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German Blitzkrieg
German Blitzkrieg was a tactic that Germany used in war. Basically what they do is use the element of surprise along with speed and overwhelming firearms force. The point of showing so much force so quick was to create physiological shock in the enemy. This shock led to disorganization within the enemy. This tactic was most commonly used by the Nazis in WWII. They used this tactic When invading Belgium, The Netherlands, and France. -
Pearl Harbor
On the morning of Dec 7th 1941 a Japanese aircraft attacked the US naval base at Pearl Harbor. 2 hours latter 18 ships, 188 aircrafts, and 2403 servicemen and women were destroyed and killed. The Japanese attacked because they wanted no interference when conquering South East Asia, and they believed that if they attacked pearl harbor there was no way they could interfere. Pearl Harbor brought the US out of isolation and into WWII. -
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for the Invasion of the Soviet Union. This invasion was led by the Nazis and their goal was to take over the Western Soviet Union and repopulate with Germans. Operation Barbarossa was a failure that ended up making Germany fighting a two front war. -
Wannsee Conference
The Wannsee Conference was a conference held in Wannsee by high ranking Nazi party and German ranking officials to discuss the "Final solution of the German question." The point of the meeting was to find a way to get rid of the Jews for good. The outcome of the meeting was to kill the Jews, as we know today is what happened. -
Battle of Midway
The battle of Midway was a clash between the US and the Japanese that lasted roughly 6 months. The reason for the battle of Midway happening was a direct result from the attack on Pearl Harbor. The US successfully defended the major base at the Midway Point, which crushed all hopes for the Japanese to neutralize the United States Naval power ultimately turning the tide in World War 2. -
Battle of Stalingrad
The battle of Stalingrad was a vicious battle between Russian forces and the Nazis. It is recognized as one of the bloodiest and longest battles in history. The reason it happened was because the Germans had already taken over Belarus and Ukraine and were feeling very power hungry which led to the attack on Russia. Russia was expecting an attack but they expected it to be on Moscow not Stalingrad. When the Nazis lost in boosted Russia's overall confidence and put Hitler on the defensive. -
Operation Gomorrah
Operation Gomorrah was payback for the Britain's against the Germans. Overnight in July of 1943 Britain bombers raided German airspace and bombed Hamburg, The raids lasted for nearly 5 months. Britain attacked because earlier that month the Germans bombed London killing 167 civilians. The bombing left Germany in a really bad place. The British dropped nearly 9000 tons of explosives which killed 30 000 people and destroyed 280 000 buildings, basically destroying Germanys economy. -
D-Day (Normandy Invasion)
D-Day was an attack on Nazi occupied France where Allied forces launched a combined naval, air, and land assault on the area. The purpose of the attack was to overthrow Nazi Germany and their leader Adolf Hitler. D-Day was the beginning of the end For Nazi Germany and Hitler. The attack forced the Nazis to fight a two front war which the Germans just could not handle. -
Battle of the Bulge
The battle of the bulge was a last major attempt for the Germans to push back the allied forces that attacked their front in France. The Germans threw approximately 250 000 soldiers at this front line. The reason Germany did this was because if they didn't they had no chance at winning the war. Because of the United States having thin forces and heavy fog the day of the attack the Germans were able to push enemy forces back and into retreat. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima was a military campaign between the U.S marines and the imperial army of Japan. On February 19th, 1945 the U.S invaded the island which started the battle of Iwo Jima which lasted roughly 5 weeks. The U.S attacked this land because it was prime real estate that the U.S could use for airfields and for bombing raids against Japan. The battle of Iwo Jima was one of the bloodiest fights ever but was successful for the U.S as they took over the island and used it for Raids. -
VE Day
Victory is Europe day was the day that they celebrated the victory over the Nazis in WWII. The reason that they celebrated was because after all the hassle of the war and all the conflict and deaths they finally won. The result of the event led to confidence for all allied country's of the U.S and Britain. -
Dropping of the Atomic Bombs
An American B-29 bomber dropped the worlds first atomic bomb over the city of Hiroshima in Japan. They dropped this bomb over Japan to try and end the war fast and avoid U.S Casualties. Due to a direct result of the bombing the soviet union started to develop nuclear weapons of their own. The bombing on Hiroshima led to nuclear arms race around the world. -
VJ Day
VJ Day or Victory over Japan day is a day to celebrate the Japanese surrendering in world war 2, basically ending the war. Most say that Japan surrendered because of the bombing attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. VJ day is a day that is still celebrated in the U.S today. -
Liberation of Concentration Camps
The liberation of concentration camps was the allies going through Europe and coming across concentration camps which they then liberated. They liberated the camps because they knew what the Nazis were doing with the starving and nearly dead prisoners was wrong. The effects of the events were that some of the Jewish prisoners were saved but at the point of the Liberation the Nazis had already done their damage. -
Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa was the last major battle of World War 2. The United States sent 180 000 troops onto the island of Okinawa for a final push at Japan which turned out to be a very bloody battle. This invasion was part of operation Iceberg which was to conquer the Ryukyu islands and Okinawa was one of them. The allies won the battle and took over Okinawa. Today the island is owned by the Japanese but the United States still has military bases there. -
Sources
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/blitzkrieg#:~:text=Uses%20of%20Blitzkrieg%20in%20World%20War%20II&text=In%20May%201940%20came%20Germany's,quickly%20penetrated%20the%20Allied%20defenses. https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/what-happened-at-pearl-harbor#:~:text=On%20the%20morning%20of%207,the%20island%20of%20Oahu%2C%20Hawaii.&text=Within%20two%20hours%2C%2018%20US,American%20servicemen%20and%20women%2 https://www.facinghistory.org/holocaust-and-human-behavior/chapter-9/wannsee-conference -
Sources
https://www.mtholyoke.edu/~kmmurray/The%20Longest%20Day/The%20Effects%20of%20D-Day.html#:~:text=D%2DDay%20was%20the%20beginning,on%20both%20sides%20of%20them. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/battle-of-the-bulge https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/victory-in-europe https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-iwo-jima https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/operation-barbarossa https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-midway -
Sources
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/american-bomber-drops-atomic-bomb-on-hiroshima#:~:text=On%20August%206%2C%201945%2C%20the,and%20another%2035%2C000%20are%20injured. https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/v-j-day https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-stalingrad https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/operation-gomorrah-is-launched https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-okinawa
