-
Germany's Invasion of Poland
The German invasion of Poland is known as the very start of WWI. Not only did Hitler's action finally convince France and Great Britain to declare war on Germany, but it started an era of German conquest. This event happened due to Hitler's belief in the "Lebensraum" in which he wanted to expand Germany's territory to increase population and production. The invasion caused many casualties from British and French soldiers, as well as innocent Polish people. -
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain began with Hitler's desire to invade Great Britain. Hitler knew that he had to get through their air force and take control of the skies before he would be able to fully invade Germany. This led to a battle between Britain's and Germany's air forces resulting in a great number of casualties. Germany eventually ended up withdrawing from the battle as it proved too taxing on his military. -
German Blitzkrieg
In 1940 Germany used their blitzkrieg tactic to quickly penetrate Allied forces. They did this by using tanks, mobile infantry, and artillery troops. The tactic proved to be relatively effective for a few years, but by 1943 Germany was forced into fighting a defensive war. -
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor was a large scale attack on the United States naval base, Pearl Harbor. This attack was planned as a surprise attack by the Japanese, in which their Imperial Air Service would attempt to destroy as many US warships as possible in an attempt to devastate Americans. I the and, almost 20 US ships and 300 airplanes were destroyed. -
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the German invasion of the Soviet Union. Hitler launched three groups of millions of German soldiers into Russia. Germany greatly underestimated Russia's capabilities and were forced to initiate a slow retreat. This loss forced Germany to fight a two front war. -
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was a military campaign between Russian and German forces. One of the bloodiest battles as millions were killed. It also marked a turning point for the Allied powers with the Russian victory. It was the real first Hitler had faced defeat and ended German advancement into Eastern Europe and Russia. -
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway was a Japanese attack on the United State's navy. The Japanese desired to achieve naval and air superiority in the Pacific and they did this by initiating a surprise attack in an attempt to eliminate the rest of US Pacific fleet. In the end the Japanese were unsuccessful thanks to US code breakers gaining access to Japanese communications. This battle marked the end of Japanese dominance in the Pacific. -
Battle of the Coral Sea
The Battle of the Coral Sea started when Imperial Japanese forces attempted to seize control over the Coral Sea. Allied forces moved in to stop Japan. In the end both the allied forces and Japan suffered damages to their naval fleets, but the allied forces won with the use of strategic combat and code breakers. -
Allied invasion of Italy
At the time, Italy was under control of the dictator Mussolini with the goal of creating Italy into a fascist empire. The Allied began their attack by invading Sicily. Their eventual conquest of Sicily led to the collapse of the Fascist empire and Mussolini's rule. -
Operation Gomorrah
Operation Gomorrah was a British bombing raid by night and an American raid by day on Germany. The bombings greatly damaged the infrastructure, industrial center, and shipyards of Hamburg within Germany. -
D-Day
D-Day was an invasion that took place on the beaches in Normandy France. American, British, and Canadian allied powers arrived at the beach with a large naval fleet. Meanwhile, Germany had taken control over France and were posted at the beach in an attempt to stop the allied powers. Thousands of soldiers were deployed on the beaches only to get gunned down. Despite this, the allied powers eventually won, suffering much loss, and this victory resulted in the Western liberation of Europe. -
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was one of the bloodiest battles of WWII. After Germany's loss in Normandy, they began to push into Belgium as a last ditch attempt at victory. British, American, and French troops were already in bad and freezing conditions. In the end, Germany lost the battle and this also led to Germany losing the war. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The battle of Iwo Jima was a military campaign against the US navy and Japan. Japan, with imperialistic intentions, attempted to seize control over the island of Iwo Jima. Japan was absolutely obliterated in the battle and almost all of their soldiers were killed. The US' victory and control over Iwo Jima was very important in the defeat of Japan. -
Dropping of the atomic bombs
In response to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the Battle of Midway. The US dropped two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. The initial bombs killed over 80,000 people, and tens of thousands more succumbed tor radiation poisoning. This event ultimately led to Japan's surrendering. -
VE Day
VE day, or victory in Europe day, celebrated the day of Germany's unconditional surrendering. It officially marked the end of the 6 year war and brought together the allied forces for a celebration.