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Germany's Blitzkrieg
The Germans punched through the Netherlands, Belgium, and Liechtenstein to avoid the defenses that France had on the Maginot line. The Germans sent thousands of refugees running ahead of them to slow the allied troops rushing to meet them. They then pushed through what the french had assumed was a naturally impenetrable landscape and encircled the allied forces, cutting their supply lines and eventually taking Paris. -
German-Soviet non-aggression pact
The Ribbentrop-Molotov pact effectively allowed Hitler to focus on France during the first part of the war. It gave the germans free reign to wage war in Europe, and ultimately led to the soviets being drastically underprepared for the invasion that Hitler launched later in the war. -
Germany's Invasion of Poland
Hitler invaded Poland after signing a non-aggression pact with the soviets. Which allowed him to quickly move his forces back to the western front to fight France and Great Britain. The Poles fought back, however, had little success and were easily crushed by the two giants crashing down on them. -
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain was the aerial conflict between the British RAF and the German Luftwafa to establish air superiority over Britain. The fight was long and drawn out, with the British airforce being drastically outmatched in the beginning due to bombings on their airfields. Eventually, the RAF came out on top, but not without a tremendous loss of life for the British people. -
Bombing of Pearl harbor
The Japanese had been building an empire ever since the advent of the twentieth century. Their influence on the Asian continent and pacific was only rivaled by that of the Soviet Union and the United States. With the advent of ww2, the Japanese realized that their navy was far smaller than that of the united states. To counter this, they launched a preemptive strike on Pearl Harbor. The bombing failed to hit the Naval repair yards, however, which allowed the Americans to quickly re-arm. -
Battle of Midway
The battle of midway was a decisive battle in the pacific theatre that crippled the Japanese navy and secured the strategic island of Midway for the Americans. The Japanese military never truly recovered and this battle marked the turning point of the war for the Japanese. -
Battle of Stalingrad
The turning point of the war, the battle of Stalingrad was a decisive loss for the germans. The Germans had pushed the Soviets back to the historical city of Stalingrad. The soviets defended the city fiercely, and eventually held off the incoming germans. This marked the turning point of the war both for moral and military domination. Germany had run out of steam, and the industrial and military power of the communist superpower had been realized in full. -
Allied invasion of Italy
With the successful invasion of Normandy, the allied forces landed In Italy to drag the axis focus in multiple directions. The Italians fought hard, but the momentum of the allied war machine was too much. Held up briefly due to the harsh environment of Italy, this began the fall of Italy. -
D-Day
The allied invasion of Normandy was the culmination of constant planning and luck. The invasion was the largest amphibious assault in history and began the collapse of the German Reich. With the success of the invasion, France was liberated and the German invincibility that had been so prevalent in the begging of the war was starting to wear down. -
Battle of the Bulge
The battle of the bulge was the last German offensive of the war, it managed to briefly encircle an American division. Who famously responded to requests for surrender with "Nuts". The offensive wasted the already limited supplies of the German war machine and spelled disaster for the Germans. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima, was the final major conflict of the war. It was the final step to conquering the Japanese mainland and was defended fiercely by the Japanese. The American troops storm the beaches and found them undefended. Then had to fight through a heavily armed mainland that resulted in tremendous amounts of death and destruction. -
Dropping of the Atomic Bombs
With the decisive battle of Iwo Jima, the next option for the American military was the invasion of Japan. With a projected number of casualties in the millions, President Truman opted to drop the atomic bomb. First in Hiroshima, and second in Nagasaki, which resulted in the unconditional surrender from the Japanese military. -
Victory in Europe
With the fall of Germany, and the meeting of allied forces with the soviets. Victory in Europe was declared, and fascist rule and popularity ended. The war was not ended totally, as Japan was yet to surrender, but this allowed the Americans to shift their focus to the pacific theatre. -
Victory in Japan
With the victory in Europe, the eve of victory in Japan was around the corner. The Americans had drafted up an invasion plan for the island, and the Soviets had decided to enter the war in their favor. However, to save overall human life, the Americans decided to drop the atomic bomb. With the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan surrendered, and WW2 officially ended. -
Liberation of concentration camps
As the Soviets steamrolled through the german offensive, they found many examples of Hitler's "final solution". Particularly in Poland, where the famed Ashuwitts was located. These soldiers liberated the camps and arrested the officers in charge. Most of which where later tried for war crimes.