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Pearl Harbor
The Japanese declared war on the United States and bombed the naval base at Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941. Over 2000 Americans were killed. It was the involvment point for the United States in the war. -
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America's Involvment in the War Begins
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Fall of the Philipians
The day after Pearl Harbor Japan took over the Philippines. This then lead to Japan ruling all east Asia. -
Battle of Midway
The Battle of MIdway is widely thought of as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy finally defeated the Imperial Japanese Navy in an attack against Midway Atoll, causing lasting damage on the Japanese fleet. -
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in southwestern Russia. It was among the largest on the Eastern Front, and was marked by its brutality and disregard for military and civilian casualties. It was amongst the bloodiest battles in the history of warfare with the higher estimates of combined casualties amounting to nearly two million deaths. -
Germany's First Surrender
German forces surrender at Stalingrad — the first major defeat of a German army since the war began. -
D-Day
This operation was the largest amphibious invasion in world history, with over 160,000 troops landing on June 6th, 1944. 195,700 Allied naval personnel in over 5,000 ships were involved. The invasion was required to transport soldiers and material from the United Kingdom by aircraft and ships filled with troops, the assault landings, air support, naval interdiction of the English Channel and naval fire-support. The landings took place along a 50-mile stretch of the Normandy coast divided into fi -
First Concentration Camp was Liberated
The first concentration camp is liberated, by Soviet troops in Majdanek, Poland. US troops break out of Normandy and advance across France. -
Battle of the Bulge
The offensive was planned with the utmost secrecy, minimizing radio traffic and moving troops and equipment under cover of darkness. Although ULTRA suggested a possible attack and the Third U.S. Army's intelligence staff predicted a major German offensive, the Allies were still caught by surprise. This was achieved by a combination of Allied overconfidence, preoccupation with their own offensive plans, and poor aerial reconnaissance. -
Bombing of Japan
For six months, the United States had made use of intense strategic fire-bombing of 67 Japanese cities. Together with the United Kingdom and the Republic of China, the United States called for a surrender of Japan in the Potsdam Declaration -
Japanese Surrender
The surrender of Japan brought hostilities in World War II to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy was incapable of conducting operations and an Allied invasion of Japan was imminent. While publicly stating their intent to fight on to the bitter end, Japan's leaders at the Supreme Council for the Direction of the War (the "Big Six") were privately making entreaties to the neutral Soviet Union, to mediate peace on terms favorable to the Japanese.
