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German Blitzkrieg
The German-Soviet Pact of August 1939 stated that Poland was to be shared between the two countries, and it enabled Germany to attack Poland without fear of Soviet intervention. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland, and the Polish army was defeated within weeks of the invasion. Germany's invasion of Poland set off the war in Europe. The Soviet Union also invaded Poland
and the Baltic nations. https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005070 -
Germany Invades France and Captures Paris
The fall of France began when Hitler invaded through Belgium in May, and by June, he controlled France. Churchill said that America would enter the war and come to its aid. Roosevelt said the US was prepared to send material aid but the Secretary of State opposed, knowing Hitler would take it as a prelude to a formal declaration of war. German tanks rolled into Paris and 2 million Parisians had already fled.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germans-enter-paris -
Germany bombed London, and the Battle of Britain began.
The Battle of Britain began through Hitler's plan to soften Britain for invasion by continuously bombing. The bombing was unsuccessful, however, and after 11 months of bombing, it was called off.
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The United States gave Britain war supplies and old naval warships in return for military bases in Bermuda and the Caribbean (Lend Lease).
The Lend-Lease Act was enacted in 1941. The US would lend arms or other supplies to their allies. The Lend-Lease Act was compared by FDR as lending a garden hose to a neighbor whose house is on fire. Hitler attempted to prevent the Lend-Lease Act by sending German U-boats (submarines) to attack ships.
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Operation Barbarossa (1941)
On June 22, 1941, Hitler launched his armies eastward in an invasion of the USSR: three great army groups with over three million German soldiers, 150 divisions, and three thousand tanks smashed across the frontier into Soviet territory. Barbarossa was the crucial turning point in World War II, for its failure forced Nazi Germany to fight a two-front war against a coalition possessing immensely superior resources.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/operation-barbarossa -
Japan bombed Pearl Harbor.
The Japanese were expanding over Asia. They were trying to establish an Asian Empire, and only the US stood in their way. FDR froze the Japanese financial assets and stopped exporting oil to Japan. The two countries began peace talks, but Japan did not want peace. They wanted an empire. Japan bombed Hawaii's Pearl Harbor as a way to harm the US military.
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After Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, Germany declared war on the United States. The United States declared war on Japan and Germany.
Two hours after the bombing at Pearl Harbor, 403 people died and 21 ships were sunk or damaged. Almost the entire Pacific Fleet was compromised. Because of this, the US declared war on Japan. On December 11, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States, siding with Japan.
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Germany invaded the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union defeated Germany at Stalingrad, marking the turning point of the war in Eastern Europe.
On the Eastern Front, Stalingrad was the turning point in the war in Europe. In Summer of 1942, Hitler attacked the USSR. The Germans were not prepared for a Russian winter, though, and 230,000 people died. The Germans retreated the rest of the war.
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Bataan Death March (1942)
After the April 9, 1942, U.S. surrender of the Bataan Peninsula on the main Philippine island of Luzon to the Japanese during World War II (1939-45), the approximately 75,000 Filipino and American troops on Bataan were forced to make a 65-mile march to prison camps. The marchers made the trek in intense heat and were subjected to harsh treatment by Japanese guards. Thousands perished in what became known as the Bataan Death March.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bataan-death-march -
The United States was victorious over Japan in the Battle of Midway. This victory was the turning point of the war in the Pacific.
Japan wanted to take over Midway Island. The US broke the Japanese code, and on June 3rd, 1942, the Japanese began retreating. They continued retreating during the rest of the war, making the Battle of Midway the turning point in the Pacific.
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Warsaw Ghetto uprising (1943)
From April 19 to May 16, 1943, during World War II (1939-45), residents of the Jewish ghetto in Nazi-occupied Warsaw, Poland, staged an armed revolt against deportations to extermination camps. The Warsaw ghetto uprising inspired other revolts in extermination camps and ghettos throughout German-occupied Eastern Europe.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/warsaw-ghetto-uprising -
American and other Allied troops landed in Normandy, France, on D-Day to begin the liberation of Western Europe.
On June 6th, 1944, D-Day, or Operation Overlord, was launched. 101st was airborne. There were sea bombardments and land invasions. 100,000 troops were participating. The beaches that were affected were Omaha, Utah, Sword, Gold, and Juneau.
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Battle of the Bulge (1945)
Hitler attempted to split the Allied armies in Europe by means of surprise. Caught off-guard, American units fought battles to stem the German advance. As the Germans drove deeper, the Allied line took on the appearance of a large bulge. Lieutenant General Patton’s successful maneuvering of the Third Army to Bastogne proved vital to the Allied defense, leading to the neutralization of the German counteroffensives.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-the-bulge -
Battle of Iwo Jima (1945)
The American amphibious invasion of Iwo Jima came from the need for a base near the Japanese coast. After preparatory air and naval bombardment, 3 U.S. marine divisions landed on the island. Iwo Jima was defended by roughly 23,000 Japanese troops. The marines wiped out the defending forces after a month of fighting, and the battle earned a place in American lore with a photograph showing the U.S. flag being raised in victory.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/battle-of-iwo-jima -
Liberation of concentration camps (1945)
American army units were the first to discover the camps, when they liberated the slave labor camp at Ohrdruf, in Thuringia, Germany. American forces liberated the camps at Buchenwald, near Weimar, and the V2 rocket slave-labor camp at Nordhausen in the Harz Mountains. It was not until four days later, however, that the British army liberated its first such camp Bergen-Belsen, located on Lüneberg Heath.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/liberation_camps_01.shtml#two -
The United States dropped two atomic bombs on Japan (Hiroshima and Nagasaki) in 1945, forcing Japan to surrender and ending World War II.
On August 6, 1945, American B-29 bomber dropped the world’s first deployed atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The explosion wiped out 90 percent of the city and killed 80,000 people; tens of thousands more would later die of radiation. 3 days later, a second B-29 dropped another A-bomb on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 40,000 people. These actions forced Japan to surrender, ending the war.
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki
