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Invasion of Poland
blitskrieg, Germans invaded Poland which forced Britain and France to declare war on Germany -
Blitzkrieg
Hitler first used this "lightning war" in the invasion of Poland; it was a fast concertrated air and land attack that took enemy's by surprise; used many times throughout the war by both Allies and Axis forces -
Dunkirk
9 days, some British troops fought off Germans and some made makeshift boats, British and some French forces escaped almost certain capture by Germany -
Maginot Line
it was a massive string of fortifications along France's border with Germany, in the middle of May in 1940 German forces went around it through Belgium -
Battle of France
Germans invaded France, French government abandoned Paris, France surrendered -
Battle of Britain
greatest air assault, Germans rain bombed Britain, Britain won -
North Africa
Allied forces trapped Axis forces, Axis forces surrendered, US pushed east and British forces pushed west -
Pearl Harbor
Japanese planes attacked by air the US pacific fleet -
Bataan Death March
Americans and Filipinos who surrendered to Japanese in the Philippines were prisoners and had to walk for 6-12 days, many who were too weak to keep up were killed, most were beaten and tortured by Japanese -
Doolittle Raid
counteract from Pearl Harbor, Americans dropped bombs on Tokyo, crashed landed in China, boosted Allied morale -
Battle of Midway
Japan attacked Americans on Midway Island -
Battle of Guadalcanal
American forces took over waters around the island, Allies conquered their first piece of Japanese held territory -
Battle of Stalingrad
Soviet Union took advantage of harsh winter and made Germans surrender, turning point of the war in the east -
Island hopping
starting 1943 through 1944 Americans would selectively attack specific enemy-held islands and by passing others -
Carpet bombing
The British Royal Air Force (RAF) used planes to scatter large numbers of bombs over a wide area -
Italy
Allies took over south Italy,, overthrew Mussolini, Germans retreated to north Italy, Allies and Germans fought for a while then Germans surrendered in April 1945, Mussolini was killed -
Operation Overload
an attack on German forces that were in France, to help liberate France, Normandy was the 60 mile stretch of coastline that the Allies landed on(June 6,1944), largest landing by sea in history -
Kamikazes
Starting in 1944- 1945 Japanese used suicide planes; deliberately crash planes into enemy ships -
D-Day
the day the invasion of western europe began -
Battle of Leyte Gulf
3 days, first battle where kamikazes were used, American forces destroyed Japanese navy -
Philippines
Americans invaded and conquered the Philippines in June 1945 -
Battle of the Bulge
in belgium, german against US, largest battle in western Europe, Allies won -
Battle of Iwo Jima
Americans attacked from the air and sea lasted 74 days -
Battle of Okinawa
last obstacle to an Allied invasion of Japanese home islands used kamikaze and banzai -
V-E Day
Victory in Europe Day -
Hiroshima
American plane Enola Gay dropped the first atomic bomb -
Nagasaki
Second atomic bomb dropped on Japan -
V-J Day
Victory in Japan Day; formal surrender agreement was signed on September 2, 1945