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The Halocaust
The Halocaust was the mass murder of 6 million European Jews by Nazi Germany during World War II. Adolf Hitler believed that Jews were an inferior race and a threat to German racial purity. The Jews were sent to concentration camps. Many starved and died in these camps. -
Japan invades China
The day Japan invaded China was the start of World War II in the Pacific. Up to this point Japan was becoming an increasing threat on the Far Eastern border. Stalin starting supplying arms to China. China also received aid from Nazi Germany for a short period, until Hitler decided to make an alliance with Japan in 1938. -
Munich Conference
The Munich Conference was a converence in which the leaders of Great Britain, France, and Italy agreed to allow Germany to annex certain areas of Czechoslovakia. Adolf Hitler had demanded the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia. Over time Hitler continued to make increasing demands. The leaders of European nations followed a policy of appeasement and allowed Germeny to take the Sudetenland. -
Non-Aggression Pact
The Non-Aggression Pact is also known Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact. It was an agreement that Germany would not attack the Soviet Union. In this pact the two countries agreed not to make any military action against each other for the next 10 years. Germany then betrayed the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa. -
Germany Invades Poland
The day Germany invaded Poland officially sparked the start of World War II. During the invasion, 1.5 million German troops invaded Poland along all sides. Hitler called this invasion a "defensive invasion". Britain and France were not convinced by Hitler's statement. -
Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg is a German term for lightning war. It was first used in Germany's invasion of POland and used many times after that by Germany. Blitzkrieg is designed to create disorganization in enemy forces through the use of mobile forces and concentrated firepower. It was a very successful tactic -
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The Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain was the German air force's attempt to gain air superiority over Britain's Royal Air Force. This was one of the turning points of World War II. It prevented Germany from invading Britain. Britain's Royal Air Force defeated Germany during this battle. -
Lend-Lease Act
The Lend-Lease Act was an act that provided military aid from the United States to foreign nations during World War II. It brought the United States one step closer to entry into the war. It allowed the U.S. to help its allies, but not overextend itself in the war. The Lend-Lease act lended weapons to allies. -
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Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was when Germany invaded the Soviet Union. it was the largest military operation in history. It involved more than 3 million Axis troops and 3,500 tanks. This is when Germany betrayed the Soviet Union and went against the terms in the Non-Aggression Pact. -
Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a Japanese attack. The United States didn't know about it so the attack was surprising and took a lot of people by surprise. The Japanese managed to destroy 20 American naval vessels, including eight battleships, and almost 200 airplanes. More than 200 Americans were killed. This was a very devastating event on the United States. -
Bataan Death March
The Bataan Death March was when 75,000 Filipino and American troops were forced to march 85 miles in six days. Each soldier had only one meal of rice during the entire journey. By the end of the march, hundreds of Americans and many more Filipinos had died. This march was enforced by the Japanese. -
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The Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway occurred 6 months after Pearl Harbor. The United States defeated Japan in this battle. The United States countered Japan’s planned ambush of its few remaining aircraft carriers and caused damage to Japan's Navy. This was a major turning point of the Pacific campaign. -
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The Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was one of the largest and deadliest battles in World War II. It was a turning point in World War II. The battle was between the Soviet Union and Germany. After losing the battle, the German army lost so many soldiers and took such a defeat that they never quite recovered from this battle. -
D-Day
During D-Day,156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along the coast of France’s Normandy region.The 50-mile stretch was heavily fortified. The invasion was one of the largest military assaults in history and required a lot of planning. D-Day is considered the beginning of the end of war in Europe. -
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Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge is also known as the Ardennes Offensive. It was the largest battle fought on the Western Front in Europe during World War II. It is also the largest battle ever fought by the United States Army. Battle of the Bulge was a German attack recapture the port of Antwerp in The Netherlands to deny the Allies use of the port facilities. Germany was defeated. -
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The Battle of Iwo JIma
The Battle of Iwo JIma was the invasion of Japan by the United States. It was defended by 23,000 Japanese troops. Despite their numbers and tactics, The United States still came through and won. The United States won after one month of fighting. -
Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa was the last and biggest of the Pacific island battles of World War II. The United States fought against the Japanese. The United States had 287,000 troops against 130,000 soldiers of the Japanese. The United States won this battle and defeated Japan. -
V-E Day
V-E day is also known as victory in Europe day. It was the day when German troops throughout Europe finally laid down their arms. The United States and Great Britain celebrated the defeat of Nazi Germany. They celebrated this by putting out flags and banners. -
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The Bombing of Hiroshima/Nagasaki
The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombing done by the United States on Japan. The United States wanted to force Japan's surrender as quickly as possible to minimize the American casualties. The two bombs are named "Little Boy" and "Fat Man". These bombs being dropped led to the surrender of Japan. -
V-J Day
V-J Day is also known as Victory over Japan Day. This was the day Japan announced that they had surrendered to the Allies. They actually annouced their surrender on August 14th and 15th, but they held a formal surrender which took place aboard the U.S.S. Missouri, anchored in Tokyo Bay on September 2nd. This day was long awaited for the United States since the attack on Pearl Harbor. -
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact called on the member states to come to the defense of any member attacked by an outside force. It is called the Warsaw Pact because it was signed in Warsaw. Its members included: the Soviet Union, Albania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria. The Warsaw Pact remained intact until 1991.
