-
German Blitzkrieg
The German Blitzkrieg is also known as "Lightning Warfare" because it was highly effective on both land and in the air. This tactic included a combination of fast-moving armor and fast-reaching airborne tactics.Blitzkrieg was first used to take control of Poland. This gave the Germans a huge advantage and helped them nearly conquer all of Europe. (History.com) -
Operation Barbarossa
This battle occured because Hitler had great confidence in his millitary because they had reached their peak and he felt like he could destroy the Soviets, but he was mistaken. This was a fatal mistake for him because the Nazis had to fight a two-front war. The Russian winter had kicked in and it soon became too difficult for the Germans to continue on and the Soviets were victorious. (history.com) -
Pearl Harbor
Japan attacked the Hawaiian Islands by aircraft and destroyed many air crafts and ships. There were 2,403 people who died that day. Japan attacked the Hawaiian islands because they were trying to make up for their lack of natural resources and America was in the way of them fulfilling their goals. This gave America a reason to join the war and Japan was punished with two atomic bombs and the development of internment camps for Japanese-Americans. (History.com) -
Wannsee Conference
This was a conference comprised of Nazis as to what they should do about the Jews. Adolf Eichmann came up with the idea of the concentration camps. He came up with an efficient system that murdered 3-4 million Jews. This has a huge impact on today's society and will forever live in infamy as one of the most horrifying things to ever happen (History.com) -
Battle of Midway
This battle began because of the Japanese's desire to sink American aircraft carriers. This plan failed miserably because their secret code was cracked and the Americans anticipated every action. At first, there was not much progress, but then American-carrier based planes were added and they experienced much more success. This battle permanently damaged the Japanese Navy. (history.com) -
Battle of Stalingrad
This was one of the bloodiest battles in which the Soviets defended the city of Stalingrad against the Germans. Casualties were nearly 2 million and the battle was a victory for the U.S.S.R. because of the Germans weren't prepared for the brutal winter. This battle occured because if Stalingrad was taken over the Germans would have control of important traffic paths and industrial things. This battle boosted Russian morale because of their perserverence in such a difficult battle. (history.com) -
Warsaw Ghetto uprising
400,000 Jews were relocated into a 1.3 square mile area and were under harsh living conditions such as mal-nutrition, unemployment, and poor sewage.These poor conditions led to them trying to overthrow the Nazis. Over 50,000 Jews were captured and 14,000 of those were executed on site. They were likely to fail, but their courage was something that sparked inspiration. (History.com) -
D-Day
Led by General Dwight Eisenhower, 156,000 troops stormed the beaches of Normandy and there were over 4,000 casualties. This attack led to the freedom of Western Europe from Nazi power. D-Day was the signal of the weakening of Nazi Germany and the end of the war. (History.com) -
Battle of the Bulge
The German army used a blitzkrieg attack in the Ardennes to surprise the Ally army and hopefully split them up. General S. Patton came to the Allies aid and moved the third army into Bastogne, causing this battle to be a victory on the Ally side. This was one of the deadliest battles for America with a loss of over 100,000 troops. (History.com) -
Liberation of Concentration Camps
Towards the end of the war, the Germans knew that they were losing power and began to evacuate the Jews out of the internment camps. They were then forced on "Death Marches" and over 250,000 more Jews were lost. These "Death Marches" were to push the Jews back farther behind Nazi Germany's lines and away from their enemies. It took many people a long time to heal from this because they had nowhere to go and they had no friends or family. (history.com) -
Battle of Iwo Jima
In this battle the Marines needed a way to get onto the Japanese coast, so they attacked Iwo Jima. It started out as a successful mission until they realized that there were many Japanese troops hiding in underground caves and such, which slowed down their progress a lot. The Marines needed to get on the coast because they needed to capture a base in Japan in order to attack them. This signaled the change in Japanese warfare later on in the war. (History.com) -
Battle of Okinawa
This was the last and biggest battle of the Pacific and the Japanese adopted "suicide" tactics. These tactics weren't necessarily good, but the determination that backed them would make it difficult for the Allies. This battle occured because the Americans wanted an important Japanese air base so that they could invade. There were many casualties, including the comanding generals. (history.com) -
VE Day
This was the day that Germany finally surrendered and laid down arms. Nazi Germany finally surrendered because of the large amount of casulaties and devastation caused. 13,000 British POW's were finally released, but many Germans were held captive by the Sovets until the Germans' official surrender. This was a day of great celebration and happiness throughout the world. (History.com) -
Dropping of Atomic Bomb
A bomber plane dropped the first deployed atomic bomb on Hiroshima and destroyed 90% of the area and killed many people. Another bomb was dropped three days later on Nagasaki and killed about 40,000 people. This was done because of the Americans fury at what had happened at Pearl Harbor. This caused the war to finally come to an end. -
VJ Day
This was the date of the official surrender of Japan. The Japanese decided to accept defeat after being brutally attacked with two atomic bombs. VJ Day is considered to be the end of World War 2. Even after WW2, Americans and Japanese experienced a great deal of hostility and tension toward the other.
