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Japanese Invasion of Manchuria
Japanese forces invaded Manchuria because of the Mukden incident. They puppeted the country, turning it into Manchukuo and occupying it until the end of World War 2 -
China Falls to Japan
Japan had invaded China to expand their influence and power throughout Asia. The Marco-Polo Bridge incident sparked war between the two countries. By the end of 1937 Japan had control of Shanghai and the capital, Nanjin. -
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Battle of the Atlantic
Germany had tried to send submarines to the Atlantic Ocean to try to cut off supplies to Britain. They attacked convoys, and the convoys were soon protected by warships. The Allies won this battle. -
German Blitzkrieg into Poland
Germany had invaded Poland from the north, south, and west while Soviet forces invaded from the East. Poland originally put up a resistance, but after the Soviets opened up a second front, they surrendered. -
German Invasion of France
In six weeks starting from May 10th, German forces had invaded and captured France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. They forced the rest of the British forces in France to retreat back to Britain. -
Dunkirk
Germany had captured most of France and Britain made the decision to evacuate forces from Dunkirk to Britain. Taking advantage of the halt of the German army, the Allies set up a defensive line protecting Dunkirk and ordered evacuations. They successfully evacuated 338,000 troops back to Britain. -
The Battle of Britain
Germany had thought that by bombing infrastructure, airfields, factories, air defenses, and cities that it would force Britain to negotiate, or it would soften them up enough to land an invasion force on Britain. The British managed to hold off and eventually push back the German air force. -
Germany takes Greece
Greece had originally been fighting Italy, and when Germany invaded in 1940, Greece had joined the Allies and got British reinforcements. The British reinforcements, however, were not enough to defend against two fronts, and Germany broke through and captured Greece -
Operation Barbarossa
Germany had planned a suprise betrayal on Russia. They invaded Russia and at first it seemed like they were going to win, but they stalled during the Battle of Moscow and due to poor military decisions and the bitter Russian winter, Germany was forced to retreat -
Pearl Harbor
The Japanese launched a surprise attack on the American base at Pearl Harbor in the early hours of the morning. The attack wiped out nearly all of the American Pacific fleet, excluding the carriers that were out doing routines. This event brought America into World War 2 and enraged the American public -
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The Philippines Campaign
The Japanese launched the invasion against defending American and Filipino forces, and even though the defenders outnumbered the Japanese, the Japanese decisively won and took control of the Philipines -
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Bataan Battle and Death March
This battle was the most intense fighting in the fight for the Philippines. The defenders fell back to the Bataan Peninsula and despite being short on supplies and men, they held out for 3 months before being forced to surrender. 140,000 prisoners were taken and forced to walk a 65 mile long march to prison camps. Thousands of prisoners died due to harsh conditions. -
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The New Guinea Campaign
This campaign was one of the longest of the war, lasting from 1942 until the end of the war. Japanese forces invaded the island of New Guinea and the areas around it, and later the Allies launched an attack on the island to take it back. The result was an allied victory and severe losses for Japan. -
Doolittle's Raid
This was an American bombing campaign targeted towards Tokyo and were to land in China. The raid was successful and it accomplished it's goal of boosting American morale. -
The Battle of Coral Sea
This was a major naval battle where U.S and Japanese fleets fought off the coast of Australia. There was no actual naval engagement, instead the battle was fought entirely in the air. The battle was won by the Americans, and was the first time the Japanese were stopped. -
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The Battle of Midway
This was a major naval battle fought off the coast of Midway island. American cryptographers cracked Japanese code and caught the Japanese off-guard and partially crippled the Japanese fleet. This is considered the biggest blow in naval warfare history and is considered the turning point of the Pacific campaign. -
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The Battle for Guadalcanal
This was the beginning of the American island-hopping strategy in the Pacific. The battle was only supposed to take a couple weeks, but instead ended up lasting 6 months, because the U.S forces were not used to the jungle climate. This was an American victory and taught us how to effectively fight in the jungle. -
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The 2nd Battle of El Alamein
This was a battle that took place near the Egyptian railway halt. This was a decisive Allied victory and turned the tide of the war in North Africa. -
The Battle of Stalingrad
This was fought when the Nazis were advancing on Russia. Hitler wanted to take Stalingrad because it was named after Stalin and after fierce close-quarters fighting and hundreds of thousands of deaths, the Russians succeeded in stopping the Nazis and began their push into Germany. -
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The Battle of Kursk
