-
Invasion of Manchuria
Japan launched an attack on Manchuria and within days controlled several strategic parts of South Manchuria. This invasion went against the rules of the League of Nations, therefore China became upset and pleaded to the League of Nations to get Japan out of their country. Japan was in an economic depression at the time so it had little effect on them. Japan invading Manchuria was a leading cause of World War II for the war in the Pacific. -
China Falls to Japan
Japan invades China unexpectedly, which initiates the war in the Pacific. The small attack turned into a full-scale war. Part of this attack included the Rape of Nanking, which killed nearly 300,000 people. -
Blitzkrieg into Poland
Germans used a tactic called Blitzkrieg, which is a term for "lightning war", on Poland. The Polish were defeated within weeks. This attack was the first time the Germans used Blitzkrieg; it was a success. -
Battle of the Atlantic
Allies want to prepare for the cross-channel invasion by bringing supplies over to Britain, but the German U-Boats made the Atlantic a dangerous place. The Allies began using sonar to track down the U-Boats and they could fire missiles at them. The Battle of the Atlantic was an allied victory. Preparations begin for the cross-channel invasion shortly after this battle. This battle ended on May 8th, 1945. -
Dunkirk
German troops attacked the Low Countries. The French and British troops came in to aid the Low Countries later, but did not help much. German advance was not stopped in this battle. The evacuation of this battle took a few days, and everyone was officially gone by the early morning of June 4th. A total of about 330,000 men were rescued during the evacuation, but the British faced many heavy losses. -
German Invasion of France
Germans had planned this attack to begin in Belgium and draw up British and French units from their positions. Another force would come up through the Maginot Line. This was planned to sever the Northern allied forces from the south. The Germans, again, used Blitzkrieg. This attack lasted less than six weeks and was successful. The French surrendered. -
Battle of Britain / The Blitz
The Battle of Britain began almost directly after the Battle of France ended. The first attack on London was September 7th. This attack was successful, but the second, occuring on September 15th, was not quite as successful. There were heavy losses for the Germans and morale was one of those losses. Hitler then postponed landing on British isles and the Battle of Britain had been suspended. -
Germany Takes Greece
The failure of Mussolini's invasion of Greece forced Germany to step in and invade. This was a dual invasion, where Germany invaded as well. This invasion included 24 divisions and nearly 1,200 tanks. Germany taking Greece was part of the war in Europe. -
Operation Barbarossa
All of the German armies were launched eastward towards the Soviet Union. The battle covered a front from North Cape to the Black Sea. The German army had reached its highest point in training, doctrine, and fighting ability by this battle. Barbarossa was the crucial turning point of World War II. Although the German army was most powerful at this point, it had chance against the Soviet Union. This was a war in Europe. -
Pearl Harbor
Japanese fighter planes unexpectedly attacked an American naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Americans suffered huge losses, including 20 American Naval Vessels, 8 Battleships, 300+ Airplanes, more than 2,000 American lives, and another 1,000 Americans were injured during this attack. The day after this attack, the United States declared war on Japan. Due to allies, Germany and Italy both declared war on the United States just three days later. -
Bataan
Beginning the day after Pearl Harbor, the Japanese began invading the Philippine islands. The American troops were forced to retreat to the Bataan Peninsula. There was a lack of naval and air support, but the troops held out as long as they could. April 9th, 1942 was the day they surrendered to the Japanese.
