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Japanese Invasion of China
http://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2011/06/world-war-ii-before-the-war/100089/
Japan wanted to be the most successful nation in Asia, and to do that they needed land to get oil and natural resources. Japan started to expand in East Asia in 1931 when they took a region called Manchuria. After that, China declared a war against the Japanese Empire. The war escalated in 1937 when the Japanese army invaded several cities in China. The resulting invasion led to many Chinese causalties and the occupation of the Japanese in China throughout the war. -
Rape of Nanking (Nanjing Massacre)
http://www.history.com/topics/nanjing-massacre
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00h783w
After the victory in Shanghai, the Japanese turn their attention towards Nanking. The Chinese leader kept people from evacuating, for fear of losing them. On Dec. 13, the Japanese troops entered the city. Chinese soldiers were hunted down and killed by the thousands. Entire families were massacred, and even the elderly and infants were targeted for execution, while the women were raped. -
Rape of Nanking (Nanjing Massacre)
(Continuation of Rape of Nanking)
Determined to destroy the city, the Japanese burned at least one-third of Nanking's buildings. Even people in a "safety zone," in Nanking, while initially respected by the Japanese, were not safe of the attacks. After the massacre, the Japanese installed a puppet government and controlled Nanking until the end of the war. It would take decades for Nanking, then the capital of Nationist China, and its people to recover from the savage attacks. -
German Invasion of Poland (Part I)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/invasion_poland_01.shtml
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/world-war-ii-history/videos/germany-invades-poland
Hitler wanted to create an empire for Germany, so he captured Sudentland, as well as other territories. After the captures, England and France ministers made appeasement with Hitler which stated that they would not fight Germany if Hitler stop capturing countries. -
German Invasion of Poland (Part II)
(links for information in German Invasion of Poland (Part I)
Hitler agreed to the conditions, but continued to capture countries anyway. Thinking that France and England would continued their appeasement, and with the Soviet Union out of the way, the German army invaded Poland. The invasion consisted of continuous bombing, as well as attacks from the German army. On September 27, Poland had surrender to Germany. The event also made Britain and France declare war on Germany, and thus started WWII -
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German Blitzkrieg
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/george-smith-patton/videos/patton-vs-germanys-tiger-tanks
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/blitzkrieg
Germany did not want a repeat of the deadlock in WWI, so they created a tactic, which involved the use of mobile forces and modern technology to disorganize the enemy. The Germans tested blitzkrieg in the battle in Poland and then used the tactic in battles in France. Blitzkrieg made Germans have a great advantage in the first half of WWII. -
Period: to
Operation Barbarossa
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/soviet_german_war_01.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00h9rx0
Hitler wanted the Soviet sudued so that a new "German Empire" could be realized. So, on June 22, 1941, the Germans army planned a blitzkrieg in the Soviet Union. Although they made some gains in the beggining of the operationthe Germans made it no futher than Smolensk because of cold weather brought a lull in the fighting. -
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Operation Barbarossa Part II
(Continuation of Operation Barbarossa)
The Soviet army was able to recoup and defeated the German Army in the Battle of Moscow. The operation left many of the Germans dead by both the cold weather or by the Soviets. The end of the operation is considered one of the turning points in the war because it forced Germany to take part in a war against the Soviet in which they could not win. -
Pearl Harbor
http://www.secondworldwarhistory.com/attack-on-pearl-harbor.asp http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/world-war-ii-history/videos/attack-pearl-harbor
Japan wanted to incorporate as much of the Pacific Ring into a sphere of influence. The Japanese considered America and its Pacific Fleet centralized in the Hawaiian Islands, Pearl Harbor. When America put up an oil embargo against Japan, the Japanese made preparations for an attack.
On Dec. 7 1941, the Japanese bombed the harbor, destroying military naval ships and killing thousands of American citizens. The attack caused America to immediately declare war on Japan. -
Wannsee Conference
https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005477
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00mwzb7
The Nazis wanted to discuss a "final solution to the Jewish question," or a systemic way to kill all of the European Jews. The Conference consisted of many German officials, and in the conference discusses the implementation of the plan. They discussed other issues such as the separation of the Jews, as well as the concentration camps. -
Wannsee Conference (Part II)
https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005477
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00mwzb7
(Continuation of Wannsee Conference)
The conference helped to futher the coordination of a policy aimed at the physical annihalation of the European Jews. -
Battle of Midway
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-midway
http://ww2history.com/videos/Pacific/Battle_of_Midway
The Japanese wanted to sink the remaining American aircraft carriers that had escape destruction in Pearl Harbor. The Japanese chose a island close to Pearl Harbor, figuring that when the Americans began their counter-attack, the Japanese would be ready to crush them. Instead, the Americans were able to break the Japanese codes. -
Battle of Midway (Part II)
(continuation of Battle of Midway)
The General then place the aircraft carriers near Midway in order to surprise the Japanese moving up for their prepatory airstrikes on the Midway Islands. The American carrier planes shot down many torpedo bombers. The Japanese carriers were caught refueling and rearming their planes, making them vulnerable. The Americans sunk four carriers, carrying aircraft and sailors. The Battle of Midway is seen as the turning point in the Pacific Theater of the war. -
Operation Gommorah
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/operation-gomorrah-is-launched
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCYPrur6ssU
