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Battle of the Atlantic: Start
- German U-Boats were sinking unprotected U.S. and other Allies' merchant ships
- Allies began using convoys to protect ships
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Pearl Harbor
- 2,400 U.S. military and civilians died
- 18 ships and 350 planes were sunk or damaged
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Battle of Midway
- Admiral Chester Nimitz intercepted Japanese code
- U.S. launched surprise attack on Japan at Pacific island called Midway
- U.S. was successful in this battle
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Battle of Stalingrad: Start
- Germans violated nonaggression pact with Soviet Union and attacked
- Hitler hoped to capture the Soviet oil fields
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Battle of Stalingrad: End
- Germans nearly won (controlled 9/10 of the city)
- turning point of the war
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Normandy Invasion (D-Day)
- During this time, Sovites were pushing into Poland, and Allies were pushing North into Italy
- Largest land-sea-air operation in hisotry
- Omaha beach known as one of the most brutal areas
- 3 million Ally troops to attack
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Normandy Invasion: Continued
- within one month, 1 million more troops were deployed
- on September 9th/1944, France was freed from Nazi control
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Battle of the Bulge
- German tanks broke through American lines (8- mile front)
- Fought in Belgium - Hitler wanted to capture Antwerp
- Germans were winning in the beginning
- Americans won, but were close to losing
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Yalta Conferece
- Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill met in Yalta in the Soviet Union to discuss post WWII
- they set up the United Nations
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Iwo Jima
- this was an island in the Pacific that was critical for a U.S. win -
- 27, 000 Jaoanese held Iwo Jima
- U.S. won
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Death of FDR
- At the beginning of his 4th term, FDR passes away
- U.S. went through a major grieving period
- Harry S. Truman (Vice-President at the time) takes the role as President
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The End of Hitler
- Hitler and wife Eva Braun commit suicide (gun shot and cyanide)
- their bodies were burned
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Battle of the Coral Sea
- prior to this battle, the Japanese were winning every battle and taking over the Pacific
- U.S. and Australia stopped Japan from invading
- Japan won the battle, but Allies were able to stop the invasion
- U.S. began using island hopping technique
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Battle of the Atlantic: End
- The Germans were very successful in the beginning, but by mid 1943, the Allies had the upper hand
- The Allies also used a sonar system to detect German U-Boats
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V-E Day
- General Eisenhower accpeted a surrender by the Third Reich
- V-E Day stands for Victory in Europe Day
- 1st part of the war was over
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Battle of Okinawa
- Japan's last defensive stronghold
- Japan used 1,900 kamikaze attacks
- 110,000 Japanese troops died
- 7,600 - 12,500 U.S. troops died
- U.S. won
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Potsdam
- Truman, (Churchill and then Clement Atlee) and Stalin met in Potsdam Germany
- Drew up a blueprint to disarm Germany and eliminate the Nazi regime - divided Germany into 4 sectors
- Japan mus unconditionally surrender"
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Hiroshima
- bomb was known as "Little Boy"
- in 43 seconds, the city collapsed to dust
- part 1 of the Manhattan Project
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Nagasaki
- bomb was known as "fat man"
- the explosion leveled half of the city
- part 2 of the Manhattan Project
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V-J Day
- Japan offers unconditional surrender
- V-J Day means Victory in Japan Day
- September 2nd/1945, Japan formally surrenders
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Nuremberg Trials
- Internation Tribunal Court tried Nazi officials
- 12 of the 22 defendants were sentanced to death
- 200 other officals were found guilty, but given lesser sentances
- Held between 20 November 1945 and 1 October 1946