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Germany invades Poland
1.5 million German troops invade Poland. This was the act that started World War II. Nazi operatives had posed as Polish military officers to stage an attack on the radio station in the Silesian city of Gleiwitz. -
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War in the Pacific
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Germany invades France
British and French commanders had believed that German forces would attack through central Belgium as they had in World War I. The main German attack however, went through the Ardennes Forest in southeastern Belgium and northern Luxembourg. -
Germany invades Soviet Union
The destruction of the Soviet Union by military force, the permanent elimination of the perceived Communist threat to Germany.Germans allotted almost 150 divisions containing a total of about 3,000,000 men. -
Japanese attack on Peral Harbor
Hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Was a surprise military strike planned by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.The attack lead to America joining WW2 -
The Battle of Guadalcanal
Was the first major offensive and a decisive victory for the Allies in the Pacific theater. U.S. marines launched a surprise attack in August 1942 and took control of an air base under construction. -
The Fire Bombing of Tokyo
U.S. warplanes launch a new bombing offensive against Japan, dropping 2,000 tons of incendiary bombs on Tokyo. Between 80,000 and 130,000 Japanese civilians were killed in the worst single firestorm in recorded history. -
The Battle of Midway
Only six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea.American planes and ships defeated a Japanese fleet on its way to invade the Midway Islands. 17 out of 22 Japanese ships were sunk, 144 Japanese planes and 5,100 Japanese men perished. -
D- Day
Allies invade Western Europe in the largest attack in history. resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany’s control. 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified coast of France’s Normandy region. -
Battle of the Bulge
the last major German offensive on the Western Front during World War II. The battle was a last ditch attempt by Hitler to split the Allies in two in their drive towards Germany and destroy their ability to supply themselves. -
U.S Forces take Iwo Jima
U.S. Marines stormed ashore on Iwo Jima, a small volcanic island half way between the Mariana Islands and Japan. These landings opened more than a month of extremely bloody ground fighting between three Marine divisions and more than 20,000 Japanese defenders. -
Battle of Berlin
The Battle for Berlin all but marked the end of World War Two in Europe. It was fought between April and May 1945, and the Russian victory saw the end of Hitler's Third Reich and the occupation of the city by the Red Army before it was divided into four as a result of the wartime meetings between the Allies. -
VE Day
Victory in Europe Day. VE Day officially announced the end of World War Two in Europe. German General Jodl signed the unconditional surrender document that formally ended war in Europe. -
American Drop Atomic Bombs
American B-29 bomber, the Enola Gay, drops the world's first atom bomb, over the city of Hiroshima. Approximately 80,000 people are killed as a direct result of the blast, and another 35,000 are injured. At least another 60,000 would be dead by the end of the year from the effects of the fallout. -
VJ Day
The day that the Japanese surrendered to the U.S. That officially ended WW2.
