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Japanese invasion of China (1937)
Japan's invasion of China was due essentially to Japan's desire to be an imperial power. There was an economic and a militaristic element to this desire.
http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/why-did-japan-invade-china-1937-an-what-was-marco-315915 -
Germany's invasion of Poland (1939)
In 1939,German forces bombard Poland on land and from the air, as Adolf Hitler seeks to regain lost territory and ultimately rule Poland, World War II had begun.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germany-invades-poland -
German Blitzkrieg (1939-1940)
A German term for “lightning war,” blitzkrieg is a military tactic designed to create disorganization among enemy forces through the use of mobile forces and locally concentrated firepower. German forces tried out the blitzkrieg in Poland in 1939 before successfully employing the tactic with invasions of Belgium, the Netherlands and France in 1940.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/blitzkrieg -
Fall of Paris (1940)
Europe had been at war for nine months. Yet Britain and France, despite having declared war on Germany in September 1939 following Hitler’s attack on Poland, had seen little real fighting. This tense period of anticipation – which came to be known as the ‘Phoney War’ – met an abrupt end on 10 May 1940, when Germany launched an invasion of France and the Low Countries.
http://www.history.co.uk/study-topics/history-of-ww2/fall-of-france -
Operation Barbarossa (1941)
On June 22, 1941, Adolf Hitler launched his armies eastward in a enormous invasion of the Soviet Union.By this point German combat effectiveness had reached its apogee. Barbarossa was the crucial turning point in World War II, for its failure forced Nazi Germany to fight a two-front war against a coalition possessing immensely superior resources.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/operation-barbarossa -
Pearl Harbor (1941)
It was a surprise attack on America that led to the US joining World War II. Japanese is the victory.
http://www.historynet.com/pearl-harbor -
Bataan Death March (1942)
After the April 9,1942, U.S. surrender of the Bataan Peninsula on the main Philippine island of Luzon to the Japanese during WWII (1939-45),the approximately 75,000 Filipino and American troops on Bataan were forced to make an arduous 65-mile march to prison camps.The marchers made the trek in intense heat and were subjected to harsh treatment by Japanese guards.Thousands perished in what became known as the Bataan Death March.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bataan-death-march -
Manhattan Project (1942)
On May 12, 1942, President Roosevelt signed an order creating a secret project to develop the nuclear weapon. The program that developed the atomic bomb for the United States during World War II was the largest secret project ever undertaken by the U.S. government.
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1644.html -
Battle of Midway (1942)
Six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States defeated Japan in one of the most decisive naval battles of WWII. The Battle of Midway was one of the most important battles of World War II. It was the turning point of the war in the Pacific between the United States and Japan. The battle took place over four days between June 4th and June 7th in 1942.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-midway -
Battle of Stalingrad (1942)
It was a successful Soviet defense of the city of Stalingrad in the U.S.S.R. during WWII.Russians consider it to be the greatest battle of their Great Patriotic War,and most historians consider it to be the greatest battle of the entire conflict.It stopped the German advance into the Soviet Union and marked the turning of the tide of war in favor of the Allies.The Battle of Stalingrad was one of the bloodiest battles in history.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-stalingrad -
Operation Gomorrah (1943)
Operation Gomorrah was an aerial bombing campaign that occurred in the European Theater of Operations during WWII. Operation Gomorrah destroyed a significant percentage of the city of Hamburg. The raids severely shook the Nazi leadership, leading Hitler to be concerned that similar raids on other cities could force Germany out of the war.
http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/aerialcampaigns/p/gomorrah.htm -
D-Day (Normandy Invasion - 1944)
On June 6, 1944, the Allies invade Western Europe in the largest amphibious attack in history. The battle resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany’s control.
https://www.dday.org/history/d-day-the-invasion/overview.html -
Operation Thunderclap
In February 1945, the Allies launched Operation Thunderclap, a series of maximum efforts against cities in eastern Germany, partly to pave the way for the Red Army that would soon be overrunning that territory. These deep-penetration raids would tax the bomber crews immensely, as well as bring new devastation to cities yet untouched by U.S. airpower.
https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/10737921 -
Battle of Iwo Jima (1945)
The Battle of Iwo Jima represented to the Americans the pinnacle of forcible entry from the sea. This particular amphibious assault was the ultimate ‘storm landing,’ the Japanese phrase describing the American propensity for concentrating overwhelming force at the point of attack. The huge striking force was more experienced, better armed and more powerfully supported than any other offensive campaign to date in the Pacific War.
http://www.historynet.com/battle-of-iwo-jima.htm -
Battle of Okinawa (1945)
Battle of Okinawa, also known as Operation Iceberg, formed a part of the Pacific War during WWII. Fought in the spring of 1945, it was the biggest amphibious assault in that theater.The battle resulted in victory for the Allies, with huge casualties being inflicted on the Japanese army despite substantial losses for the Americans as well.This proved to be almost the last serious defense of Japanese territory before the end of the war in August.
http://totallyhistory.com/battle-of-okinawa/ -
VE Day (1945)
Great Britain and the United States celebrate Victory in Europe Day. Cities in both nations, as well as formerly occupied cities in Western Europe, put out flags and banners, rejoicing in the defeat of the Nazi war machine.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/victory-in-europe -
Dropping of the atomic bombs (1945)
During World War II,an American B-29 bomber dropped the world’s first deployed atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima.The explosion wiped out 90 percent of the city and immediately killed 80,000 people,tens of thousands more would later die of radiation exposure.Three days later, a second B-29 dropped another A-bomb on Nagasaki,killing an estimated 40,000 people.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki -
Potsdam Declaration (1945)
August 10 the Japanese government issued a statement agreeing to accept the surrender terms of the Potsdam Declaration on the understanding that the emperor’s position as a sovereign ruler would not be prejudiced.
http://www.britannica.com/topic/Potsdam-Declaration -
VJ Day (1945)
It was announced that Japan had surrendered unconditionally to the Allies, effectively ending World War II.Coming several months after the surrender of Nazi Germany, Japan’s capitulation in the Pacific brought six years of hostilities to a final and highly anticipated close.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/v-j-day -
Battle of the Bulge (1945)
The Battle of the Bulge is also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the largest battle fought on the Western Front in Europe during World War II,it is also the largest battle ever fought by the United States Army. It was a German offensive intended to drive a wedge between the American and British armies in France and the Low Countries and recapture the port of Antwerp in The Netherlands to deny the Allies use of the port facilities.
http://www.historynet.com/battle-of-the-bulge
