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Invasion of Manchuria
The Japanese invaded Manchuria for its resource rich land. This land was raided and the people of it were massacred. This was the first of Japan's violent acts in World War 2. -
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German Invasion of France
Also known as the Fall of France, German troops invaded France and overthrew the government and established the Vichy government which is made up of wealthy aristocrats acting like dictators. -
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Blitzkrieg into Poland
Germany launched a brutal sneak attack on Poland. Tanks, bombers, and heavily armed troops were greeted by men on horseback. Poland was far behind in war technology and they fell under Nazi power in a day. -
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Battle of the Atlantic
This six year long "battle" was just a series of attack from or on German U-boats. They were difficult to deal with but we used different tactics like anchoring magnetic bombs to the sea floor. They knew when they hit because oil would rise to the surface. -
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Dunkirk
The battle was a mass evacuation of troops from Dunkirk, France, back to Britain. It was not easy for allied forces and although many counter attacks were attempted, none were successful. -
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Battle of Britain
This battle took place above Britain with the Royal Air Force protecting Britain from the German bombings. The Nazis soon realized they failed to take out the British defenses and retreated. -
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The Blitz
A period of around 8 months of constant bombing of Britain by the Nazis. These bombings destroyed historic buildings and murdered innocent people. Britain managed to perfect the art of stealth with scheduled blackouts so bombers above would not be able to see their target. -
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Battle of Greece
The axis powers were coming after Greece. The Italians invaded first and the Nazis followed soon after. Greece had a war on two fronts and not enough men to fight back. The axis soldiers took Athens and even went to a Crete to complete their conquest. -
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Operation Barbarossa
A plan by the Germans to invade the Soviet union. This was a bad idea considering the USSR was not going to fight with Germany initially, however Hitlers hunger to expand the Nazis influence grew stronger until he built the courage to take on the beast. This opened up another front which meant more troops were needed. This caused the same issues the Central Powers were faced with in WW1. The casualties were heavily in Germany's favor however the communists managed to keep away the socialists. -
Pearl Harbor
Home to a US base in Hawaii, it was December 7th 1941 and an attack was launched by the Japanese. At 7:48 Hawaii time, hundreds of Japanese aircraft bombed our ships. 4 of our aircraft carries were sunk. This was the first many Americans had heard of Japan and this made them very angry. -
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Philippines 1942
The Japanese having just weakened the US naval fleet took the opportunity to take the Philippines. Although the Japanese were outnumbered, the Japanese were much more trained and took the Philippines in 5 months. -
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Bataan
A battle for the last allied controlled area in southeast Asia. The Japanese had only a small amount of ground to cover left and they were determined to obtain it. They did and they made the prisoners of was walk around 70 miles through hot and humid jungles. Many people died and those who didn't had to carry the fallen soldiers. -
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Doolittle Raid
A small bombing run made over Tokyo. It made little damage but boosted Morale for the American public -
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Battle of the Coral Sea
An offensive move from the Japanese attempting to capture a port in New Guinea. The US found out about the Japanese plans and were prepared for the advance. Both sides suffered major losses, neither side really one this. -
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Battle of Midway
The last of the allied controlled areas in the pacific theater. It was only a matter of time for the Japanese to attack again and US cryptographers confirmed our suspicions. They did but we were ready and we stopped them dead in their tracks, destroying all four of their aircraft carriers. -
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Guadalcanal Campaign
US forces made use of Island hopping tactics to capture Guadalcanal and the surrounding islands. The Japanese were surprised by the aggressive strategies of the US. They tried to fight back with their ships too but they eventually retreated. -
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Stalingrad
A massive battle between the Nazis and the Soviets. Numbers suggest that the Soviets lost, however they kept the city of Stalingrad under soviet control and the Germans eventually retreated. The must have been scared of the fearless communists. -
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2nd Battle of El Alamein
The Axis powers tried to get back into Africa. They were halted by Allied forces by a railway called El Alamein this victory brought life back into the dismal setting. -
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Operation Torch
Operation Torch was a strategy of pushing axis powers out of northern Africa to set up a base so invading Europe would be easier. Allies were successful as they captured ports and landing strips so they could be better equipped to launch an attack on Europe. Operation Torch was controversial but FDR gave a direct order to make it our number 1 priority. -
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Kursk
The Soviets knew the Germans were going to make another offensive move but they were preparing for the attack with new weapons. The Soviets had plenty of time to build their defenses. Defenses were so good, the Germans could not even make it ti the front lines. -
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Anzio
An invasion of Italy to take back Rome. When they made their amphibious landing they were met by swamps and mountains. The enemies had them surrounded at the beach and fired upon them. However they broke out in May and headed north to capture and control Rome. -
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D-day
An invasion of Normandy, France made by allied troops to help push back the Nazis. Once allied forces landed they were met with tough German fortification and machine guns. It was a gruesome day but Allies capture beaches and established a holding in France. -
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Philippines 1944-45
General MacArthur is back and he is seeing red. The experienced troops now knew the climate and terrain they were dealing with. Their Island hopping tactic came in handy once again and the troops retreated before there was any serious conflict. -
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Battle of the Leyte Gulf
In the waters around the Philippines, in the leyte gulf, Allied ships were followed by what was left of the Japanese Navy. They filed into the gulf one by one and were taken out by our ships that were waiting there. -
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Battle of the Bulge
Last notable German effort on western front. Its was a surprise for the allied forces. They pushed a large bulge in the front about 80 miles wide and 50 miles deep. Luckily this battle depleted most of the last Nazis supplies -
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Yalta Conference
A meeting between the allied powers to organize themselves to prepare for the end of war. FDR, Winston Churchill, and Stalin wanted to redraw Europe, rebuild war zones, and try to prevent Germans from going crazy again. -
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Iwo Jima
The battle of Iwo Jima was important in the fact that the island itself had three airstrips, making it incredibly valuable. It was a bloody and brutal battle but the island was captured. -
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Okinawa
The reason behind wanting to capture Okinawa was that it was a large island reasonably close to Japanese mainland so to set up there would be ideal. Known as the typhoon of steel for all the cars, planes, ships, and bullets that were present at the time of the battle. The Japanese losses were much greater than ours. So it was a decisive victory. -
Hitlers Suicide
It's about time. Hitler committed suicide in a bunker in Berlin. He and his wife Eva Braun ate a cyanide pill but he then shot himself in the head. -
Germany's Surrender
Hitler is dead but General Alfred Joel made it official by signing to unconditional surrender. -
Hiroshima
A bomb known as the little bot was dropped over Hiroshima. Everything in the blast radius was vaporized. Around 30% of Hiroshima's population was killed. This was the first nuclear bomb the world had seen in use. -
Nagasaki
The second and hopefully last nuclear attack was dropped over Nagasaki. This bomb was called the "Fat Man". At least 40000 people died some sources say 80000, but the city was decimated. -
Japanese Surrender
Finally the Japanese surrendered. After all of the warfare in the Pacific theater, the Japanese should have cut their losses at midway. Unfortunately this escalated to the point of no return and nuclear missiles are a sign of strength today.