-
Invasion of Manchuria (Pacific)
The Japanese invasion of Manchuria began when the Kwantung Army of the Empire of Japan invaded Manchuria immediately following the Mukden Incident. This was a key area to have for Japan because it offered several resources. -
China Falls to Japan (Pacific)
China officially falls to Japan. Japan creates the puppet state of Manchukuo out of the three historic provinces of Manchuria. This is significant because it meant Japan had control over the resourceful country of China, which could provide materials for war. -
Blitzkrieg into Poland (Europe)
Germany invades Poland all along its border with German-controlled territory. Germany signed a nonaggression pact with Russia to ensure that the Soviets would not come to Poland's aid. To Hitler, this conquest would provide living space for German people. -
The Battle of the Atlantic (Europe)
The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, running from 1939 to the defeat of Germany in 1945. The Battle of the Atlantic pitted U-boats and other warships of the German navy and aircraft of the Luftwaffe against the Royal Canadian Navy, Royal Navy, the United States Navy, and Allied merchant shipping. This was significant because the Atlantic was a means of transporting supplies from the US to Europe. -
Battle of France (Europe)
The main German attack goes through central Belgium. German tanks and infantry quickly broke through the French defensive lines and advanced to the coast. Paris, the French capital, fell to the Germans on June 14, 1940. The main goal of the German's here was to expand their territory and it was also a kind of revenge on France for World War I. -
Dunkirk (Europe)
The Dunkirk evacuation, code-named Operation Dynamo, also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, was the evacuation of Allied soldiers from the beaches and harbor of Dunkirk, France. Over 340,000 troops retreat. This is very significant because that meant that the allies still had 340,000 soldiers alive to fight in the rest of the war. -
Battle of Britain (Europe)
The Battle of Britain was a combat of the Second World War, when the Royal Air Force defended the United Kingdom against the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) attacks from the end of June 1940. It is described as the first major campaign fought entirely by air forces. It is very significant because it proved that the RAF could hold off the Luftwaffe. It was a large morale boost for the Allies. -
Germany takes Greece (Europe)
The Battle of Greece is the common name for the invasion of Allied Greece by Nazi Germany in April 1941 during World War II. Greece had already received a small, inadequate reinforcement from British Empire forces in anticipation of the German attack, but no more help was sent afterward. The Greek army found itself outnumbered in its effort to defend against both Italian and German troops. Germany did this to expand their territory. -
Operation Barbarossa (Europe)
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Nazi Germany's World War II invasion of the Soviet Union. The Germans had many victories, but in the end were not successful in capturing the entire country of Russia. The operation was driven primarily by an ideological desire to conquer the Western Soviet Union so that it could be repopulated by Germans. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor (Pacific)
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Territory. This attack was very significant because it led to the United States' entry into World War II. -
Philippines 1942 (Pacific)
The Philippines Campaign was the invasion of the Philippines by Japan and the defense of the islands by Filipino and United States forces during the Second World War. The US was forced to retreat. This showed that Japan was leading a very strong offensive in the Pacific. -
Bataan (Pacific)
The Bataan Death March was the forcible transfer by the Imperial Japanese Army of 60,000–80,000 Filipino and American prisoners of war to POW camps. The transfer began after the three-month Battle of Bataan in the Philippines. This is significant because many US lives were lost during the march and the citizens on the United States mainland grew furious with Japan. -
Doolittle Raid (Pacific)
The Doolittle Raid was an air raid by the United States of America on the Japanese capital Tokyo the first air strike to strike the Japanese Home Islands. It demonstrated that Japan itself was vulnerable to American air attack, served as retaliation for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and provided an important boost to American morale. -
Coral Sea (Pacific)
The Battle of the Coral Sea was a major naval battle between the Imperial Japanese Navy and naval and air forces from the United States and Australia. The battle was the first action in which aircraft carriers engaged each other, as well as the first in which neither side's ships sighted or fired directly upon the other. This is significant because it was the first naval battle fought in the air. -
Midway (Pacific)
The Battle of Midway was a decisive naval battle between the US and Japan. Japan believed that Midway was a stepping-stone to capturing Hawaii and possibly the US mainland. But US code breakers learn of the attack and Japan suffered heavy losses - 275 planes and 4 aircraft carriers. This battle was a turning point because Japan loses the ability to fight an offensive war on the US. -
Guadalcanal (Pacific)
The Guadalcanal Campaign was a military campaign fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theater of World War II. It was the first major offensive by Allied forces against the Empire of Japan. It was very significant because it began the Allied offensive in the Pacific. -
Stalingrad (Europe)
The Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle on the Eastern Front of in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad. It was a very brutal and bloody city battle. This battle was significant because Russia stopped the advance of the German forces. -
New Guinea (Pacific)
The Allies - consisting primarily of Australian and US forces - cleared the Japanese first from Papua, then the Mandate and finally from the Dutch colony. The campaign resulted in a crushing defeat and very heavy losses for Empire of Japan. This was significant because the Allies were continuing their offensive. -
The Second Battle of Alamein (Europe)
The Second Battle of El Alamein was a decisive battle of the that took place near the Egyptian railway halt of El Alamein. The victory was significant because it turned the tide in the North African Campaign and ended the Axis threat to Egypt, the Suez Canal and the Middle Eastern and Persian oil fields via North Africa. -
Operation Torch (Europe)
