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The invasion of Poland was a joint attack by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union on September 1, 1939, which started World War II. German forces used a new "Blitzkrieg" strategy, overwhelming Polish defenses with rapid armored assaults and air power. On September 17, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east, and by October 6, Germany and the Soviet Union had divided and annexed the entire country. -
The Battle of Britain was a crucial air campaign fought between the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the German Luftwaffe from July to October 1940. It was the first major battle fought entirely in the air and was Germany's attempt to gain air superiority over Britain in preparation for an invasion after France's defeat. The British victory prevented the invasion and proved to be a major turning point in World War II. -
On December 7, 1941, Japan launched a surprise attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, killing 2,403 Americans and wounding 1,178 more. A two-wave attack by Japanese aircraft sank or damaged all eight U.S. battleships at anchor, destroyed or damaged over 300 U.S. aircraft, and marked the event that drew the United States into World War II. -
The Battle of Midway was a decisive naval battle in the Pacific theater of World War II, fought from June 3–6, 1942. This victory, a direct result of American codebreaking intelligence that anticipated the attack, crippled Japan's naval air power and effectively turned the tide of the war in the Pacific, allowing the U.S. to take the offensive. -
The Battle of Stalingrad was a brutal, months-long military campaign during World War II between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, fought from August 1942 to February 1943. It was a major turning point in the war, ending the German advance into the Soviet Union and inflicting a devastating defeat on the German army. The fighting was intense, characterized by street-by-street urban warfare and resulting in staggering casualties, with estimates of up to two million people killed or injured. -
Operation Torch was the joint British-American invasion of French-held North Africa in November 1942 during World War II. It was the first major Allied amphibious assault against Axis forces and aimed to secure control of North Africa to open a new front and disrupt Axis supply lines. The successful operation turned the tide of the war, allowing the Allies to gain the offensive and leading to future invasions of Italy and France. -
The Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives Section Unit (MFAA) was a program established by the Allies in 1943 to help protect cultural property in war areas during and after World War II. The group of about 400 service members and civilians worked with military forces to protect historic and cultural monuments from war damage, and as the conflict came to a close, to find and return works of art and other items of cultural importance that had been stolen by the Nazis or hidden for safekeeping. -
The Battle of Kursk was a pivotal World War II battle fought from July 5 to August 23, 1943, on the Eastern Front between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. It was the largest tank battle in history and a decisive Soviet victory that marked the end of Germany's ability to launch major offensive operations and shifted the strategic initiative to the Soviets for the remainder of the war. -
D-Day was the Allied invasion of Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944, during World War II. It was the largest amphibious landing in history, involving troops from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and other Allied nations. The operation, codenamed Operation Overlord, aimed to liberate France from Nazi control and ultimately led to the defeat of Germany. -
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive in World War II that took place from December 16, 1944, to January 25, 1945, in the Ardennes region of Belgium. The surprise attack was Germany's last major offensive on the Western Front and aimed to split the Allied forces by reaching the port of Antwerp. -
The Battle of Iwo Jima was a major World War II conflict in early 1945 where the U.S. Marine Corps and Navy captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Imperial Japanese Army. A key outcome was the capture of three airfields on the island, which helped Allied forces and produced the iconic photograph of Marines raising an American flag on Mount Suribachi. -
Roosevelt’s health was in decline as FDR prepared in 1944 for both a fourth run at the presidency and the aftermath of World War II. A March 1944 examination by his doctors revealed a variety of heart ailments, high blood pressure, and bronchitis. Those close to the President—and even those who saw him speak in public—noted his haggard and weak appearance, his flagging energy, and his increasing lapses of concentration and memory. -
Adolf Hitler, chancellor and dictator of Germany during the Nazi era from 1933 to 1945, committed suicide by gunshot to the head on 30 April 1945 in the Führerbunker in Berlin after it became clear that Germany would be defeated during the Battle of Berlin, which led to the end of World War II in Europe. His longtime companion and wife of one day, Eva Braun, committed suicide with him, by cyanide poisoning. -
On 6 and 9 August 1945, the United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively, during World War II. The aerial bombings killed 150,000 to 246,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the only uses of nuclear weapons in an armed conflict. Japan announced its surrender to the Allies on 15 August, six days after the bombing of Nagasaki and the Soviet Union's declaration of war against Japan and invasion of Manchuria. -
On August 6, 1945, at approximately 8:15 a.m. locally, the B-29 bomber Enola Gay dropped the atomic bomb “Little Boy” on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. On the ground, the city was alive with morning activity when the bomb detonated in a blinding explosion. As many as 70,000 people were killed instantly.