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German Blitzkreig
Germany quickly overran most of Europe and was victorious for more than two years by relying on this new military tactic of "Blitzkrieig". This was Germany's strategy to avoid a long war in the first phase of world war . -
Fall of Paris
Paris fell into Nazi Germany on June 14, 1940 one month after the German Wehrmacht stormed into France. Eight day later France signed an armistice with the Germans and a puppet French state was set up with its capital at Vichy. The French government lost power when German and Italian forces took over. It resulted in the capture and subjugation of not only France but three other countries. -
Pearl Harbor
On the morning of Dec 7th 1941, 177 aircraft of the imperial Japanese Navy attacked the United States naval base at Pearl Harbour Oahu Hawaii. Roosevelt inhibited by the American public's opposition to direct U.S. involvement in the fighting and determined to save Great Britain from a Nazi victory in Europe. Japanese attack on Pearl harbour crippled and destroyed nearly 20 american ships, more than 300 airplanes and 2403 soldiers. -
Wannsee Conference
The Wansee Conference was a meeting of senior government officials of Nazi Germany and Schutzstaffel leaders, held in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee on 20 Jan 1942. -
Bataan death march
The march was a forced march of 70000 U.S. and Filipino prisoners of war captured by the Japanese in the Philippines. From the southern end of the Bataan Peninsula, the starving and ill treated prisoners were forced to do a 101 km march to camp. After bombing Pearl Harbour Japan quickly began to take over much of Southeast Asia, forces from the city of Manila to the Bataan Peninsula He did this hoping to save the city. Approximately 10000 men were killed from the march. -
Battle of Midway
The U.S. Navy's decisive victory in the air sea battle and its successful defence of the major base located at Midway Island dashed Japan's hopes for neutralizing the U.S as a naval power and effectively turned the tide of WW2. Japan hoped to defeat the US Pacific Fleet and use Midway as a base to attack Pearl Harbour. It was a successful defence with the tide of WW2 in the Pacific. -
Warsaw ghetto uprising
ON April 19th 1943 the Warsaw ghetto uprising began after German troops and police entered the ghetto to deport its surviving inhabitants. Jewish insuregents inside the ghetto resisted these efforts. This was the largest uprising by Jew during World War and the first significant urban revolt against German occupation in Europe. By May 16 1943 the Germans had crushed the uprising and deported surviving ghetto residents to concentration camps and killing centres. -
D-day (Normandy invasion)
On June 6th 1944 Allied forces launched a combined naval, air and land assault on Nazi occupied France. Allied airborne forces parachuted into drop zones across northern France. D-day happened because Hitler was expecting the invasion force to cross the English channel at its narrowest point. The Allies formally accepted Nazi Germany's surrender. -
Dropping of atomic bombs
On the morning of Aug 6, 1945 the American B-29 bomber Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. It appeared to American leaders that the only way to compel Japans unconditional surrender was to invade and conquer the Japanese home islands. The uranium bomb detonated over Hiroshima had an explosive yield equal to 15000 tonnes of TNT. It razed and burnt around 70 percent of all buildings and caused and estimate 140000 deaths by the end of 1945 -
Battle of the bulge
The battle of the bulge started on Dec 16 1944 when German forces launched a surprise attack on Allied forces in the forested Ardennes region in Belguim, Luxembourg, and France. The battle lasted until Jan 16, 1945, after Allied counteroffensive forced German troops to withdraw. It was intended to stop Allied use of Antwerp, a Belgian port, and to split the Allied lines. The Allies won the Battle of the bulge while loosing 120000 people and military supplies. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
American forces invaded the island on Feb 19, 1945 and the ensuing Battle of Iwo Jima lasted for five weeks. In some of the bloodiest fighting of World War 2 its well believed that all but 200 or so of the 21000 Japanese forces on the island were killed. It happened because the US needed a place for fighter planes and bombers to land and take off when attacking Japan. It was one of the bloodiest battles in Marine Corps history. -
VE day
On May 8th, 1945 both Great Britain and the United States celebrate victory in Europe day. Cities in both nations as well as formerly occupied cities in Western Europe put out flags and banners rejoicing in the defeat of Nazi war machine during WW2. It happened because victory in Europe was marked around the world. VE day was one day that remained in the memory of all those who witnessed it, it meant an end to nearly six years of a war that had cost the lives of millions and other damage. -
VJ day
In the U.S. VJ day is officially acknowledged on Sep 2 1945. This day marked the formal signing of the instrument of Surrender aboard the battleship USS Missouri in Japans Tokyo Bay. -
Liberation of concentration camps
On Jan 27, 1945 Auschwitz concentration camp a Nazi concentration camp where more than a million people were murdered was liberated bu the Red Army during VIstula-Oder Offensive. Although most of the prisoners had been forced onto a death march, about 7000 had been left behind. The impact left millions dead and buildings torn down. -
Battle of Okinawa
The battle of Okinawa was the last major battle of WW2 and one of the bloodiest. On easter sunday the Navy's first fleet and more than 180000 US Army and US 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. Through it resulted in an Allied victory and large death toll