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Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact Signed
German and Russian diplomats met together to sign a non-aggression pact between their countries. Attached to the pact was an agreement to split Eastern Europe between them. Compelled by mutual hostility towards Britain and France, the pact gave Hitler the go-ahead to begin World War Two only a week later -
Invasion of Poland
With Germany´s access to resources and security guaranteed by the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, Hitler launched his invasion of Poland. Desiring ¨Lebensraum¨ in the east, Hitler´s forces quickly overwhelmed Polish forces via Blitzkrieg and Soviet intervention. With France and Britain vowing to protect Poland, the invasion would mark the beginning of WW2. -
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German Blitzkrieg
At the beginning of the war, the German army managed to quickly overwhelm much of Europe, starting with the invasion of Poland and ending with the Capitulation of France. By the end of the ¨Blitzkrieg¨, Poland, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France had all fallen under the Nazi jackboot. Due to the successful campaign, almost all of continental Europe had fallen to Germany by mid-1940. -
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Battle of Britain
Starting with attacks on shipping lanes in July, Germany embarked on a series of bombing runs against Britain with the aim to eventually launch a naval invasion of the British isles: Operation Sealion. A series of setbacks would compel Hitler to abandon his plans in favor of an invasion of the USSR, leaving the western flank of the Third Reich open. -
Operation Barbarossa
In search of ¨Lebensraum¨ in the east, Hitler ordered the invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941. German forces quickly overwhelmed the poorly led and unprepared Red Army making rapid gains in Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, the Baltic States, and Russia. Operation Barbarossa marked the start of the Eastern Front, by far the bloodiest battleground of WW2. -
Pearl Harbor
Motivated by the need to secure the resources of southeast Asia, Japan launched a surprise attack on the American naval base at pearl harbor. As a result of the attack, the United States would immediately join WW2 on the side of the Allies, going on to become critical to the defeat of both Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. -
Battle of Midway
After months of Japanese gains in East Asia and the Pacific, the American army managed to score a decisive victory over the Japanese fleet at the Battle of Midway, resulting in the loss of four Japanese and three American aircraft carriers. The battle marked the furthest the IJN would go, as the US managed to turn the tides against Japan. -
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Battle of Stalingrad
After making quick gains across the entire Soviet Union Hitler set his eyes on capturing the Caucasus to secure the oil of the region and to do so he needed to capture the critical city of Stalingrad. The most bloody battle in history would follow, resulting in over a million casualties and ending in a decisive Soviet victory that Germany would never recover from. -
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Operation Torch
In late 1942, Allied forces launched an operation to retake North Africa from Italy. Landing in Italian occupied Algeria and Morocco, these forces would later go on to retake North Africa. Motivated by the need to remove Italy from the war, the success of the North African campaign would enable the invasion of Sicily and later capitulation of Mussolini´s regime. -
Invasion of Italy
To cut open the ¨soft underbelly" of Europe, Allied forces primarily made up of Americans and British launched the invasion of mainland Italy on September 3 after capturing Sicily a few months earlier. The invasion would be a success, resulting in the capitulation of Italy to the allies only a month later. -
D-Day
After months of preparation, on June 6th a force of American, British, and Canadian forces embarked across the English channel to establish a beachhead in northern France to begin the liberation of Europe. Despite sustaining heavy casualties, Allied forces managed to successfully land in Normandy, enabling further operations to retake western Europe. -
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Battle of the Bulge
With the Allies having liberated France and pushing into Germany, Hitler launched one final offensive against the Allies. Mimicking the earlier Blitzkriegs, Hitler began a mechanized assault through the Benelux, temporarily encircling the Allies at Bastogne and creating a bulge in the line before being pushed back. The offensive would prove to be the last Germany would ever attempt, and for the last six months of the war, their operations would be exclusively defensive. -
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Battle of Iwo Jima
After liberating much of the Pacific from the Japanese, American forces landed at the heavily fortified island of Iwo Jima. Defended by 22,000 Japanese soldiers, Iwo Jima would be the worst battle of the Pacific campaign with over 28,000 combined deaths. Although planned to be the staging ground of a Japanese invasion, the war would instead be ended by the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. -
V-E Day
After millions of deaths and the destruction of most of continental Europe, WW2 came to an end in Europe with the suicide of Hitler and the liberation of Berlin. Germany´s unconditional surrender to the Allies marked the end of the war in Europe, leaving only Japan to fight against the Allies. -
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Atomic Bombs Dropped
On August 6th, the atomic bomb ¨Little Boy¨ would be dropped at the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days later the ¨Fat Man¨ would be dropped on the city of Nagasaki. Authorized by President Harry Truman to prevent a long and drawn-out campaign across the Japanese mainland, the bombing would trigger the surrender of Japan five days later.