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On September 1st, 1939, Germany violated their nonaggression pact with Poland by invading the land to take it over. Hitlers goal was to regain territory and rule the area. They bombed from the air and rushed in on land - this became known as the 'Blitzkrieg' strategy.
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Germany invaded France after an attempt by Italy. After a battle, France surrendered to the German army.
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In order to disrupt the British economy and industry to make it easier to invade, Hitler bombed London. Bit instead of scaring them into submission, it only strengthened their resolve.
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Hitler believed that taking over the Soviet Union would not only be as easy as Poland, but would secure his victory. But the USSR didn't want to go down without a fight, resulting in the long Battle of Stalingrad. It was said by many that whoever won this fight would win the war. At first the Germans were confident, but the home-field advantage and harsh Russian winter got the best of them. Eventually, the Germans surrendered. This battle was a major turning point in the war.
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In early December, the Japanese launched a surprise attack on the U.S. naval base, Pearl Harbor, off the coast of Hawaii. Tensions between America and Japan had been high for awhile at that point. This event caused the U.S. to enter World War ||.
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The Manhattan Project was a secret military operation to make nuclear weapons. With United Kingdom and Canada backing us, we were able to produce the Atomic Bomb. To finish off WW||, President Truman made the decision to drop the bomb on Hiroshima. He believed it would have the best outcome, as opposed to a land invasion costing many Japanese and American lives.
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During this time, Japanese Americans were forced into incarceration camps in the west. Over 100,000 citizens of Japanese ancestry were incarcerated. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed off on this shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. This created a lot of racial tension between Asian-Americans and people of other ethnicities.
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75,000 American and Filipino troops were forced to walk 65 miles in intense heat under harsh treatment to prison camps. It was a result of the U.S. surrender of the Bantaan Peninsula after the Battle of Bantaan.
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On June 6th, 1944, the allies attacked the Germans on the coast of Normandy. By making Hitler believe we were attacking somewhere else with an elaborate plan, we were able to overtake them and win. This battle became the turning point in the war, and the liberation of countries taken by Germany begun.
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After months of naval and air bombardment, U.S. Marines captured the Island of Iwo Jima from the Japanese Imperial Army. It was a target for us because of its tactical importance to Japan. After it's capture, two of their important air fields were shut down.
