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German Blitzgreigs Poland / Allies Declare War
German ambitions were soon realized after invading Poland. After being pacified in their conquests of other "German" lands Germany invaded Poland. This conquest only took a month until Poland was completely conquered. The Soviet Union had been attacking from the east an also had partial control. Soon after this attack and blatant displays of disregarding the Treaty of Versailles Great Brittain and France declared war on the hostile Nazis -
France Surrenders to Germany
The surrender of France to Germany signaled the growing power of Germany. France, one of the worlds great powers at the time, could hardly put up a fight. Defeating France only boosted Germany's confidence, the would soon continue on to Brittain. Not long after France's surrender, Germany set up Vichy France as a puppet goverment controlled by the Nazis. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The Japanese, upset over embargoes and defensive of Pacific territories, attacked the American naval base in Pearl Harbor Hawaii. The attack happened in two waves, planes brought in by 6 aircraft carriers attacked in an attempt to disable the Pacific fleet and secrure control of the Pacific. Despite sinking 4 battleships, 2 destroyers, killing 2,202, and damaging 11 other ships, they were unable to disable the fleet. This attack sparked America's entrance into WWII. -
Battle of Midway
The Japanese were planning an attack on Midway. Admiral Chester Nimitz predicted this and focused American troops there. An alomst completely air battle was fought for three days resulting in an American victory. The loss of Midway would have resulted in being backed all the way back to California. This victory was the main turning point in the Pacific theatre and started a series of violent but decisive victories. -
Battle of Stalingrad
One of Hitlers armies was met in Stalingrad, a large city named after Stalin. Starvation and frostbite prevented any kind of success on the German side and they were soon forced to retreat to Germany. The defeat and following surrender ended any realistic visions of Hitler conquering all of Europe. The Russians were just as brutal as the Nazis when it came to prisoners of war and out of 91.000 to surrneder only 5,000 ever returned to Germany. -
Tehran Conference
The Tehran Conference was the first time the Big Three, Stalin, Churchill, and FDR met each other in person. This conference was where FDR and Stalin wished to enter the war against Churchill's wishes. This second front would spare more Russian lives and bring the was to a swift end. This was also where the three started to map out a plan for D-Day. -
D-Day
D-Day was the Allies final attack plan. The invasion of France was the beginning of a campaign towards Berlin. Part of the Operation Overlord was the landing at five beaches across Normandy. After this successful landing Germany was now fighting a helpless two front war. D-Day signaled the beginning of the end for Germany. Slightly less than half a million soldiers died on D-Day, a huge loss of life in such a short venture. -
Battle of the Bulge
This was the last ditch effort by the Germans to poke a hole through American forces and win the war. This plan demoralized and destroyed the last of the German reserves. After this last attempt failed Hitler knew it was over and as the Allies grew closer to Berlin he commited suicide. The Battle of the Bulge wasn't a turning point but more of a final statement confirming the Nazis worst fears. -
Victory in Europe
After only 12 years the 3rd reich fell. Hitler commited suicide on April 30th and left without a leader or an army, Germany surrendered. The surrender took place in a school house in France that served as Eisenhowers headquarters. FDR never got to see this victory due to his death, but it was taken over by Truman. -
Victory in Japan
Almost immedietely following the two atomic bombs being dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki Japan was in ruins. Japan knew they could no longer compete against the atomic bomb and so they surrendered. This brought six years of violent war to an end. The formal surrender was nearly six months later but this is the day we consider VJ day because it was the day the Japanese stopped fighting.
