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The start of World War II: invasion of poland
On september 1, 1939 Hitler directly violated the treaty of versailles by invading poland. The Polish army was defeated within weeks of the invasion. German units, with more than 2,000 tanks and over 1,000 planes, broke through Polish defenses along the border and advanced on Warsaw in a massive encirclement attack. AFter brutal war the polish surrendered on september 27. After this attack the U.S. and Britain declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939. -
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WWII
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Stalingrad
on June 22, 1941 the Germans set up a major counterattack on russia. Initially Hitler sent three armies into Russia, One north to Leningrad, one east to moscow and one south to stalingrad. However, Hitler focused on stalingrad and the caucasus oil fields. The Winter was brutal and Hitler refused to surrender. However the Germans were tired, sick and hungry and in january of 1943 91,000 of Hitlers men surrendered. Leaving only 5000 to return home. This loss ended Hitler's plans for Europe. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Trouble had been brewing between the U.S. and Japan for a while. The U.S's presence in the phillipines posed a threat to japan. What really caused the attack however was when U.S. president FDR placed an embargo on japan's important naval and aviation supplies. Japanese general Hideki Tojo then decided to attack U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor. In the battle itself 2402 americans were killed (1282 wounded), and many other ships were destroyed. This was an extreme blow to the americans. -
Battle of Midway
Deemed the most important battle of wwII, the battle of Midway began on june 4, 1942. US admiral Chester Nimitz and his team intercepted the japanese plan for an attack on midway and he concentrated his forces there. Catching the Japanese off guard the battle was a decisive defeat. The US sank 4 aircraft carriers and 250 planes. This battle was so important because it was the turning point of the war in the pacific. After this the US went on the offensive. -
Allied invasion of North Africa
On November 8, 1942, the military forces of the United States and the United Kingdom launched an amphibious operation against French North Africa. The allies believed that forcing Germany out of N. Africa would give them a chance to invade Italy. The allies, commanded by General George s. patton and General Dwight D. Eisenhower, successfully deafeated the german and italian army commanded by Rommel. -
Allied invasion of Sicily
On July 10, 1943 ally troops led by Gen. Eisenhower invade sicily. The invasion consisted of sending a total of 150,000 troops, 3,000 ships and 4,000 aircraft, all directed at the southern shores of the island. the allies captured sicily in 38 days and gave them control of the western mediterranean. This in turn, led to the invasion of Italy and the surrender of Mussolini in september 1943. -
Tehran Conference
The Tehran Conference was a meeting between U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin in Tehran, Iran, between November 28 and December 1, 1943. During the Conference, the three leaders coordinated their military strategy against Germany and Japan and made a number of important decisions concerning the post World War II . The achievements of the Conference focused on the next phases of the war against the Axis. -
D-Day
During this attack the allies hit the germans with force. troops landed at 6:30 AM. Battles held place at four beaches (gold, juno, sword, utah). all of which, the germans offered stiff opposition. After the allies defeated the germans, germany faced a hopeless 2-front war. The soviets then pushed the germans west and the allied armies pushed them east. -
Hitler's third reich ends
By the time the americans, british and russians reached berlin Hitler was a physical wreck. He was shaken by tremors, and paranoia from drugs and kept alive by dreams of a final victory. Finally on april 30, 1945 Hitler and a few of his closest associates committed suicide. -
VE day
After Hitler committed suicide his "thousand year reich" finally came to an end. His reign lasted only 12 years. After his death on may 7, 1945 the germans surrendered in a frech schoolhouse that had acted as Eisenhower's headquarters. On this day, americans celebrated VE day (victory in Europe).
