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The Allies staged a massive operation to force the defenders to split their forces or be surrounded, but quick success depended on a rapid break-out from the beachhead. Some 36,000 men landed to the enemy's considerable surprise, but while the Allies consolidated, the Germans surrounded the area with equivalent forces and dug defensive positions.
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Following the D-Day invasion of June 1944, the Allies broke out of Normandy and advanced rapidly across France and Belgium. Hitler aimed to halt them by a surprise Blitzkrieg.
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This was a major victory for Allied troops in World War II, but more than 9,000 soldiers were wounded or killed.
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Franklin Roosevelt sworn in as President for a 4th term.
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Harry S. Truman became the 33rd president of the United States following the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt on April 12, 1945. Little known when he took office, Truman gained respect for his role in the development of the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan and for his leadership during the Berlin Airlift and the Korean War.
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Japan unconditionally surrenders to the United States, ending World War II.
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ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) was the first electronic digital computer. Built by Presper Eckert and John W. Mauchly, it filled a 30′ x 60′ room.
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Winston Churchill proclaims "an iron curtain has swept across the continent (Europe)," beginning the Cold War.
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Holography was invented by Dennis Gabor. The technique created three-dimensional images.
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It was a war between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea. U.S. troops supported the Republic of Korea in this war.