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Germanys invasion on Poland
Germany invaded Poland and they justified their invasion by saying German ethnic groups were being persecuted in Poland. They used Blitzkreig for the first time in this invasion and after 26 days Poland surrendered and Germany took over Poland. This caused allied nations to be alerted and then WWII begun. -
German Blitzkrieg
German Blitzkrieg was a military tactic used by the Nazis in WWII. The first time it was used was in the invasion of Poland in 1939. This was an effective strategy used by the Germans for the rest of the war and impacted the strategies of war greatly. -
Fall of Paris
After Belgium fell to the Nazis, France fell apart and was decimated in a battle against Germany. Many lost their lives and the ones that survived lost all morale. The fall of Paris was a major victory for the Nazis and they fell relatively quickly from Blitzkrieg. -
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain was a major campaign by air between Germany and Britain. Great Britain was the last standing European country and Germany wanted to invade it and take over the rest of Europe. Britain gained aid from the Soviet Union, and United States and eventually held off the Germans. Hitler stopped attacking Britain and turned his might to the Soviets. This was the first major turning point in the war. -
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor was initially bombed to prevent the American fleet from interfering with planned military actions in the southeast. There were massive casualties and it woke the US up and then they went to war with Japan and eventually with its ally Germany. This is the point where the US enters WWII. -
Wannsee Conference
This was also known as "the last solution" by the Nazis to solve the so called "problem" of the Jews. They gathered in a villa in the suburbs of Berlin. The last solution was a code word for the extermination of the Jews. -
Battle of Midway
This was a conflict between the Japanese and US navies. This was the turning point in the Pacific front of WWII. The Japanese navy lost many ships and the US won the battle staggeringly. -
Battle of Stalingrad
This battle took place in the Soviet Union and over one million Russian soldiers and civilians died. But with this, there was a catastrophic defeat of the German army that forced them to retreat and go on the defensive. -
Allied invasion of Italy
The allied forces wanted Mussolini's reign on Italy to end. So they invaded Italy swiftly and effectively. Upon arrival on mainland, Italy surrendered under terms that they would help the allies exterminate Germany with lenient punishments. -
D-Day
More than 160,000 US troops stormed the beaches of Normandy in 1944 along with other allies to take back France. This was one of the bloodiest battles in the history of battles. This was a long fight that eventually turned the tides for the allied side when Germany lost their position at the beaches. -
Battle of the Bulge
This was known as "the greatest American battle of the war". This war lasted 6 weeks and was very high in casualties. The allies won the war eventually and drove Germany even further back in their own land. -
Operation Thunderclap
Operation Thunderclap was a series of bombings on cities in Europe. Known as the last epic of the air war in Europe. A city called Dresden was decimated in these bombings and it was the worst bombings in the whole war. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The Americans planned an invasion on an island thought to only last a couple days but they didn't know that the Japanese were hidden in a fortress on the island. This caused many casualties on the American side but eventually they did win the battle and took control of the island. This was the spot to invade Japan from but it was eventually decided to nuke them instead. -
Battle of Okinawa
The significance of Okinawa to the US was they could use this as a point to bomb Japan for an invasion. This was also a major military island off the coast of Japan. This was the last major battle of WWII. It was a battle won by the US but at the loss of many sailors and ships on both sides. -
Dropping of the atomic bombs
The first atomic bomb dropped was at Hiroshima with the attempt to neutralize the Japanese. Then it was decided to drop a second bomb on Nagasaki. Both were devastating and led the Japanese to surrender after the loss of too many civilians.