The Bataan Death March included 60,000 prisoners marching 70 miles through steamy jungles to prisoner of war camps. Over 10,000 people die from abuse, starvation, and exhaustion. -
The Doolittle Raid
The United States had made specially modified planes to bomb Tokyo. The bombs did very little damage, but it helped up the morale of the United States. This caused the launch of the attack on the Midway Islands because it was believed that the planes had come from there. -
Philippines 1942
After Japanese attacks on the Philippines, only one Philippine island was left, Corregidor. Constant artillery shelling, aerial bombardment attacks, and the poor physical condition of the troops led the United States troops in the Philippines surrender unconditionally to Japan. -
Coral Sea
The Japanese goals for this battle included cutting off shipping lanes between the United States and Australia and to set up for an invasion of Australia. This day marks the first air-sea battle in history. This was a strategic allied victory because it left Japan without enough planes to cover the ground of attack. -
Midway
The Japanese believed that capturing Midway was a stepping stone to Hawaii, which would let them easily attack the United States mainland. United States code breakers figured out about the attack, and Admiral Nimitz was able to prepare for the attack. This attack lasted four days. Although the United States faced heavy losses, Japan faced even heavier losses.This battle is a turning point in the Pacific because Japan loses their ability to fight the war offensively against the United States. -
Stalingrad
Stalingrad is one of the key battles that allows Russia to stop German advance. It was deadly street fighting in the rubble of a big city. It resulted in capturing thousands of German troops and it ended Germany's ability to fight offensively on the Eastern front. -
Guadalcanal
U.S. Marines launched a surprise attack on Japanese troops in the Solomon Islands, taking control of an air base. Although both sides suffered heavy losses in this battle, the Japanese suffered a much higher amount leading them to withdrawal from the Battle of Guadalcanal. This resulted in the first Allied victory in the Pacific. -
El Alamein
This battle was fought in the deserts of North Africa. This battle ended with an Allied victory and led to the retreat of the Afrika Korps and the German surrender. -
Operation Torch
This operation was decided on by the Big Three; they had decided to create a second front moving from Africa to Sicily to Italy. Operation Torch begun by invading Algeria and moving east. Troops were led by General Eisenhower. By May of 1943, the Allies had control of North Africa. This marked American forces moving into the European theater against Germans. It was a successful invasion. -
New Guinea
The Allies advance along New Guinea towards the Philippines to help the U.S. liberate the Philippine Islands from Japanese control. This forced the Japanese to move their ships over towards this area, making where they were guarding, easier to get through. During this fighting, there were thousands of casualties, malaria running through, and supply shortages, all causing mass numbers of death on both the Allied side and the Axis side. This battle resulted in an Allied victory. -
Kursk
Kursk is the second key battle in helping the Russians stop German advance. It was a famous tank battle. The failure of this battle for Germany resulted in a shifting of power for the Eastern Fronts from Germany to the Soviets. -
Sicily
The invasion of Sicily was named "Operation Husky".The Allied invasion of Sicily was to secure the Mediterranean, divert German divisions from the northwest coast of France. 38 days into fighting, the United States and Britain drove German and Italian troops out of Sicily. This began their preparations to invade the mainland. As a result, Mussolini is jailed and the fascist government collapses. -
Salerno
The Allies invade Salerno, Italy. Italy surrenders, but Germans come in and take control. They continue to fight. 10 months later, the Allies control Southern Italy and Rome. -
Anzio
This battle is nicknamed Operation Shingle. The British attacked north of Anzio. The 6615th Ranger Force attacked the port, and the US attacked south of Anzio. At first, there was little resistance. The Allies won this battle, and was deemed successful. Although it was successful, it was said to be poorly planned and executed, with a great deal of losses, more than the Germans. Churchill stated that "it failed to achieve its tactical goals," but it German forces in Italy. -
Gilbert & Marshall Islands
U.S. Marine and Army troops began an amphibious attack on three islets. They formed a ring shaped formation around the Marshall Islands, where the Japanese had their outermost defensive perimeter. Kwajalein and two islets, Roi and Namur, were the first of the Marshall islands to be captured. This allowed the Pacific Fleet to advance its planned assault on the islands. The U.S. used their "Island Hopping" technique to allow them to capture these islands. -
