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Einstein writes a letter to Franklin D. Roosevelt to warn him that Germany could be making an atomic bomb. Einstein outlined his concerns in his letter. Einstein was encouraged to do this by Szilard, Wigner, and Teller. These were three scientists who fled from the Nazis.
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Germany used their blitzkrieg method to invade Poland. Germany had tested this method three years earlier. Poland's two million man army was easily defeated by Germany. Britain declares war on Germany two days later and World War Two officially begins. Citation: www.ushmm.org
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Germany invaded many countries and tried to purge the world of Jews. Citation of Title: www.amistradresource.org
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Hitler claimed to help the government in those areas by sending nazis to take control. The nazis claimed they needed help from Germany's government. Hitler happily sent in more troops and took full control of these two areas. France and the United Kingdom did nothing to prevent this because they believed Germany would be satisfied if they were given less restrictions.
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Some British were left in Belgium when it was taken over. The only escape was across the English Channel to a port called Dunkirk. 887 ships dangerously crossed the water to save 338,226 men. Afterwards, The British were tired, but ready to fight another day. Citation: www.rania.co.uk
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Hitler sent 136 divisions against Holland in a large blitzkrieg. Four days later, the Dutch were bombed into submission. The Dutch lost 100,000 men before surrendering. This same thing happened to Belgium. Citation: www. dipity.com
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Germany sent 2,000 tanks towards Paris in a blitzkreig. The government was abandoned eight days later. A World War One veteran named Marshal Henri Petain took control and surrendered to the Germans. France signed an armistice on June 22.
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The German airforce, a.k.a. Luftwaffe, started droping bombs on major cities in Britain. This plan was called Operation Sea Lion and was lead by Herman Goering. Although Britain lost 30,000 citizens, 1,700 German aircraft were taken down. Eventually, the planes were detected by an early form of radar which eventually caused the Germans to abandon their plan.
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Germany claims he does this to protect the Germans living there. Yugoslavia was later divided up among the Axis powers. Yugoslavia continued resisting their new Axis controllers.
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Britain discovers how to crack Germany's enigma codes. Britain can now defend itself more easliy from German attacks. This action saved many lives.
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The United States begins the Manhattan Project. This is the largest research and development project in American history. Over $2,000,000,000 ($2 billion) was put into this project and over 100,000 men were employed for this job. Many British and Canadian scientists were also assigned to this project.
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While Japananese and American diplomats were negotiating, Japan dropped bombs on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. About 2,350 Americans were killed and much of the United States' fleet was crippled. 29 of the Japanese aircraft were taken down. United States entered the war the day after this. Citation: www.history.navy.mil
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Although the date is unknown, Hitler stopped working on making a nuclear weapon. Hitler claimed this action was due to the fact that nuclear weapons were "the Jewish science" because many scientists working for Germany at the time were Jewish. This information was not known to the Allies.
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This helped give Japan a foothold to take the all of East Asia. This occured soon after Pearl Harbor. General Douglas MacArthur had only 90,000 troops to defend the country. He was forced to retreat, but left with the promise, "I shall return". Citation: www.pacificwar.org.au
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Thanks to good cypher crackers and code breakers, the Allies went to stop a Japanese invasion. Admiral Chester Nimitz went to stop them. He brought three aircraft carriers and an additional large force. The Allies lost the battle, but Japan was no longer a threat to the Eastern Pacific.
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The British General named Bernard "Monty" Montgomery was faced against Erwin Rommel. Monty used tricks to confuse his opponent. He made decoys and fake tanks to make Rommel belive he was comming from one way, but come from the opposite direction. The Allies won after a fierce battle. www.historycentral.com
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This was the largest military assault in history. Over 200,000 men landed on France's beaches. Some Americans were killed as they stepped off their landing crafts, but they finally established a foothold on the beach. The Allies took control of Paris two months later. Citation: www.boston.com
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Germany surrendes to the Allies. To add insult to injury, Germany signed the armistice in the same place they forced France to sign their armistice. Germany was now weakened and less of a threat to Europe. Citation: www.historyplace.com
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The atomic bomb was first officially tested. It was tested in Alamogordo, New Mexico. This proved the atomic bomb was ready to use against Japan.
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The United States drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. It killed up to 140,000 people. Three days later another bomb was released on Nagasaki. About 40,000-75,000 people were killed. Citation: nukeitfromorbit.com
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The Japanese surrender to the Americans aboard the USS Missouri battleship. Citation: www.thetruthaboutcars.com
