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The Rise of Hitler
After Hitler had been fighting in the battles of WW1, he begun doing political work to later strengthen Germany. He had believed that Germany was treated unfairly, and that his ideals were that of the country itself. He did many things to achieve his position in power, and when he did, did many more bad things. If Hitler had not risen to power, however, I believe someone else would have from the party he represented.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Adolf-Hitler/Rise-to-power -
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German Blitzkrieg
German Blitzkrieg was the tactic of "lightning war", in which very rapid attacks and pursuits were used against enemy forces. This tactic was used against French forces to prevent the deadlock that occurred in WW1, and ultimately force a quick surrender. The impact on the war from this tactic was huge, for it eliminated France from the war before British reinforcements could come to support them. https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/blitzkrieg -
Battle of the Atlantic
The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest continuous military campaign in WW2. Britain relied on millions of tons of imports per week to be able to fight, so allies would ship supplies to Britain regularly. German ships had begun stopping these imports to weaken Britain, and therefore set the longest naval battle in history. The impact this had was the losses of many ships, and the success of importing items lead to Britain pulling through.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Atlantic -
Fall of Paris
In just six weeks from May 10, 1940, France was defeated along with Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Germany had used the Blitzkrieg lightning war tactic to defeat France early on, and further eliminate them from participating in the war further. The fall of Paris and all of France greatly put the Allies at a disadvantage, for it was just Britain at the time fighting off Nazi Germany's forces.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_France -
Battle of Britain
During the summer and fall of 1940, German and British air forces clashed in the skies over Britain. Germany had planned to destroy British air bases in order to be free to lay a ground assault, but Britain defeated them in the long run. The impact of this battle was one of the major turning points giving the Allies the advantage during the war. Germany's defeat lead them to begin Operation Barbarossa.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-britain -
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was a plan that when initiated, sent 3m German troops to attack the borders of Soviet Russia. This happened after Germany was failing to win the Battle of Britain, and by taking Russia, Germany planned to use their resources to further win the war. The impact of Germany's defeat in this plan had been the crucial turning point against them, for they then had 2 immensely strong armies attacking them at once.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/operation-barbarossa -
Pearl Harbor
The incident of Pearl Harbor was a Japanese surprise attack on the U.S. naval base located on Oahu island, Hawaii. Yamamoto Isoroku had planned this attack, for Japan's invasion over all of South-East Asia would be much more effective if the U.S. fleet was put out of commission. The impact this had on the war was ultimately the event that lead the U.S. to join the war efforts, and further changed the relationship between the two countries. https://www.britannica.com/event/Pearl-Harbor-attack -
Wannsee Conference
The Wannsee Conference was a conference held to decide the "final solution" to what to do with all Jewish people in Europe. This decision became clearly necessary to Germans, for it would help the Aryan race strive to be greater than others. The overall impact on the war from this event was HUGE, for millions of Jewish people ended up dead due to the final decision made, which was to put them into death and labour camps in Eastern Europe.
https://www.britannica.com/event/Wannsee-Conference -
Bataan Death March
The Bataan Death March was the forcible transfer by the Imperial Japanese Army of 60,000–80,000 Filipino and American prisoners of war from Saysain Point, Bagac, Bataan and Mariveles to Camp O'Donnell, Capas, Tarlac, via San Fernando, Pampanga, where the prisoners were loaded onto trains. This happened because of the American surrender in the Battle of Bataan. At the end of this march, between 500 and 650 American soldiers were recorded dead.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bataan_Death_March -
The Dieppe Raid
The Dieppe raid was an allied attack on the German-held port of Dieppe on August 19, 1942. The goal of the raid was to hold the port for a short while, proving it possible to gain intelligence. 60% of the men that attacked the port had been killed, captured, or left behind. The impact this served for the war was to later influence the Normandy landings, and Operation Torch in northern Africa.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dieppe_Raid -
The Italian Campaign
Being Canada's longest campaign during WW2, the Italian Campaign was a quest to push up the peninsula in Sicily to pry the country from Germany's grip. The reason the project took place was to defeat Italian forces, and prevent Germany from having allies powerful enough to defend them. The impact of Canada's quick victory over Italian forces were huge, for Germany had one less ally helping in the war efforts in that region.
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/italian-campaign/ -
D-Day (Normandy Invasion)
The invasino of German-held beaches on the Atlantic were calculated by ally forces in order to start liberation in western Europe from Nazi control. This attack was the largest seaborne invasion in history, and still is to this day. The victory of the normandy landings was crucial to liberate France from the clutches of Nazi Germany, and helped overall defeat the Nazi forces.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normandy_landings -
Battle of the Bulge
December 1944,Hitler attempted to split the Allied armies in northwest Europe with a surprise blitzkrieg thrust through the Ardennes to Antwerp. The attack was stopped by an allied force located on a bulge. The impact this served for the rest of the war was that Hitler could not only not win in the west, but would also struggle to even achieve a draw.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-the-bulge -
Liberation of Concentration Camps
As allied forces moved eastern in Europe, they came upon tens of thousands of Jewish concentration camp prisoners, dying of starvation and disease. Over time, all of the major and smaller camps were eventually liberated, freeing all people who managed to survive the horrors of living there. This action greatly impacted the future of all the prisoners, for they would've died in much greater numbers if they had not been found.
https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005131 -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The battle of Iwo Jima was a major battle that consisted of U.S. Marine Corps landing on and eventually taking the island of Iwo Jima from the Japanese Imperial Army. The goal of U.S. armies was to take over the 3 existing air bases on the island. The capture of the island later proved useless, though, for it could not be used to attack Japan or defend the States. It was eventually fixed to be an emergency landing area for U.S. planes, though.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Iwo_Jima -
VE Day
VE Day is the public holiday celebrating Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender of their armed forces. The surrender of the Nazis happened after Hitler had commit suicide, and his successor Reichspräsident Karl Dönitz issued a surrender. This event played a huge part in the saving of more people's lives, for if the war continued, many others would have suffered. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_in_Europe_Day -
Potsdam Declaration
The Potsdam Declaration for Japanese Surrender is a statement that called for the surrender of all Japanese armed forces during World War II. The statement was issued to try and avoid any further conflicts between the States and Japan, but was later ignored by the Japanese government. The States proceeded to issue their threat of "utter destruction", for they then dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potsdam_Declaration -
Dropping of atomic bombs
The dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were used by the U.S. to bring a speedy end to the war, and killed over 120,000 people total. This method was used, for Albert Einstein warned the government of Germany creating atomic weapons, and to spare American lives in Japan. The effects of the bombings were said to have lead to the start of the cold war, and many Americans hated the government for doing it. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/atomic-bomb-dropped-on-hiroshima -
VJ Day
VJ Day was the unconditional surrender of Japanese forces in WW2, ultimately ending the war. Japan was forced to surrender, for the States had dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and would drop more if needed. The impact of Japan's surrender overall saved many lives from being lost in the future, for more atomic bombings would kill thousands more.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/v-j-day
