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Germany Invades Poland
Germany's agression began with breaking the terms of the Treaty of Versailles which ended the first world war. Germany remiliterized the Rhineland and annexed Austria. This tested the reaction of the League of Nation, who appeased Hitler. Their lack of action and urgency forshadowed to Hitler that he could invade Poland with little consequences if any. The non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union also secured that they would not challenge him. With ease Hitler took over Poland, and sparked war. -
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Major Event of World War II
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France Falls leading to the Battle of Britian
France's "unpenetrable" Maginot Line fell to their suprise by Germanys blitzkreig tactics. France fell after 35 days, causing a race to the English Channel for the Germans. Germanys plan to attack Britian Royal Air Force, Operation Sea Lion, eliminated 1,000 British planes and 1,700 German aircrafts. This was the first time radar was successfully used as a defense mechanism. Just 35 days into the war, Hitler had taken down one of the Allies and was a major threat to another. -
America Enters the War
Axis Power Japan suprise attacked the American naval base Pearl Harbor on December 7th. Within a few hours the heart of the American fleet was destroyed. This was the beginning of the island-hopping war in the pacific. By entering this war, America was also forced to help the war efforts in Europe. This wasn't part of Hitler's plan. -
Battle of Midway: Turning point in the Pacific
Due to the Aliie strategy of "Europe First" the Japanese were able to capture many islands in the Pacific Ocean, incuding the American controlled Philippines. The location of Midway island is what made this battle such an important one; located in the central pacific it was vital to the defense of Hawaii. An American loss at Midway would force our defenses back to the coast of California. Admiral Chester Nimitz got knowledge of Japans plan of attack allowing the Americans to defend themselves. -
Battle of Stalingrad
Stalingrad was Stalin's name-sake city; for this reason the Soviet Union wanted to protect it, and Hitler wanted to destroy it. These attitudes made it one of the most brutal battles in World War II. The Russian winters also made this a challenge for Germany who was not aclemated with the tempertures, and had short supply of materials. Both sides were told to "fight until the last bullet" and "no steps backwards" therefore, was a major turning point in the war when Russia won. -
Allies Victory in North Africa
The British had been fighting the German and Italians in North Africa since 1940. Forcing Germany out of North Africa would provide the Allies with an oppertunity to invade Italy. General George S. Patton , known as "blood and guts", commanded the American troops. In May of 1943 Rommel, German commander, escaped defeat but 240,000 German and Italian troops were forcer to surrender. Aliies had won in North Africa and Hitlers positioning worsened even more. Next up for the Americans- Sicily. -
The Third Reich Ends
Hitler, nervous due to the fact that Allied forces were just outside Berlin, committed suicide along with his closest associates. His "thousand year reich" lasted only 12 years. On May 7th, Germany surrendered in France. This was also called "V-E Day" for victory in Europe. -
D-Day
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The invasion of Normany, France was also called Operation Overlord. It included 21 American divisions and 26 British, Polish, and Canadian divisions to invade a 50 mile stretch of beaches. It also called for a deception plan and creation of a fictional army to distract the Axis Powers. The beaches were heavilly landmined and Americans stepped out of their landing crafts into a rainstorm of bullets, shells, and death. The Allies gained a foothold in Fra -
Battle of the Buldge
This was Hitler's counter attack to D-Day. He was desperate to drive a wedge between British and American forces. It almost succeeded due to catching the Allies by suprise. Hitler managed to create a buldge in the American lines and captured several key towns. Bastogne was the town in Belgium where the Americans were able to hold the line. By Decemer 23rd the skies cleared and Allied bombers attacked and steadily pushed Germany out of France. -
Atomic Bomb ends the War
The United States had been working on the Manhattan Project, and were fianlly successful. Truman was told that an invasion of Japan would cost a million American lives; with Japanese soilder who faught until death, he faced a difficult decision. Unwaivering, Truman decided to use the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Within 2 minutes of exploding 60,000 Japanese were killed. Following the attack, Russia declared war on Japan and invaded Manchuria. After the second bomb Japan surredered.
