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Preporation to War
By the end of 1938, France and UK started to prepare for war with Germany. Germany had violated The Treaty of Versailles by building an army, but the UN and France tried to use appeasement to get Germany to stop. But since nobody in Europe stopped Germany from doing what they wanted, they were able to build a very dominant army. -
Germany Takes France
France spent a great deal of money in order to make the Maginot Line (a supposedly unpassable line of fortification). It was a heavily fortified wall of defence that was nearly unpassable. But France did not fortify the then thought impassable forrest to the south of them. Germany, instead of taking the path France thought they would, broke a hole through the forest, and walked right into France without any resistance. Germany then continues to conquer France in 3 weeks. -
Pear Harbor
Japan bombs Pearl Harbor, an important naval base in the Pacific. This was the first major attack against the US on our soil ever. The Japanese attacked in 2 waves, the first was a massive bombing strike, then can fighter planes to "clean up" what soldiers were left. The plan was to remove the US from the war int he Pacific, but it only managed to stall us for 6 months. The day after, FDR declared war on Japan. -
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Battle of Coral Sea
Japan made a move to take New Guinea. there they could bomb the US. The only way for the US to remain alive was to meet the Japanese there and fend them off. This was purely an air battle as the 2 aircraft carriers the US sent never saw the the ships that the Japanese sent. The US came out victorious andchanged the moral for he US. -
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Battle of Midway
The Japanse devised a surprise attack at Midway Island, a very important US naval base. But the US intercepted the Japanese transmittions of the plan and were able to fortify the Island. The Japanese were not expecting the amount of defence they encountered and were completely caught off guard. They took a quick and desicive defeat in losing 4 carrers and 250 planes. This turned the momentum in the Pacific -
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Battle of Stalingrad
Germany attacked Russia in June of 1941, initially.with 3 armies:1 North to Leningrad, 1 East to Moscow, and 1 South to Stalingrad. The Germans continued their attack and went deep into Soviet territory. They captured and killed millions of Russians, but the Soviet Union would not give up. Hitler's army soon were being pushed back, but he would not let them surrender. The next winter was brutal and the Germans were starving and sick which caused 91,000 to surrender. -
D-Day
Codename "Operation Overlord", this was the Allies attempt to take back France. The UN, France, and US invaded 5 beaches, Utah, Juno, Omaha, Gold, and Sword. All of the invations went smoothly, except Omaha. The beach was heavily fortified with gun nests and mines scattered in the sand. Everything went wrong, the ships dropped most amphibious tanks too early which cause them to sink, and landing craft turned into kill boxes. -
Attempted Assasination
An officer, Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg attempted to assassinate Hitler by planting a bomb in Hitler’s Wolf’s Lair, his HQ. The explosion killed or wounded 20 people, but Hitler survived as the meeting was moved to a building with windows. Rommel then drank poison to avoid being put on trial. Since Hitler survived, he thought that fate was on his side, so he refused to surrender. -
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The Battle of the Bulge
Hitler sent Nazis into the UN, French, and US armies to set up for his last battle. The plan was to brake communication between the nations and take them out one by one. Th plan almost worked, but the skies cleared, allowing bombers to do their job. This was Hitler's last ditch effort to win the war, but it had failed. -
Hitler's Suicide
Hitler was being affected by many illnesses and mental dissorders by now, he was a literal mess. The Allies were pushing up to Hitler and he snapped. He, along with his closest advisors, commited sucide by taking cyanide. Hitler's body was taken outside and burned. -
Bombing of Hiroshima
US had gained the technology to create a nuclear weapon. This was a result of the Manhattan Project, and produced a bomb that could destroy an entire city. The US dropped "Little Boy" on Hiroshima, completly leveling the city. -
Bombing of Nagasaki and the End of WWII
The Japanese did not surrender after Hiroshimam, they were only contemplating it. The US drops "Fat Man" on Nagasaki, recreating the result of Little Boy. This was the event the Japanese needed to decide to surrender. The Japanese put up the white flag, and ended the largest war to ever occur in the history of the world.
