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Germany invades Poland. Adolf Hitler seeks to regain lost territory and rule Poland. Once the Germans had got through, devastating a large amount of territory, they moved in, picking off any remaining resistance.
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After Germany invades Poland, France and Britain declares war on Germany. Britain’s was initially going to drop anti-Nazi propaganda leaflets, 13 tons of them, over Germany.
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Hitler wanted to invade and occupy Denmark and Norway to safeguard supply routes and also to establish a Norwegian base to break the British naval blockade on Germany.
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Germany uses quick strikes called blitzkrieg, lightning war, to take over much of western Europe, Belgium, and northern France. Rotterdam was bombed almost to extinction. Both countries were occupied.
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Germany wanted Italy in in the war September 1939. This late into it intervention would probably prove more of a hindrance than a help. For example, Italy’s declaration of war on the 10th, wasn’t until the 20th that Italian troops were mobilized in France.
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Germany and the Axis Powers attack Russia with a huge force of over four million troops. German troops invade Russia with 3,000 tanks, 2,500 aircraft, and 7,000 artillery pieces. The Russian army was larger than German had thought, but they were demobilized.
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Japanese dive bomber appears above the island of Oahu. 360 Japanese warplanes followed, descending on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor. The surprise attack struck a critical blow against the U.S. Pacific fleet and made the United States into World War II. This day will now live in infamy.
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The attack on Midway was a disaster for the Japanese It caused the loss of 322 aircraft and 3,500 men. They were forced to withdraw from the area before attempting even a landing on the island they expected to conquer.
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Also known as the Battle of Normandy, the Allied powers crossed the English Channel and landed on the beaches of Normandy. 6,000 landing craft, ships and other vessels carrying 176,000 troops. 822 aircraft filled with parachutists headed for drop zones. 13,000 aircraft were mobilized to provide air cover and support. 2,000 troops were lost but 155,000 Allied had successfully stormed Normandy’s beaches.
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Germans created a kind of bulge to push through the American defensive line, was the largest fought on the Western front. It took three weeks. It caused a massive loss of American and civilian lives
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It was the longest pre-invasion bombardment. B-24 and B-25 bombers raided the island for 74 days. 550 Marines were dead and more than 1,800 were wounded.
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An American B-29 bomber, drops the world’s first atomic bomb, over the city of Hiroshima. 80,000 people are killed, 35,000 are injured and at least 60,000 would be dead by the end of the year from other effects. No one wanted unconditional surrender so U.S. President Harry S. Truman made the decision to use the atomic bomb to end the war in order to prevent what would happen if the United States invaded the mainland.
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The explosion unleashed the equivalent force of 22,000 tons of TNT. The number killed is anywhere between 60,000 and 80,000. Emperor Hirohito and two War Council members wanting to end the war, met with the Council and declared that continuing the war can only result in the annihilation of the Japanese people. The Emperor of Japan gave his permission for unconditional surrender.
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Japanese troops finally surrendered to Americans. USS Missouri hosts the formal surrender of the Japanese government to the Allies and victory over Japan was celebrated back in the States. Japanese foreign minister, Mamoru Shigemitsu, and the chief of staff of the Japanese army, Yoshijiro Umezu, signed the instrument of surrender.
