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Midway
Just six months after the attack of Pearl Harbor, the United States defeated Japan. This batlle left permanent damage on their navy. One of the biggest advantages America had was the advance in codebreaking which allowed us to intercept and decipher Japanese plans to ambush our navy. This was a very important turning point in the war effort in the Pacific. -
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Stalingrad
Considered one of the bloodiest battles in history, The Battle of Stalingrad was the successful defence of the Soviet city Stalingrad. With over 2 million deaths in total, Stalingrad proved to be a great battle that stopped the German advance into Soviet territory. This marked a turning point of the war in favor of the Allies. -
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D-Day
D-Day was one of the largest sea and land invasions in history. About 156,000 American, British, and Canadian soldiers landed on that 50 mile stretch of heavily fortified beaches in Normandy. Prior to the actual invasion, the Allies lead a large deception campaign to fool the Germans to thinking they weren’t targeting that location. -
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Leyte Gulf
The battle of Leyte Gulf began after the Allies landed on the Philippine island Leyte. The imperial forces attempted to converge three of their naval forces on Leyte. After redirecting American forces with a decoy, the U.S. Seventh fleet destroyed one of Japan’s forces and made another withdraw. The third naval force was successful in its efforts, but withdrew before attacking the Allied forces. This battle crippled most of the Imperial naval fleet. -
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Battle of the Bulge
This was the battle where Hitler attempted to split up the Allied armies in Northwest Europe. He began this by blitzkrieg attacks through Ardennes to Antwerp. The U.S. did all it could and fought desperate battles to halt the German advance. As the Germans advanced deeper and deeper into Ardennes the Allied army was told to look like a large bulge, hence the name. Thank’s to strategic maneuvering the Allies were able to neutralize the German offensive. -
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Iwo Jima
This was an American invasion on Japan in hopes of securing their naval base. With strategic movement three U.S. marine divisions landed on Iwo Jima. The island was defended with over 22,000 Japanese soldiers who fought out of a system of caves and tunnels which proved to be a gruesome strategy. This is also the famous battle where the picture of the flag raising was taken.