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German Blitzkrieg
Bitzkrieg, or "lightning war", was a German tactic used to shock and overwhelm an enemy with a seemingly endless, and massive amount of firepower. Planes, tanks, and artillery were used in waves to swiftly exterminate any opposition. Since it is so short, it's better at conserving lives and limits use of artillery. The Germans initially invaded Poland with this tactic to provide more living space for Germans, but also captured Denmark, Norway, Netherlands, Belgium, France, and the Balkans. -
Fall of Paris
In The Battle of France, the goal was to capture France so Germany could be a real threat from the east, and to do it quickly before the Soviet Union would realize they were not really allies with Germany in order to avoid a two front war. Italy aided in conquering it one month later. In six weeks German forces defeated France with Italy from the south. Since it took so long, the Soviet Union was able to prepare for war. The error was crucial, and the German military would now be split. -
Pearl Harbor
Tensions were growing between Japan and the U.S. due to the United States embargo on exports to Japan.On December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor was the target of a surprise attack by waves of Japanese air crafts. More than 2,400 Americans died in the attack, including civilians, and another 1,000 people were wounded. The day after the assault, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan. A "Sleeping Giant" was awoken, and citizens all over the U.S. banded together to help. -
Wannsee Conference
The Wannsee Conference was a meeting of German officials to talk about the “Final Solution of the Jewish Question” and what they'd decide to do. It happened due to the anti-Jewish climate in pre-war Vienna, Germany’s defeat in the First World War and Hitler’s belief that some races were superior and others inferior. This would lead to the death of 11 million Jewish people in concentration and extermination camps. -
The Battle at Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was a major confrontation of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad. It's known for fierce close quarters combat and direct assaults on civilians in air raids, it is often regarded as one of the single largest and bloodiest battles in the history of warfare. It was an extremely costly defeat for German forces, and the Army had to withdraw their military forces from the West to replace their losses. -
Allied invasion of Italy
The Allies decided to move next against Italy, hoping an Allied invasion would remove that fascist regime from the war, secure the central Mediterranean and divert German divisions from the northwest coast of France where the Allies planned to attack in the near future. The Allies’ Italian Campaign began with the invasion of Sicily in July 1943. After 38 days of fighting, the U.S. and Great Britain successfully drove German and Italian troops from Sicily. -
Warsaw ghetto uprising
From April 19 to May 16, 1943, during World War II, residents of the Jewish ghetto in 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. -
D-day
The Battle of Normandy resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany’s control.Also known as D-Day, when some 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified coast of France’s Normandy region. By late August 1944, all of northern France had been liberated, and by the following spring the Allies had defeated the Germans. The Normandy landings have been called the beginning of the end of war in Europe. -
Battle of the Bulge
In December 1944, Adolph Hitler attempted to split the Allied armies in northwest Europe by means of a surprise blitzkrieg thrust through the Ardennes to Antwerp. Caught off-guard, American units fought desperate battles to stop the German advance . As the Germans drove deeper into the Ardennes in an attempt to secure vital bridgeheads, the Allied line took on the appearance of a large bulge, giving rise to the battle’s name -
Liberation of concentration camps
Soviet soldiers were the first to liberate concentration camp prisoners in the final stages of the war. On July 23, 1944, they entered the Majdanek camp in Poland, and later overran several other killing centers. On January 27, 1945, they entered Auschwitz and there found hundreds of sick and exhausted prisoners. The Germans had been forced to leave these prisoners behind in their hasty retreat from the camp. Also left behind were victims' belongings. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
The American invasion of Iwo Jima during World War II stemmed from the need for a base near the Japanese coast. Following preparatory air and naval bombing, three U.S. marine divisions landed on the island in February 1945. Iwo Jima was defended by 23,000 Japanese army and navy troops, who fought from caves, dugouts, tunnels and underground installations. Despite the difficulty of the conditions, the marines wiped out the defending forces after a month of fighting. -
battle of okinawa
After obliterating Japanese troops in the brutal Battle of Iwo Jima, they set their sights on the island of Okinawa, their last stop before reaching Japan. Okinawa’s 466 square miles of dense foliage, hills and trees made it the perfect location for the Japanese High Command’s last stand to protect the country. They knew if Okinawa fell, so would Japan. The Americans knew securing Okinawa’s airbases was critical to launching a successful Japanese invasion. -
VE day
In 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 the Nazis. -
Dropping of 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. Though the dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan marked the end of World War II, many historians argue that it also ignited the Cold War. -
VJ Day
Japan had surrendered unconditionally to the Allies, effectively ending World War II. Since then, both August 14 and August 15 have been known as “Victory over Japan Day,”. The term has also been used for September 2, 1945, when Japan’s formal surrender took place aboard the U.S.S. Missouri, anchored in Tokyo Bay. Coming several months after the surrender of Nazi Germany, Japan’s capitulation in the Pacific brought six years of hostilities to a final and highly anticipated close.
