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The Munich Pact
The Munich Pact was a turning point in the war because it started Germany's aggressive movments to take over more land and create an empire. They called this empire the 3rd Reich. The Munich Pact gave Germany a german speaking portion of Czechoslovakia that was called the Sudetenland. Germany had already annexed with Austria, this would be known as the anschluss. -
Germany and Russia invade Poland
The start of WWII was when Russia and Germany signed a non-agression act. Germany invaded Poland from the west and Russia invaded from the east. They split Poland in half between and the non-agression act was so they would not attack each other. This was a big deal because Facism and Communism are on opposite sides of the political spectrum. This is a turning point because this was what started the war, after this Britain and France declared war on Germany. -
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is one of the more important battles in the war because it is the first time Germany could not impose there will and just completely take over a country. There was no clear winner in the battle, but Britain was atleast able to stop Germany. This battle is where the Cash-Carry idea began and when Britain ran out of money, FDR started running the Lean-Lease program. He did this to help out Britain and stay neutral at the same time. -
Germany invades the Soviet Union
Germany invading the Soviet Union is important because it happened after Germany was stopped in the Battle of Britain. But mostly it important because it created a 2 front war. This was one of the bigger mistakes made by Germany; and not just because it created a two front war, but because most of the time there were fighting with Russia it was during the winter, and winters in the USSR are considered by most brutal. -
Japan attacks Pearl Harbor
The date which will live in Infamy may have been the biggest turning point of the entire war. This is what forced the United States to join the war. Some people believe FDR knew about the impending attack and let it happen in order to join the war. Why they say this is because the U.S. had decoded the Japanese way of communication and probably knew about an attack. Others say they knew there was an attack coming, they just expected it to be on the Phillipines. -
Battle of Coral Sea
The Battle of the Coral Sea was a major battle off the coast of Australlia. It was the first battle in history in which planes engaged each other; furthermore the first battle in which ships had not fired directly upon each other. This battle is mainly important because it stopped the Japanese from invading the American camp on the continent of Australlia. If the Japanese would have been successful, they also could have captured General MacArthor. -
Battle of Midway
The battle of Midway was important because the atoll was pretty much just an air-strip. But this air-strip was important because it was pretty much the middle between Japan and the United States, hence the name Midway Atoll. This was one of the largest naval battles in the war. This battle was a decisive win for the Americans because they destroyed 4 carriers, 248 aircrafts, and 3,057 Japanese killed. -
D-Day (Operation Overlord)
D-Day is one of the most well-known days in American History. On this day, the largest land invasion in history, then and still to this day, happened on the coast of France. The area in which the U.S. landed was Normandy, there were 5 beach heads or landing points and the 2 American beach heads were called Omaha and Utah, the other three were for Britain and Canadian troops called Juno, Sword, and Gold. -
Battle of Okinawa
The battle of Okinawa was the battle in which the U.S. got the closest to the mainland of Japan. It lasted almost 3 months and was one of the most brutal battles of the war. Nicknames of the battle are "Typhoon of Steel", "Iron Rain", and "Steel Wind". These nicknames are believed to be mostly about the ferocity of the fighting. This battle had the highest number of casualties in the war in the Pacific. -
Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
This is clearly a turning point in the war because it ended the war. Truman gave the Japanese an ultimatum, either surrender, or face complete destruction. The Japanese out of pride refused to surrender so Truman pulled the trigger on the Atomic Bomb, which was developed during the Manhatten project. The idea came when Albert Einstein wrote a letter to FDR telling about how to develop a bomb using the atom. 5 days after the bombings, Japan surrendered.
