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Hitler Blitzkriegs Poland.
Blitzkrieg is a sudden attack using lots of firepower to damage as much as possible. Hitler Blitzkrieged Poland. Shortly after Russia attacked Poland from the east. France and UK declared war on Germany. By the end of September, Poland and France had fallen to Germany. -
France Falls
France prepares by constructing a series of forts known as the Maginot Line. In between the Maginot Line and Belgium, Hitler attacked France through the Ardennes. German forces outflanked the Maginot Line and pushed deeper into France as French forces began to collapse. 338,000 troops escaped, which is known of the miracle at Dunkirk. Germany controlled northern France. French government controlled southern France. -
Battle of Britain
On July 10,1940 UK lost 1,000 planes, but Germany lost 1,700. Germany bombed everything it could. UK used radar to figure out where they would be attacked. The radar saved UK from falling to Germany. -
Japan attacks
Pearl Harbor was US Navy's main Pacific base. Japan sent 6 aircraft carriers, 360 airplanes. Japan attacked in two waves. The first wave was the main attack on the ships and airfield. The second attack would finish off whatever was left. The main goal was to prevent US from influencing Japan's war effort in Southeast Asia. The results of the attack were very bad. 2,402 were killed and 1,282 were wounded. Four ships were sunk and two destroyers were sunk. 188 aircrafts were also destroyed. -
Japanese Forces Take Philippines
Douglas MacArther was commander in Asia. December 1941, MacArther miscalculated the strength of Japan and had to retreat to the Bataan Peninsula. MacArther retreated to Australia, but US forces remained behind. 75,000 surrendered and were forced to march 55 miles. -
Doolittle Raid
The United States planned a night attack on Tokyo. Since the planes were detected early, Colonel James Doolittle led the bombers and bombed Tokeyo during the day. They killed 50 Japanese civilians and damaged 100 buildings. This boosted US morale. -
Battle of Coral Sea
Japan wants to attack New Guinea. US sent 2 aircraft carriers to fight. May 7- 8th we fought, we never actually saw eachother, because the planes engaged in battle. Battle was a draw, but Japan called of their attack of New Guinea. This shifted the momentum ot the US for the 1st time. -
Battle of Midway
The United States had cracked Japanese code, and knew Japan was going to attack Midway Island. United States Admiral Nimitz ambushed the Japanese fleet. United States attacked and sunk 4 aircraft carriers. 362 US citizens were killed and 3,057 Japanese were killed. This was the turning point of the war in the Pacific. -
Invasion of Okinawa
The invasion of Okinawa lasted from early April till mid June. It was the last major battle in WW2. It was also the largest sea-land-air battle in history. US would capture the island and then invade Japan. 500,000 troops and 1,213 ships were attacked. The United States lost 50,000 men. Japan was now defenseless, and the US began bombing Japanese cities. -
V-J Day
Emperor Hirohito made the decision to surrender on August 15, 1945. Japan officially surrendered on September 2, 1945. Up to 15 million died during WW2. 21 million of them were soldiers and 28 million were civilians.
