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Pearl Harbor
Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. The attack was a surprise. They attacked the U.S. main naval base, causing extreme damage. Japan sent 6 aircraft carriers, 3060 airplanes, and several submarines and ships. The objective was to prevent U.S. from influencing Japan’s war effort in Southeast Asia. And after just two hours, 2,400 Americans were dead. -
Wannsee Conference
Prior to this event, the phrase "final solution of the Jewish problem" was extremely common. However, this event changed the phrase. Before, it was about emmigration, concentration camps, and the forced removal of Jews. But during this event, it was all about murdering 11 million Jewish people and death camps. -
Doolittle Raid
This was san air attack on Japan led by James H. Doolittle. This attack was planned to happen over night so the Japanese couldn't see them coming. Unfortunetally though, the planes were detected early, so Doolittle decided to bomb them during the day. There was very little military gain during this attack, but it boosted the U.S. morale. -
Battle of the Coral Sea
Japan moved in attempt to take New Guinea. The Japanese operation contained two forces in the sea. The U.S. sent two aircraft carriers to fight. They fought, but the ships never saw eachother, all of the activity was with the planes. The battle was a draw, but the Japanese called off their attack in New Guinea. -
Storm the Beach
The first troops hit the beach around 6:30. To prepare for the attack, Germans mined the water and set up obstacles, sinking several ships before they even made it to shore. Heavy clouds protected the Germans from being seen, and they were able to shoot and lauch bombs without being seen. -
Battle of the Bulge
On December 16, with the season finallly changing to cold, the German army launched an attack. It was supposed to cut through the Allied forces that would put Hitler above everyone else. In the end though, the Germans suffered more than 100,000 casualties and the Americans approximately 81,000. -
Invasion of Okinawa
The invasion began to take over an island 350 miles away from Japan. Capturing this island would make it easier to attack Japan. 500,000 troops attacked, along with 1,213 ships. The U.S. lost nearly 50,000 men, but Japan was now pretty much defenseless, so the U.S. started to bomb Japanese cities. -
V-E Day
The German general signed the unconditional surrender document that ended war in Europe. It was also the end to Nazi Germany. It is mostly celebreated as the end of the Holocaust though. -
Fat man
A bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan on this date by the U.S. It was the second nuclear weapon used in a war, and was highly destructive. It killed around 75,000 people in total. People in this city are still suffering the physical and mental consequences of radiation from the bomb to this day. -
V-J Day
Japan decided to surrender unconditionally to the Allies. The war was officially over on Septemeber 2, 1945. Over 50 million people died during WWII. People could finally be at ease and were overjoyed.
