. -
German Invasion of Poland
German troops ivaded Poland as a result of Hitler's command. He claimed it was a defensive action, but it was really to create living space for his "superior race" which he was trying to create. Britain and France declared war two days later, officially beginning WWII. -
German Blitzkrieg
The German tactic of Blitzkrieg, also called "lightning war", was used frequently by the German forces from 1939 to 1941. It had been in development for many years and was first used on the Polish during WWII. It involved large convoys that attacked the enemy from all sides. It was very beneficial until 1942. -
Operation Barbarossa
This was the attempted German invasion of the Soviet territory. Hitler sent three large groups of troops into the Soviet Union, but he had severely underestimated the power of the Soviet army. This was a major turning point in the war for the Allies, as they finally had the upper hand. After this operation's failure, the Germans were fighting on two fronts. -
Pearl Harbor
This was the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, a US Naval base. Hundreds of Japanese bomber planes dropped bombs on Pearl Harbor for two hours. This was when Roosevelt declared war on them, and consequently, the Germans and Italians delcared war on the US. This was the official start for the Americans in WWII. -
Wannsee Conference
This is when fifteen high-ranking German officials met in Wannsee to discuss the "Final Solution of the Jewish Question". This was the nice way of saying the annhilation of all European Jews, No one objected to the idea, and they went right to planning how to implement their plan. Hitler had already approved this the previous year, and it was already happening in many places. -
Bataan Death March
This occurred after the US surrender of the Bataan Peninsula on April 9th of 1942. The events that followed involved the torture of about 75,000 American and Filipino troops as they walked a 65 mile march to prison camps. Many died in the intense heat of the spring. -
Battle of Midway
The Japanese had planned an attack on the US ships that had escaped destruction in the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Thanks to major breakthroughs in code breaking, the US was able to prepare for this attack. They caught the Japanese in the middle of refueling and re-arming, and were ableto defeat them. -
Battle of Stalingrad
This was also a mahor turning point in WWII, as the Soviets successfully defended the city of Stalingrad from the invasion of German troops. It is considered one of the bloodiest battles in history, with casualties at over two million total. The Russians surrounded the Germans and basically destroyed them. This is one of the battles that turned the war in favor of the Allies. -
Operation Gomorrah
This was the British and American bombing of Hamburg, Germany. After the British lost civillians in the German bombings, they decided it was time for the tables to turn. They drops tons of bombs on the city and only lost 12 planes in the process. Shortly after this, the Americans began their own attack. This was the beginning of many, many attacks on the German front. -
D-Day
On D-Day, troops stormed the beach of Normandy in France. This was a successful attempt to push back German forces. This was the first time the Allied forces had the upper hand over Germany and the Nazis. -
Battle of the Bulge
This was the most desperate attack by the Germans throughtout the whole war. They launched a surprise blitzkrieg which caught the American troops off guard. Even though the Allies suffered severe casualties, General Patton worked a plan to neutralize the enemy forces. This was successful. -
Operation Thunderclap
This was the bombing of the Eastern side of Berlin. This had been planned by the British and American forces to destroy the infrastructure and transport on what was becoming the Eastern front. It was a successful operation, even though it had some bumps at first. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The Allied Forces had planned attacks on the mainland of Japan. The Japanese knew about this and set up on the small Island of Iwo Jima, and they were ready for the Allied forces when they came. This battle accounted for one third of the total Marine losses in WWII. -
Battle of Okinawa
The Allied forces had essentially "island-hopped" their way through Japanese islands, and they were starting a campaign agaisnt Okinawa. During their time on water, the Allies sunk Yamato, one of the Japanese ships that was trying to make it to Okinawa to defend. Once the Allies reached the island, they concluded the northern battle quickly. The battle on the Southern part of the island was much more drawn out and caused many more casualties, but ultimately ended in favor of the Allies. -
V-E Day
This was the day of the Allied victory in Europe. The Germans had surrendered to the Allied forces two days earlier, and surrendered to the Soviets in Berlin on this day. Their camps had all been destroyed as they retreated, and they had nothing left. -
Potsdam Delcaration
This was the delcaration that outlined the terms for Japanese surrender. It called for a total halt to all Japanese forces. They replied with a questionable response which led to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. -
Bombings of Japan
The US devastated Japan as they dropped two atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, with one being dropped on August 6th, and the other on the 9th. This was the first deployment of atomic bombs in history. They killed hundreds of thousands of people, and this led to the surrender of the Japanese a few days later on August 15th. -
VJ Day
This is the day that the US celebrates victory over Japan. This is due to the Japanese surrender after the atomic bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It was the official end of the second World War.