The British wanted to get back at Germany for the deaths Germany caused in bombing raids. So, the British dropped incendiary bombs on the town of Hamburg. In the first raid, the British dropped 2,300 tons of bombs, killing 1500 German civilians. The British attacks on Hamburg continued until November on 1943. The operation was devasting for both the city, as well as German morale -
D Day (Invasion of Normandy)
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day/videos/d-day-deception
Germany had invaded and occupied northwestern France, so America and Britain considered a invasion to take back the land. On Jun. 6, the Allies made amphibious invasions where they faced opposition in five beaches, especially in one codenamed, "Ohama." The Allies were able to claim all five sectors of land, and less than a week later, were able to send supplies to the beaches. -
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Battle of the Bulge (Part II)
(continuation of Battle of the Bulge)
The British and the Americans then counterattacked the German army. The Americans successfully got rid of all Germans gains by the end of January, 1945. This was the final offensive the Germans made in WWII, as the battle made the German army undermanned. -
Period: to
Battle of the Bulge
https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10006178
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/world-war-ii-history/videos/battle-bulge
The German wanted to try one last gambit in order to split US and British forces in northern France. On December 16, 1944, the Germans broke through American lines. The Americans, however were able to delay the Germans sufficiently enough to permit reinforcements to be moved in position to halt the German drive. -
Operation Thunderclap (Bombing of Dresden) Part I
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-dresden
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-two/11410633/Dresden-was-a-civilian-town-with-no-military-significance.-Why-did-we-burn-its-people.html
After the victory of the Battle of the Bulge, the Allied forces were dropping bombs on Germany everyday. The Allies believe that the descruction caused by incendiary bombs would destroy the German economy and morale, and thus force an early surrender. -
Operation Thunderclap (Bombing of Dresden) Part II
(Continuation of Operation Thunderclap Part I)
Refugees fleeing from the Russians took refuge in Dresden, thinking it was an unlikely target for an air attack. Unfortunately for them, on Feb. 13, 1945 RAF bombers descended on Dresden, dropping their explosive cargo over the city. The dropping of both incendiary and high-explosive bombs did not end until Feb. 15, 1945. The Allies claim that by bombing the city, they were disrupting communications that would have hindered the Soviet offensive. -
Operation Thunderclap (Bombing of Dresden) Part III
(continuation of Operation Thunderclap)
While the claim might have been true, there was no disputing that part of the reason for the bombing was to terroize the German population and force an early surrender. The city of Dresden was so damaged during the bombings that it was basically leveled by the end of the war. The bombing were contriversial because Dresden was neither important to German's wartime production or a major industrial center. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/world-war-ii-history/videos/battle-iwo-jima
http://spartacus-educational.com/2WWjima.htm
General McArthur wanted to capture the small volcanic island of Iwo Jima, defended by 20,000 Japanese veterans. On Feb. 19, American forces landed on the island, planning to capture the island's three airstrips. The Americans met with strong resistance from the Japanese, but was able to win on Mar. 10. The Americans were now able to launch bombing attacks on Japan. -
Liberation of the Camps
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/liberation_camps_01.shtml#two
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/the-holocaust/videos/concentration-camp-liberation
After finding Nazi extermination camps in Poland in 1945, the Allies decided to liberate all the camps to liberate the Jews from all the camps that the Nazi built. The Allies found many concentration camps that had poor conditions. After the war, many Germans who were part of the camps were put on trial and punished. -
Period: to
Battle of Okinawa
http://www.secondworldwarhistory.com/battle-of-okinawa.asp
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/world-war-ii-history/videos/battle-okinawa
The island of Okinawa represented a grand strategic marker for both the Americans and the Japanese, as the island was the last before the Japanese mainland. The Allies drew up want was to this day, the largest amphibious assault. The Japanese, however, sent out Kamikazes, suicidal Japanese airmen, towards the US ships. -
Period: to
Battle of Okinawa
(Continuation of Battle of Okinawa
The battle continued until the American troops divided the Japanese troops into thirds. The American general Buckner asked the Japanese general Ushjima, for surrender, but Ushjima and his staff commit ritual suicide for honor. This set the stage for the end of the Japanese Empire. -
VE Day
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/ff7_veday.shtml
https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/media_fi.php?ModuleId=10005137&MediaId=235
Allied bombing raids had devasted many German cities, while Russian troops formed a ring around Berlin and held it under siege. After Hitler's suicide, the temporary President of the Third Reich was sent to surrender to the Allies. This led to the end of the war in Europe, but the War in the Pacific was still continuing. -
Dropping of the Atomic Bombs Part 1
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki/videos/atomic-bomb
In Jul. 1945, the project for making an atomic bomb, the Mahattan Project, was completed. When the Japanese had refused the demand for surrender, Harry Truman decided to use the atomic bomb to bring the war to a quick end. On Aug. 6 , the Americans dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, destroying five square miles of the city. -
Dropping of the Atomic Bombs, Part II
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki/videos/atomic-bomb
The Hiroshima destruction had failed to elicit Japanese surrender. So, on August 9, 1945, the Americans dropped an even larger bomb on the city of Nagasaki. The topography of Nagasaki had limited the destructionof the bomb, though, to 2.6 square miles. The desctruction of both blasts made Japanese consider surrender. -
VJ Day
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/v-j-day
https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/media_fi.php?ModuleId=10005155&MediaId=231
After the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese feared for the end of their nation. So, on August 14, 1945, the Japanese unconditionally surrendered to the United States. The Japanese made their formal surrender, however, on September 2, 1945. The Japanese surrender resulted in the ending of World War II. To this day both Aug. 14 and Sept. 2 are called VJ Day.
