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Germany's Invasion of Poland
Adolf Hitler claimed that this massive invasion was a defensive action. But the German-Soviet Pact of August 1939 stated that Poland was to be partitioned between two powers. This enabled Germany to attack Poland with no fear of Soviet intervention, so they did. Polish lost within a week of invasion. Germany took Poland until January 1945. -
German Blitzkrieg (The Lighning War)
WORK CITED FOR WHOLE PROJECT 2WORK CITED FOR WHOLE PROJECTBlitzkrieg was Germany's new military tactic. Blitzkrieg tactics required offensive weapons like tanks, planes, and artillery along a narrow front. Blitzkrieg would drive a breach in enemy defenses which let armored tanks roam around enemy lines. Germany successfully used this tactic against Poland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, The Netherlands, Lexemburg, France, Yugoslavia, and Greece. The Blitzkrieg was unable to defeat the Soviet Union though. -
The Fall of Paris
The Fall of Paris was when German's attacked paris in 1940. When German tanks rolled into Paris, two million Parisians had already fled. The German Gastapo immediately went to work: arrests, interrogations and spying. While the people of Paris were trapped in their capital despaired, French men and women cheered as Canadians trooped through their region. -
Battle of Britain
Since the German's win from France's surrender on June 22, 1940 Britain was alone. Great Britain was in trouble. The Germans began air attacks in early summer. All that stook between the british and defeat was a small force of RAF pilots.Germany began what was known as 'The Blitz' and set off bombs in Britain. Though, Germany failed it's objective to destroy Britain's air defenses. Leading to Britain's win. -
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor was when hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base near Honolulu, Hawaii.It only lasted two hours, but it was deadly and devastating. It included eight enormous battleships and almost 200 airplanes.More than 2,000 Americans soldiers died in the attack, and another 1,000 were wounded. Franklin D. Roosevelt then wanted war on Japan. -
Wannsee Conference
15 high-ranking Nazi Party and German government officials gathered in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee to discuss what they called the "Final Solution of the Jewish Question." The "Final Solution" was the code name for the annihilation of the European Jews. The aim of the Wannsee Conference was clear to its participants: to further the annihilation of the European Jews. As a result of the meeting extermination camps were established in which millions of Jews were murdered in 1942-1943 -
The Battle of The Coral Sea
The Japanese sought to extend their control by taking all of New Guinea and occupying the Solomon Islands.This would eliminate the last Allied base between Japan and Australia. Japanese aircraft attacked and sank the destroyer USS Sims as well as crippled the oiler USS Neosho. Both sides publicly claimed victory after the battle. In strategic terms,the Allies won because the seaborne invasion -
Battle of Midway
Six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the US defeated Japan in one of the most deadly naval battles of World War II. The US was able to counter Japan’s planned ambush of its few remaining aircraft carriers. The Americans sank four fleet carriers - Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, Hiryu and more. The Japanese also lost the heavy cruiser Mikuma. American losses included 147 aircraft. The allied powers won this fight. -
Battle of Stalingrad
Considered by many historians to have been the turning point in World War Two in Europe. The Battle for Stalingrad was fought during the winter of 1942 to 1943. Stalingrad was also an important target because it was Russia’s centre of communications. The Germans had to face the winter. Temperatures dropped to well below zero and food, ammunition and heat were in short supply. The allies won, a complete army group was lost at Stalingrad and 91,000 Germans were taken prisoner. -
Allied Invasion of Italy
On the day of the landing, the Italian government agreed to the Allies’ terms for surrender, but no announcement was made until September 8. Italy wanted to make peace with the allies. On July 24, 1943, Benito Mussolini was arrested. A new provisional government was set up under Marshal Pietro Badoglio. On the day after Mussolini’s arrest, the first Italian troops began withdrawing from Sicily. -
D-Day (Normandy Invasion)
Prior to D-Day, the Allies made a large-scale deception campaign designed to mislead the Germans about the intended invasion target. Eisenhower selected June 5, 1944, as the date for the invasion but bad weather caused it to be delayed for 24 hours. By the end of June, the Allies had seized the vital port of Cherbourg and landed approximately 850,000 men and 150,000 vehicles in Normandy. The allied forces then won this fight. -
Liberation of Concentration Camps
As Allied troops moved across Europe, they began to encounter tens of thousands of concentration camp prisoners. These prisoners were suffering from starvation and disease.Soviet forces were the first to approach a major Nazi camp.The Soviets liberated Auschwitz, the largest killing center and concentration camp. The Nazis had forced the majority of Auschwitz prisoners to march westward in what was known as "death marches". Soviet soldiers found only several thousand prisoners alive. -
Battle of the Bulge
Early on the morning of 16 December 1944, over 200,000 German troops and nearly 1,000 tanks launched Adolf Hitler's last bid to reverse his fortunes he had begun when Allied troops landed in France on D-day. The Germans broke through the American front. Stories spread of the massacre of soldiers and civilians at Malmedy and Stavelot. Through January, American troops attacked the sides of the shrinking bulge.Never again would Hitler be able to launch an offensive in the West on such a scale. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The American nvasion of Iwo Jima during World War II stemmed from the need for a base near the Japanese coast. Iwo Jima was defended by roughly 23,000 Japanese army and navy troops. Despite the difficulty of the conditions, the marines wiped out the defending forces after a month of fighting. American losses included 5,900 dead and 17,400 wounded but they still came out victors. -
Dropping of the Atomic Bombs
The United States becomes the first and only nation to use atomic weaponry during wartime when it drops an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan marked the end of World War II. Germany had already been defeated.But the war against Japan continued to rage. On August 6, 1945, Enola Gay dropped a five-ton bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