Operation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa. This was decided at the Declaration of the United Nations. Russia wanted the US and Britain to establish a second front, so they devised a plan to move from Africa to Sicily to Italy. This operation is significant because it created a second front and split Germany up. -
Kursk (Europe)
The Battle of Kursk was an engagement between German and Soviet forces on the Eastern Front near Kursk. It was one of the largest armored clashes in history. This battle was significant because Russia stopped the advance of the German forces. -
Sicily (Europe)
The Allied invasion of Sicily, code named Operation Husky, was a major campaign, in which the Allies took the island of Sicily from the Axis powers. It was a large amphibious and airborne operation, followed by a six-week land campaign and was the beginning of the Italian Campaign. It was very significant because the Allies created a second front in Italy (another area the Germans had to focus more manpower to). -
Salerno (Europe)
The Allied invasion at Salerno was the Allied amphibious landing on mainland Italy. This was significant because it was the Allies' plan to attack Germany from the South and create a second front. -
Gilbert and Marshall Islands (Pacific)
The Gilbert and Marshall Islands Campaign were a series of battles fought from November 1943 through February 1944, They were the first steps of the drive across the central Pacific by the United States Pacific Fleet and Marine Corps. It ended with a US victory. It was significant because it established airfields and naval bases that would allow air and naval support for upcoming operations across the Central Pacific. -
Anzio (Europe)
The Battle of Anzio was an allied attack on Italy. It ended with an allied victory. This was very significant because it allowed the Allies to get to Rome. -
D-Day (Europe)
D-Day was the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord. It goes down as the largest seaborne invasion in history. It was very significant because it began the liberation of German-occupied northwestern Europe from Nazi control, and contributed to the Allied victory on the Western Front. -
Guam (Pacific)
The Second Battle of Guam was the American recapture of the Japanese-held island of Guam, a U.S. territory in the Mariana Islands captured by the Japanese from the U.S. in the 1941 First Battle of Guam during the Pacific campaign of World War II. It was significant because we continued our offensive and worked our way up to Japan. -
Operation Dragoon (Europe)
Operation Dragoon was the code name for the Allied invasion of Southern France. It was very significant because it secured the vital ports on the French Mediterranean coast and increased pressure on the German forces by opening another front. -
Philippines 1944-1945 (Pacific)
The Philippines campaign was the American and Filipino campaign to defeat and expel the Imperial Japanese forces occupying the Philippines. It was very significant because General MacArthur vowed that he would return to the Philippines. When he returned, and recaptured the Philippines, it was a huge morale booster back in the United States. -
Battle of Leyte Gulf (Pacific)
The Battle of Leyte Gulf is generally considered to be the largest naval battle of World War II and, by some criteria, possibly the largest naval battle in history. It ended in a United States victory. This battle was significant because it was the first battle in which the Japanese used Kamikaze attacks. -
Battle of the Bulge (Europe)
The Battle of the Bulge was the last major German offensive campaign. The surprise attack caught the Allied forces completely off guard. American forces bore the brunt of the attack and incurred their highest casualties of any operation during the war. It ended with an Allied victory. This was very significant because it was Germany's last chance. After this, it was clear that the Allies would win. -
Bastogne (Europe)
The Siege of Bastogne was an engagement between American and German forces at the Belgian town of Bastogne, as part of the larger Battle of the Bulge. The goal of the German offensive was the harbor at Antwerp. It ended with an Allied Victory. This was significant because it settled down the German attack. -
Yalta Conference (Europe)
The Yalta Conference was the World War II meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union, represented by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Premier Joseph Stalin, respectively, for the purpose of discussing Europe's post-war reorganization. This conference is very important because many believe that the Cold War between the US and Russia was cause by this conference. -
Iwo Jima (Pacific)
The Battle of Iwo Jima was a major battle in which the United States Marine Corps landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II. The American invasion was significant because it had the goal of capturing the entire island, including the three Japanese-controlled airfields to provide a staging area for attacks on the Japanese main islands. -
Okinawa (Pacific)
The Battle of Okinawa was a series of battles fought in the Japanese Ryukyu Islands, centered on the island of Okinawa. It included the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War, the invasion of Okinawa itself. It ended with an allied victory. This was significant because the US planned to use Okinawa as a base for air operations to attack the Japanese mainland. -
Hitler's Suicide (Europe)
Adolf Hitler kills himself in a bunker in Berlin by taking a cyanide pill with his wife and then shooting himself in the head. This was very significant because it marked the end of the Nazi regime and what they stood for. Without their leader, they were nothing. -
German Surrender (Europe)
The German Instrument of Surrender ended World War II in Europe. This was very significant because it meant that the war in Germany was over and Americans no longer had to risk their lives in Europe. -
Potsdam (Europe)
The Potsdam Conference was held at Cecilienhof, the home of Crown Prince Wilhelm, in Potsdam, occupied Germany. Participants were the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States. At this conference, Truman told Stalin that the US had a "powerful new weapon" referring to the atom bomb. This is very important because it made Russia aware that our country had the intelligence to take down Japan. -
Hiroshima and Nagasaki (Pacific)
The United States dropped nuclear weapons on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945, respectively, during the final stage of World War II. he two bombings, which killed at least 129,000 people, remain the only use of nuclear weapons for warfare in history. These bombings were very significant because they ended the war in the Pacific. -
Japanese Surrender (Pacific)
The surrender of Imperial Japan was announced on August 15 and formally signed on September 2, 1945, bringing the hostilities of World War II to a close. This was significant because finally World War II was brought to an end.
