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The Invasion of Poland
Hiter used the years of appeasement to rebuild Germany's military machine. Hitler developed a method that would plow through the defenses of enemy territory; it was called Blitzkrieg (meaning lightning war). Poland was easily defeated when the Germans used Blitzkrieg; its army was still using cavalry. On Sept 17, the Soviet Army joined in on the attack and on Sept 29 Poland ceased to exist. The Phony War was an expression used to describe the lack of action on the Western Front. -
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World War Two
The Important Events of World War Two -
Evacuation of Dunkirk
Hitler invaded the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France on May 10. Most of the countries surrendered, but Belgium held out until the 28th of May. British and French forces were trapped by German forces. The only way of escape; The Port of Dunkirk. Here, the British Navy evacuated 340 000 troops. This event was significant because Hitler showed restraint, while a military defeat, it represented a moral victory for the allies, and that these were the best of the British Forces. -
Fall of France
After Dunkirk, German forces Blitzkrieg'd through France. On the 14th, Germans entered Paris and by the 22nd, France surrendered. This event showed how effective the Blitzkrieg was, as well as how the French could not stand up against the Germans. The Terms of France's surrender are: Northern France and the Atlantic ports occupied by the Germans, French Army demobilized, Southern France (Vichy France) was run by Marshall Petain, who collaborated with Nazis. -
Battle of Britain
This event was a battle for the skies above Britain and the English Channel. The British were outnumbers 3:1 planes, but they prevailed. On Aug 24, a German bomber squadron got lost and accidentally bombed London. Churchill retaliated by attacking Berlin and Hitler redirected his forces to bomb London. In the end Britain won the battle for the skies and it was the first time Hitler had been denied conquest. But the war did not end as Hitler continued bombing until the last days of war. -
Winter War
The Red Army attacked Finland because of a conflict between the two. Finland could not stand a chance against the Red Army, as they had 30 times as much planes, 100 times as much soliders and tanks. The Finns stood up against the Soviets far longer than they expected, but surrendered nevertheless. On Mar 12, Finland signed a peace treaty. -
Barbarossa
Hitler double-crossed the Soviets, to accompish three goals: 1) The Nazi Policy of Lebensraum.
2) Gain resources from the Soviet Union. 3) Get rid of Communism. Stalin was completely caught by surprise, and the Germans easily Blitzkrieg'd through. Due to Stalin's Purges, the Red Army suffered from lack of experience. Stalin invoked the scorched earth policy as a last attempt so the Germans could not live off the land. In the end, Germany captured many cities, but the Russian winter stopped them. -
Pearl Harbour
The Japanese intended to sink or immobilize USA's battleships and aircraft carriers in the attack on Pearl Harbour. It almost succeeded, if the carriers were present. Nevertheless, the Japanese managed to damage eight battleships and permanantly destroy two. They went on to conquer many countries in Asia. -
Battle of Stalingrad
This battle was for the contol of the city of Stalingrad. It was one of the bloodiest battles in the history of warfare; both sides suffered massive casualties. The Red Army began to strike back at the Germans who were trying to beiege Stalingrad. Soon the Germans were cut off and surrounded. In the end, 300 000 German troops surrendered. The significance of this victory was Hitler lost the best units of his army, Hitler was denied access to oil fields, and Germans were forced on the defensive. -
Battle of El Alamein
The Battle of El Alamein was important because whoever won the battle would control a strategic strip of water sixty miles from the Suez Canal. General Montgomery defeated General Rommel and the Italian/German retreat. The significance of this event is that the Suez Canal remained in Allied hands, Hitler was denied access to the oil of the Middle East, and this event proved that Hitler could be beaten. -
Battle of the Atlantic
This battle was a struggle for Britain to keep its sea lanes open to North America and her empires. German submaries attacked ships to weaken the supplies to the allies. Hitler was sinking allied ships faster than they were being built! In a single day in Spring, German U-boats sank 107 allied ships. To counter this, Allied forces used radar to guide aircrafts to attack, and they organized their forces into safe convoys of up to fifty ships. This was effective as they sunk 79 U-boats. -
The Italian Campaign
After the Allies fought the Germans in North Africa won, they wanted to continue their advance against the German/Italian forces by landing in Sicily using an amphibious attack. Italians were beaten with ease but the Germans put up a fight. Allied forces then landed at Salerno and Taranto, Italy on sept 9. Fighting continued, Allies took Rome, and finally on May 2 the fighting ended. This is important because it occupied many German troops, making them unavaliable for the defense of France. -
Normandy Invasion / Operation Overlord
The initial attack carried out by 175 000 men in a now common ampibious attack. Allied troops were to take 5 beaches. Utah and Omaha were to be taken by the Americans, Gold and Sword by the British, and Juno by the Canadians. After the first day, the Allies had their beach head. After Normandy, Fighting in France was fierce. An underground Anti-Nazi organization called the Resistance came out and assisted the attacking Allied forces. On Aug 25, Allied forces march into Paris. -
Battle of the Bulge
The Allies suffered a setback when they dropped troops behind enemy lines in Holland. The Germans quickly killed them all. On Dec 15, Germans launched one last offensive and found a weak spot in the Allied front in Ardennes. 200 000 German troops attacked an area held by 80 000 Allies. They advanced 60 miles before being stopped on Christmas. In Feb, Allies raided Dresden, hoping to rush Germans into surrender. In the end, Hitler commited suicide, Berlin fell to Russia, and Germany Surrendered. -
Hiroshima
Harry S. Truman decided to use this newly created atomic bomb to try to end the Pacific War. His military planners told Truman that he could expect between 1 to 1.5 million American casualties and another twelve to eighteen months of fighting to take the home islands of using conventional warfare. So Truman decided to use the A-bomb on Hiroshima. Instantly 100 000 people and the city were destroyed. 3 days later, Truman dropped another bomb in Nagasaki. -
Peace at Last
The Japanese government formally surrenders to the Allies on the USS Missouri. General Douglas MacArthur accepted the surrender on behalf of the Allies. The surrender document announced the unconditional surrender of the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters and the entire Japanese military structure. It also stipulated that all Allied prisoners of war not already freed were to be repatriated immediately.
