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Beginning of War
Adolf Hitler was the leader of Germany's Nazi party , was one of the most powerful and notorious dictator of 20th century . Germany invasion's of Poland in 1939 led to the outbreak of world war II , and by 1941 , Nazi forces had occupied much of Europe . Hitler's virulent anti - semitism and obsessive pursuit of Aryan supremacy fueled the murder of some 6 million Jews , along with other victims of the holocaust . -
Period: to
World War ll
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Invasion of Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia surrenders after Adolf Hitler annexes the country into the Third Reich . Although the Czechs had warmly welcomed the Germans when they entered the Sudetenland months earlier , they stood silently in despair when the Nazis entered Prague . -
Invasion of Belgium
Germany invades Belgium , Holland and Luxembourg , Because of the failure of his appeasement policies , British prime minister Neville Chamberlain resigns . Forming a coalition government . Winston Churchill replaces him , Standing alone , Churchill soon began conferring with U.S president Franklin Roosevelt for aid to British cause . The Battle of Belgium included the first tank battle of the war , The Battle of Hannut . It was the largest tank battle of the history at the time . -
Battle of Britain
In 1940 , A significant turning point of world War II , The Battle of Britain ended when Germany's Luftwaffe failed to gain air superiority over the Royal Air Force despite months of targeting Britain's air bases , military posts and , ultimately , its civilian population . Britain's decisive victory saved the country from a ground invasion and possible occupation by Germans forces while proving that air power alone could be used to win a major battle . -
Battle of attack at pearl harbor .
Pearl Harbor in U.S naval base near Honolulu , Hawaii , that was the scene of a devastating surprise attack by Japanese forces on December,7,1941 . on Sunday , Hundreds of Japanese warplanes , launched from aircraft carries far out at sea , attack the American Pacific fleet anchored at Pearl Harbor at the based on plan by Isoroku Yamamoto . Eight battleships , including the U.S.S Arizona , three light cruisers , three destroyers and four other naval vessels are either sunk or damaged . -
Battle of Midway
The battle of Midway is fought . The first defeat of the Japanese navy in 350 years is the turning point in the pacific as the U.S . goes on the offensive . The Japanese had hoped to smash what was left of the Pacific fleet , take Hawaii , hold its people hostage and force the U.S to sue for peace . But American Cyptographers had deciphered their plans and the Navy was waiting for them . the Japanese would lose 3,500 men , four carries , a cruiser and 332 aircraft. The U.S would lose 307 men . -
Battle of Guadalcanal
American land forces go on the offensive for the first time in the pacific , landing on Guadalcanal . It would take six months to secure the island , but Japanese expansion is halted . It was the first major offensive and a decisive victory for the allies in the pacific theater . -
Battle of Stalin Grad
The battle of Stalin grad was the largest confrontation of World War II , in which Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad ( now Volgograd ) in Southern Russia . Marked by fierce close quarters combat and direct assaults on civilians in air raids , it was the largest ( nearly 2.2 million personnel ) and bloodiest ( 1.8 - 2 million killed , wounded or captured ) battle in the history of warfare . -
D-Day \ Normandy
In Normandy , More than 5,300 ships , carrying 176,000 men are streaming across the channel . Allied commanders plan five coordinated landings along a 45-mile stretch of the Normandy coastline between the Cotentin peninsula and the orne river for operation overload . It will be the bloodiest day in American History since the battle of Antietam in the Civil War . some 2,500 American soldier lay dead on French soil . -
Battle of Bulge
Out of the Ardennes , The Battle of Bulge begins . Thousands of guns open up . Shells fall on and around the Americans position for an hour . A few moments later , the enemy emerges out of the dense Fog that shrouds the forest , 20 Germans infantry divisions move forward along a 50 - mile front- a quarter of a million men . Behind them roar 600 tanks . Surrounded by the enemy , cut off from one another , out of ammunition and unable to fight back , others are forced surrender-more than 10,000 .
