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Japanese invasion of China (1937)
The Second Sino-Japanese War began on July 7th, 1937. The war ended after Japan surrendered to China and the allied forces on September 9, 1945. The war happened because there was conflict between China and Japan for control of Chinese mainland. This war later merged into World War II, after Japan's attack at Pearl Harbor. -
Operation Barbarossa (1941)
On June 22, 1941 Adolf Hitler led Germany to invade the Soviet Union, which they now call Operation Barbarossa. One of his motivations was to control more people of the Slavic race. It ended up being one of the most destructive wars in history. By the end of October over 500,000 square miles of Soviet territory was captured. -
Pearl Harbor (1941)
On December 7, 1941 a sneak attack was launched by the japanese on the US Naval Base Pearl Harbor. They used bombs, torpedo bombers, and midget submarines. This occurred because the only thing Japan had in their favor was the element of surprise. They wanted to eliminate America's navy as quick as possible. This eventually led to the the launch of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the U.S. joined the world war. And over 1,000 people lost their lives during these attacks. -
D-Day (1944)
D-Day was the day the Allied powers crossed the English Channel and landed on the beaches of Normandy, France. It began the process of releasing power from the Nazi. Within 3 months the northern part of France was free. D-Day was the beginning to the end of Hitler's rule. It was the largest air, land, and sea invasion, and the goal was so surprised Germany. -
Battle of Iwo Jima (1945)
From December 16,1944 to January 16, 1945 the battle of Iwo Jima occured. 1/3 of all marine losses (of WWII) occurred during this battle. It was the last major German offensive on the Western Front. It was an unsuccessful attempt to push the Allies back from German home territory. -
Battle of the Bulge (1945)
On January 25, 1945 the Germans launched the last major fight of the war. The Battle of the Bulge was an attempt to push the Allied front line west from northern France to northwestern Belgium. The germans created a "bulge" around the area of the Ardennes forest, hence the name. It resulted in a massive loss of American and civilian life. It was the Germany's defeat and the end of the war in Europe came sooner. It was the last major Nazi offensive in WWII. -
Liberation of Concentration Camps (1945)
On January 27, 1945, Soviet soldiers freed the people that were in Auschwitz, a concentration camp that stored jews. The process of liberating concentration camps occurred during the final stages of the war. They found hundreds of sick and exhausted prisoners. They deported at least 1.3 million people from Auschwitz. Which heavily impacted the lives of jews, and made their current situation a lot better than it was before. -
VE Day (1945)
On May 8th, 1945 Great Britain and the United States celebrated Victory in Europe Day. Cities of the two nations, plus more, celebrated the defeat of the Nazi war by putting up flags and banners. VE day pays tribute to all the people who fought against the Nazi during WW2. -
Dropping of the atomic bombs (1945)
On August 6, 1945 an American B-29 bomber named the Enola Gay, an atomic bomb, was dropped over the city of Hiroshima, in Japan. Hiroshima was chosen as the location because it was one of the few cities that had not been affected by WWII yet plus it was also an important military base. 80,000 people were killed as a result of the bomb, and 60,000 died by the end of the year from the effects of the fallout. -
VJ Day (1945)
VJ Day, also known as Victoryover Japan Day, was the day of Japan's formal surrender. This occured soon after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The surrender of Japan resulted in the end of world war 2. The surrender was announced on August 15 but formally addressed on September 2, 1945.
