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Battle of the Atlantic
A battle between the Western Allies and the Axis powers for the control of Atlantic sea routes. For the Allied powers, the battle had 3 objectives: blockade of the Axis powers in Europe, security of Allied sea movements, and freedom to project military power across the seas. The Axis hoped to frustrate Allied use of the Atlantic to wage war. For British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, the Battle of the Atlantic represented Germany’s best chance to defeat the Western powers. -
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Fall of France
Denmark, Norway, Belgium, and the Netherlands had fallen and the British had been driven into the sea, and the Germans had taken more than one million Allied prisoners in the space of three weeks. The German assault on north-west Europe resulted in the capture and subjugation of not only France, but Luxembourg as well. https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/dover-castle/history-and-stories/fall-of-france/(http://www.timetoast.com) -
Air War Over Japan
The first attack on Japan by American airmen in World War II. In an extraordinary feat, they flew 16 twin-engine B-25s off the carrier Hornet about 688 miles west of Japan and hit Tokyo and other nearby targets before heading for landing in China. -
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Battle of the Coral Sea
The first air-sea battle in history; Japanese wanted to control the Coral Sea with an invasion of Port Moresby in southeast New Guinea, but their plans were intercepted by Allies. When the Japanese landed, they came under attack from the aircraft carrier planes of the U.S. task force commanded by Rear Admiral Frank J. Fletcher. Both sides suffered damages to their carriers, but the Japanese didn't have enough planes to cover the ground attack of Port Moresby, resulting in a loss. -
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Battle for Attu and Kiska
In the Battle of Attu, American and Japanese armies fought for control of Attu, a small, sparsely inhabited island at the far western end of Alaska’s Aleutian chain in the North Pacific. Japan had seized Attu and its neighbor Kiska, then established garrisons on the remote, U.S.-owned islands. The reason for taking Attu and Kiska, known for their barren, mountainous terrain and harsh weather, might have been to divert U.S. forces during Japan’s attack on Midway Island in the central Pacific. -
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Battle of Midway
The U.S. Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy battle that played out 6 months after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The U.S. Navy’s decisive victory in the air-sea battle and its successful defense of the major base located at Midway Island dashed Japan’s hopes of neutralizing the U.S. as a naval power and effectively turned the tide of World War II in the Pacific. -
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Battle of Guadalcanal
The first major offensive and a decisive victory for the Allies in the Pacific theater. With Japanese troops stationed in this section of the Solomon Islands, U.S. marines launched a surprise attack and took control of an air base under construction. Reinforcements were funneled to the island as a series of land and sea clashes unfolded, and both sides endured heavy losses. However, the Japanese suffered a far greater toll of casualties, forcing their withdrawal from Guadalcanal. -
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The Casablanca Conference
The Casablanca Conference was a meeting between U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in Casablanca, Morocco. Joseph Stalin received an invitation, but he was unable to attend because the Red Army was in a major offense against the German Army at the time. The most notable developments at the Conference were the finalization of Allied strategic plans against the Axis powers in 1943, and the promulgation of the policy of “unconditional surrender.” -
Battle of Normandy
the Battle of Normandy resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany’s control. Codenamed Operation Overlord or D-Day, when some 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified coast of France’s Normandy region. The invasion was one of the largest amphibious military assaults in history and required extensive planning. -
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Yalta Conference
A meeting of three World War II allies: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin. The trio met in February 1945 in the resort city of Yalta, located along the Black Sea coast of the Crimean Peninsula. The “Big Three” Allied leaders discussed the post-war fate of defeated Germany and the rest of Europe, the terms of Soviet entry into the ongoing war in the Pacific against Japan and the formation and operation of the new United Nations. -
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Battle of Okinawa
The last major battle of WW II, and one of the worst. The Navy’s Fifth Fleet and more than 180,000 U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps troops descended on the Pacific island of Okinawa for a final push towards Japan. The invasion was part of Operation Iceberg, a complex plan to invade and occupy the Ryukyu Islands, including Okinawa. Though it resulted in an Allied victory, kamikaze fighters, rainy weather and fierce fighting on land, sea and air led to a large death toll on both sides. -
Surrender of Germany
Germany has been defeated on all fronts, their leader, Adolf Hitler died by suicide. The high ranking general General Alfred Jodl surrendered to the allies on May 7th, 1945.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/germany-surrendered-twice-world-war-ii#:~:text=On%20May%207%2C%201945%2C%20Germany,II%20and%20the%20Third%20Reich. -
Surrender of Germany
Nazi commanders signed their surrender to Allied forces in a French schoolhouse, ending WW II in Europe and the Holocaust. The surrender was signed by Col. Gen. Alfred Jodl, Supreme Allied Command by Lt. Gen. Walter Beddel Smith, and chief of staff for Gen. Eisenhower. It was also signed by Gen. Ivan Susloparov of the Soviet Union and by Gen. Francois Sevez for France. https://www.lockhaven.com/news/local-news/2020/05/nazis-surrender-ending-world-war-ii-in-europe/(https://www.timetoast.com) -
Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
An American B-29 bomber world’s first atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. It immediately killed an estimated 80,000 people; tens of thousands later died of radiation exposure. 3 days later, a second B-29 dropped another A-bomb on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 40,000 people. Emperor Hirohito announced his country’s surrender in World War II in a radio address on August 15. https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki(https:www.timetoast.com) -
Surrender of Japan
Japanese Emperor Hirohito surrendered on August 15 and formally signed on September 2, 1945, bringing the hostilities of World War II to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Japanese Navy was incapable of conducting major operations and an Allied invasion of Japan was imminent. Together with the British Empire and China, the U.S. called for the unconditional surrender of the Japanese armed forces.