D-Day
Starting at 6:30 am, French, American, and Canadian troops land along 50-miles of Normandy Beaches. It was one of the largest military assaults in history. By the end of the week, 326,000 troops had gotten through enemy lines, along with 50,000 plus vehicles, and 100,000 tons of supplies and equipment. By the end of this battle, Paris had been liberated, the Seine River was reached, and Germans had been removed from northwestern France. This battle helped turn the tide against Nazis. -
Guam
U.S. forces took back the island of Guam after weeks of fighting. There were nearly 7,000 American troops killed and 18,000 Japanese troops killed. It resulted in an American victory. -
Operation Dragoon
Allied forces began moving towards the invasion beaches with the help of the French Resistance. They had damaged communications and transportation networks. Germans were unable to move the American forces from the area of the invasion, leading to an Allied victory. This battle made it possible to liberate France in the coming months. -
Philippines 1944-45
American forces fought the Battle of Leyte and the Battle of Luzon during the Philippines Campaign. The Battle for Manila was also during this time, being the most savage and bloodiest warfare in the Pacific Theater of Operations. On June 30, 1945, the Philippines were officially secured and liberated on July 5th. Nearly all of the 23 divisions of army the Japanese had were annihilated by the end of the Philippines Campaign. -
Battle of Leyte Gulf
The U.S. destroyed a Japanese fleet, resulting in a second and third one to withdrawal. Japan was severely unable to move resources from Southeast Asia to home islands. It resulted in an Allied victory. -
Battle of the Bulge
This was the largest battle fought on the Western Front in Europe during World War II. It was intended to split up the British and American armies in France. The losses for the Germans were greater than the ones for the Allies, but the Allied losses were able to be replaced easily during this battle. Two attacks consisted of the Battle of the Bulge. One was Elsenborn Ridge and St. Vith and the other was Bastogne. -
Bastogne
The capture of Bastogne, Belgium was the goal of the Germans in the Battle of the Bulge. As the Germans began closing in on thw town, they gave an ultimatum to either surrender or heavy artillery will fire. General McAuliffe's famous word of this battle is "Nuts". This battle resulted in an Allied victory. -
Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference was the second time of The Big Three meeting up during World War II. The three demanded Germany's unconditional surrender and began post-war plans. Stalin agreed to permit free elections in Eastern Europe and to enter the war against Japan. -
Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima was an island controlled by the Japanese, which had nearly 23,000 soldiers fighting from networks of caves, dugouts, tunnels, and underground installations. The U.S. Marines were able to wipe out the Japanese forces. This battle resulted in an American victory. -
Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa was the last and largest of the Pacific island battles. Air bases, which were vital to the projected invasion of Japan, were at stake. It was a bloodbath, many people died, troops and civilians. This battle ended with an Allied victory. -
Hitler's Suicide
Adolf Hitler and his lover, Eva Braun, committed suicide in his underground bunker. He shot himself in the head because his "1,000 year Reich" was collapsing beneath him. After learning of his death, German troops began surrendering. May 8th, 1945 stands as Victory in Europe day. Germany had finally agreed to unconditional surrender. -
German Surrender
German troops begin surrendering when they hear of Hitler's suicide. Germany agrees to unconditional surrender just days following Hitler's suicide. May 8th marks Victory in Europe Day. The Allied side can now focus on the war in the Pacific. -
Potsdam
This was the last conference of World War II held by The Big Three. It included establishing a Council of Foreign Ministers and a Central Allied Council for administration of Germany. They also talked about German economy, punishment for war criminals, land boundaries, and reparations. Although this conference was mostly about the war in Europe, they also discussed demanding unconditional surrender from Japan. -
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The Enola Gay drops a single atomic bomb on Hiroshima, causing 80% of the city to be destroyed, killing 68,000 people instantly, and later thousands more from radiation poisoning. A second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9th, 1945. 35,000 people were killed instantly and thousands more later. This led to the Japanese unconditionally surrendering. -
Japanese Surrender
Japan surrenders unconditionally, making August 15th Victory in Japan Day. The official peace treaty was signed on September 2nd on the USS Missouri, which was the same ship the United States was on when signing to surrender to Japan.