This was a battle fought between the Nazis and the Russians near the Russian city of Kursk. It was one of the biggest tank battles of history and was the final offensive battle for the Nazis on the Eastern Front. This battle was a decisive Soviet victory and put the Russians on an offensive path to Berlin. -
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The Invasion of Sicily
Also known as Operation Husky, this was the Allied invasion of Italy through Sicily. This invasion also made the Mediterranean Sea safe for the Allies and caused Mussolini to fall from power, setting up an invasion of mainland Italy. This was a decisive Allied victory. -
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The Battle of Salerno
This was a part of the Allied invasion of the Italian mainland and was an Allied victory. The Allies faced resistance from German defenders and were delayed so that the Germans could prepare the defense of Rome. -
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The Gilbert and Marshall Islands Campaign
This was a series of battles led by the Allies with the goal of capturing naval and air bases. The result of this campaign was a U.S victory -
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The Battle of Anzio
This was the outflank the German defenses in Italy and secure Rome, and resulted in an Allied victory. The Nazi's trapped the Allies in the marshlands in hope to kill them by disease, but the Allies broke through and captured Rome. -
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The Second Philippines Campaign
This campaign was led by American forces with the intent on recapturing the Philippines from Japanese control. The fighting lasted until Japan ordered the forces in the Philippines to surrender after the dropping of the atomic bombs. -
D-Day
Also known as Operation Overlord, this was the Allied invasion of Normandy. The Allies landed under heavy German fire, and after brutal fighting they secured the beaches and established a foothold on France. This opened three fronts the Germans had to fight and marked the beginning of the end for the Nazis. -
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The Battle of Guam
This battle was led by American forces with the intent to recapture the island of Guam. This resulted in a U.S victory and put Guam under Allied control -
Operation Dragoon
This was the Allied invasion of Southern France, and resulted in the Allies opening another front for the Germans to defend. The captured ports allowed Allies to bring in more supplies and men, and began to push the Germans out of France. -
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The Battle of Leyte Gulf
This is considered to be one of the biggest naval battles in history, and resulted in a decisive American victory. This battle crippled the Japanese fleet, and was the first time the Japanese used Kamikaze attacks. -
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The Battle of the Bulge
This was the last major German offensive in World War 2, and the goal of the Nazis was to split the Allied line and to capture strategic ports and to allow German's to encircle Allied forces to reach a peace treaty. The plan did not work, and the Allies pushed back the Nazis into Germany. -
The Siege of Bastogne
This was a part of the Battle of the Bulge, with the intention to secure major roadways in France. The German forces besieged Bastogne for 7 days until American reinforcements arrived and pushed the Germans back. -
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The Yalta Conference
This was a meeting between the big three to discuss how Europe would be divided up once the end of the war was reached. This meeting set up the actions of the Cold War. -
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The Battle of Iwo Jima
This was the American attempt to capture the island of Iwo Jima from the Japanese so they could use the airfields on the island to launch air raids onto the Japanese mainland. The result was an American victory -
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The Battle of Okinawa
Codenamed Operation Iceberg, this was an American invasion on the Japanese island of Okinawa. The goal was to capture the island to use as a base for air operations for the planned invasion of Honshu. The result was an American victory, and America controlled the island until 1972. -
German Surrender
After Hitler's death, most of the German army collapsed and days later, Germany surrendered. This marked the end of World War 2 in Europe, as well as the start of the Cold War. -
Hitler's Suicide
The Russians were closing in on Berlin from the East, and the Allies were closing in on Berlin from the West. Hitler and his wife retreated to an underground bunker where both of them took cyanide pills and shot themselves, and a loyal guard burned both of their bodies. -
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Potsdam Conference
This was the last meeting of the big three in World War 2. They came to agreements on the German economy, punishment for war criminals, land boundaries, and reparations. -
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The Japanese were refusing to surrender, and an invasion of mainland Japan would mean hundreds of thousands of deaths, so the decision was made to drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. The Japanese still would not surrender so the U.S dropped another atomic bomb on Nagasaki, forcing the Japanese to surrender, and bringing World War 2 to an end. -
Japanese Surrender
After the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Empire of Japan officially surrendered to the United States on board the USS Missouri, one of the ships that were stationed at Pearl Harbor.