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Munich Agreement
The Munich Agreement was a pact signed by the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and and Italy. The pact permittted Nazi-Germany to invade the Sudenten land of Czechoslovakia. It was a form of appeasement towards Germany so that other nations could remain neutral. However, Hitler broke the pact causing it fail by later invading unathorized land. This caused Hitler to gain more and more land thus resulting in war in Europe. -
Hitler attacks Poland
In the fall of 1939 Hilter took over Poland. This was called the Lighting War because Germany used lots of firepower, the act was also called blitzkreiging. Germany's objective was to ruin as much as possible, as fast as possible by suprising the Polish military. By the end of September, Poland has fallen to Germany. Utimatly this act caused France and the UK to declared war on Germany. -
Miracle at Dunkirk
Called a miracle because of the evacuation of the British and French armies along the beaches of Dunkirk, France. As the German army was pushing forward they trapped over 300,000 British and French men. Knowing that they could not afford to lose all of these men, the military devised a plan to evactuate men using small ships. The British did not believe they could rescue all of their men. However, over a few incredible days they were able to save almost all of their men. -
Pearl Harbor
On a Sunday morning in December Japan attacked the United States. Pearl Harbor was the United States' main naval base in the Pactific Ocean, which is why the Japanese targeted it. The objective was the prevent the US from hurting Japan's war effors in Asia. They sent two waves of attacks; one main for ships and aircrafts, and another to finish whatever was left. Luckily most the ships were away on patrol. This attack caused the US to finally enter WW2. -
Battle of Midway
Considered a turning point for the war in the Pacific. Midway was a Pacific naval base that was vital to defense of Hawaii; losing Midway would mean that defense would be pushed back to California coast. Luckily Admiral Chester Nimitz knew the Japanese plans for attack and were able to prepare. US defeated Japan, sinking some of their most important ships. The win lead the US invasion of other Pacific islands. -
Battle of Stalingrad
Considered a turning point in WW2 in Europe; the Battle of Stalingrad destoryed the German army. Taking place in the winter, the Germans were not prepared to fight the Soviet Union. The Russians refused to let one of their biggest cities fall, and would fight until death. Hitler's sick and starving army ended up surrendering in January of 1943, but only 5,000 men would end up returning to Germany. The battle was such a disaster for the Germans they were not prepared for when the Russian invasion -
North Africa
British and Germans had been fighting in North Africa since 1940. Taking North Africa was vital to the Allies invasion of Italy. The US got involved, sending General Dwight D. Eisenhower and General George S. Patton. Finally in May of 1943 the Axis surrendered. Although the commander for the Axis, Rommel, escaped his men surrendered. -
D-Day
The invasion of D-Day involved some of the most important military commanders including Eisenhower, Montogomery, and Bradley. Plan called for striking five beaches in Normany and from there invading Europe. This was all possible due to a deception plan that created a false army under the leadership of General Patton. Fight involved lots of bombs and bullets, and most fought until death. By the end of the day troops had landed and in a month millions followed. After D-Day, Germans were hopeless. -
Hitler dies
By the time the Axis had reached Germany, Hitler was a wreck. He had been sick for a long time and this caused him paranoia and tremors. He eventually lost power even within his own military by making orders that no one would follow or fight. Finally, on April 30 he and some of his associates commited sucide. Later the third riech ended and Germany surrened in France. -
Atomic Bomb
Scientist has been working with the nuclei of certain elements and found the mass amounts of energy they created. In 1942, FDR gives the development of an atomic bomb top priority. This starts the Manhattan Project, which was top secret, involved billions of dollars, and thousands of emplolyees. The decision to us the bomb was Presidents Trumans. The bomb first bomb dropped on August 6, 1945 in Hiroshima and the second in Hagasaki. The explosion killed thousands, but ended the war.
