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Invasion of Poland
The start of World War II was signaled by Nazi Germany, the Slovak Republic, and the Soviet Union attacking the Republic of Poland from 1 September to 6 October 1939. -
Battle of France
Between 9 May and 22 June 1940, a stunning German invasion of north-west Europe known as the Battle of France led to the seizure and subjection of four nations, including Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Belgium in addition to France. -
Battle of Britain
In the Second World War, the Royal Air Force and the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy protected Britain from widespread attacks by the Luftwaffe, Nazi Germany's air force, during the Battle of Britain. It was the first significant military operation in which only air forces were used. -
Pearl Harbor
On Sunday, December 7, 1941, just before 8:00 a.m., the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service launched a surprise military attack against the United States against the American naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii. -
Battle of Midway
During the Battle of Midway, which took place from June 3–6, 1942, the United States completely destroyed Japan's first-line carrier strength and the majority of its most skilled naval pilots. -
Battle of Stalingrad
During the Battle of Stalingrad, a significant conflict on the Eastern Front of World War II, Nazi Germany and its allies battled the Soviet Union in vain for control of the southern Russian city of Stalingrad. -
Tehran Conference
Following the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran in November 1943, Joseph Stalin, Franklin Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill met to discuss strategy during the Tehran Conference, which took place from November 28 to December 1, 1943. It took place at the Iranian capital of Tehran's Soviet Union embassy. -
Normandy Landings
During World War II's Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy included landing operations and related airborne operations on Tuesday, June 6, 1944. It was the greatest seaborne invasion in history, known under the codename Operation Neptune and frequently referred to as D-Day. -
Operation Market Garden
In the Netherlands, which were then under German occupation, the Allies conducted Operation Market Garden from September 17 to September 27, 1944. -
Battle of the Bulge
The Ardennes Offensive, commonly known as the Battle of the Bulge, was the final significant German offensive operation on the Western Front in World War II. As the European War came to a conclusion, the combat continued for five weeks, from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945. -
Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference, also known as the Crimea Conference, from February 4-11, 1945, was the World War II meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union to discuss the postwar reorganization of Germany and Europe. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The Battle: On February 19, 1945, U.S. Marines invaded Iwo Jima following months of naval and aerial bombardment. Deep under the volcanic rocks, the Japanese defenders of the island were holed up in bunkers. The conflict had roughly 18,000 Japanese forces and 70,000 U.S. Marines. -
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The United States dropped two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, respectively. The aerial bombings—the only time nuclear weapons have been used in an armed conflict—killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people overall, and the most of them were civilians. -
Surrender of Japan
On September 2, 1945, Japanese representatives signed the official Instrument of Surrender, prepared by the War Department and approved by President Harry S. Truman. It set out in eight short paragraphs the complete capitulation of Japan.
