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Pearl Harbor
At the Battle of Pearl Harbor, Japan attacked the US in the Pacific. On a Sunday morning, Japan sent 6 aircraft carriers and 360 airplanes into Pearl Harbor in two waves. Japan's goal was to prevent the US from influencing their war effort in Southeast Asia. Fortunately, several of the US's ships were not in the harbor and instead were out on patrol. There were thousands of injuries and fatalies. The attack caused FDR to make the decision of declaring war on Japan the next day. -
Doolittle Raid
The Doolittle Raid was the US's attack on Tokyo. The US went into Tokyo during the night, planning to bomb Tokyo from overhead; however, the planes were detected early, so Colonel Jones led the bombers in an attack of Tokyo during the day. Several Japanese civilians were killed, and about a hundred buildings were damaged. Later the pilots had to fly to China, where they crash landed. Although the attack wasn't necessarily a huge success, it did boost the US's morale. -
Battle of Coral Sea
The Battle of Coral Sea was extremely vital to the US's advancement in the war against Japan. While Japan moved to take New Guinea, the US sent in two aircraft carriers to fight. The battle was fought over the course of May 7-8. Although the ships never actually saw each other, the planes engaged in battle. Overall, the battle was a draw, resulting in Japan calling off their attack of New Guinea, and a major momentum shift to the US for the first time. -
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway was also a major part of the war in the Pacific. Midway was an American naval base that was vital to the defense of Hawaii. Admiral Chester Nimitz knew of the Japanese plans to invade Midway and helped set up forces to defend the Japanese. The US sank Japan's aircraft carriers and planes to defeat them, causing a turning point of the war in the Pacific. The US later went on the offensive in Guadal Canal and the Solomon Islands. -
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle of the war in Europe. Hitler refused to surrender to the Soviet Union; however, as the winter became brutal and his soldiers became sick, 91,000 people surrended. Only 5,000 of his troops ever made it back to Germany. The Battle of Stalingrad was important because it ended any realistic plans of Hitler dominating Europe. The Soviet Union went on the offensive after the battle and Nazi forves had to retreat toward Germany. -
Teheran Conference
At the Teheran Conference, Churhcill, FDR, and Stalin met face-to-face to discuss the decision of staring a second front in France. FDR sided with Stalin, but Churhcill felt that the Allies needed more landing craft because the Germans had a great presence in the English Channel. Churchill felt this way because he had bad experinces with the British in WWI. Eventually, with Operation Overlord, American and British soldiers would invade France and march toward Germany. -
D-Day
The Allies decided to invade the beaches of France. The plan itself was one of pure genius and deception: each beach was given a code name, and fake armies were set up to drive the French away from the actual attack. On June 6, 1944, the Allies landed at 6:30 AM on the beaches to begin the attack. Several soldiers drowned and were pelted with bullets and mines, but overall the deception worked and the invasion of France was a success. More than one million Allied troops helped invade France. -
Battle of the Bulge
After D-Day, HItler launched a counterattack that almost succeeded. The Allies were caught off guard, and the Germans captured several vital towns. However, they did not capture Bastogne, and eventually the skies cleared and the Allies were able to push the Germans out of France. The Battle of the Bulge was a huge defeat for Hitler. His failed attempt eventually only aided the Allies in pushing towards victory. -
Iwo Jima and Okinawa
The Japanese forces were prepared to fight to the death. Iwo Jima was one of the fiercest battles. Even though 23,000 Marines were killed, the Americans managed to take over Iwo Jima. Okinawa contained a very important airbase that was necessary to invade Japan. Eventually, the US took Okinawa, too, but not wihtout losing 500.000 troops and thousands of warships. Now that Iwo Jima and Okinawa had been captured, the US could prepare to bomb the Japanese islands in the Pacific. -
Atomic Bomb/Manhattan Project
As scientists began experimenting with nuclear fission, the atomic bomb was created. Soon, it became the most powerful weapon in the world. Under the codename The Manhattan Project, the plan to create an atomic bomb was underway. After carefully weighing his options, Truman decided to use the atomic bomb on Japan to win the war. Two bombs were dropped on August 6, 1945, killing hundreds of thousands of people, leaving the Japanese with no choice but to accept surrender and defeat.
