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Battle of Dunkirk
May 9, Germany began to attack the Low Countries and drive towards English Channel
-Took over Ardennes;Hitler wanted to defeat the French and British Expeditionary Force (BEF)
Belgian, French and British forces were unable to stop advances
-Regrouped at port city Dunkirk, France
Winston Churchill ordered evacutation
May 27-June 4, 332,226 men were rescued by civillian ships
About 70,000 British troops were killed or captured and ships were taken
-Saved majority of British Army -
Period: to
5 Major WWII Battles
5 major World War II battle that Mrs. Dawes gave us -
Operation Barbossa
Adolf Hitler launched invasion of Russia
-Successful with early invasions; wanted to take down Eastern front
Massive invasion over 2000 miles long
Initially effective
-Got deep into Russian territory near Moscow
-captured 600,000 prisoners
Severely underestimated opponent
-General Gudrien began to concentrate forces towards Kiew in south
-Soviet stopped advances
-Operation Barbossa failed
-Put Germany in a two-front war
-Major turning point in war -
Battle of Midway
Naval Battle between US Navy and Japan
Japan planned to draw US into trap
-They wanted to destroy all of the US carriers and dominate Pacific Theater
American codebreakers were able to decipher Japanese plans to make diversion
US set up counter ambush and dominated Japanese navy
-Japan lost 4 valuable carriers
-Gave US the advantage to win war -
Battle of Stalingrad
Germany attempts to invade Stalingrad, Soviet Union
-Wanted to deal major blow on Soviet Union and Eastern Front
-Stalingrad was a major industrial and transportation center
Soviet successfully defends Stalingrad
-Soviet Union surrounded and crushed German forces
-Total casualties: 2 million
Humilation for Germany
-Created distrust and tension within Germany -
Battle of Normandy a.k.a D-Day
Allies (U.S, Britain, Canada) attacked Germany
-Wanted to liberate France
Split up Germany's resources
Hitler underestimated oppenents and sufffered confusion in the ranks
Resulted in Ally liberation of Western Europe from Nazi control
-Liberated Paris
End of August: Germany surrendered -
Sources (All pictures from Wikipedia)
http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/worldwarii/p/dunkirk.htm
http://www.secondworldwarhistory.com/rescue-at-dunkirk.asp
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/operation-barbarossa
http://www.secondworldwarhistory.com/operation-barbarossa-the-drive-on-smolensk.asp
http://www.secondworldwarhistory.com/battle-of-midway.asp
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-midway
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-stalingrad
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day
