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Kristallnacht
"night of broken glass;" Nov. 1938; Nazi thugs destroyed Jewish storefronts, burned synagogues, and killed 100 Jewish people -
Beginning Of WWII In Europe
Germans begin a Blitzkrieg against Poland. -
Sitzkrieg
Germany takes over Denmark and Norway -
Dunkirk
Greatest escape in the history of warfare; as Germany defeated British and French forces, they were forced to retreat across the English Channel in numerous small boats -
Battle of Britain
months of bombing by the Germans on English cities in preparation for an invasion of the island; first time the Germans were not victorious -
Peral Harber
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, U.S.A declares war. -
Doolittle’s Raid,
Army Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle led a group of 16 American bombers on a daring air raid of Tokyo and several other Japanese cities. The airplanes had been launched from an aircraft carrier several hundred miles off the coast of Japan. -
Battle of Stalingrad
One major target was the city of Stalingrad, a major industrial center on the Volga River. -
Battle Of El Alamein
Was fought about the same time as the Battle of Stalingrad, the British handed the Germans a major defeat. -
Operation Torch
The plan called for American forces to invade the North African countries of Morocco and Algeria in November 1942. -
The invasion of the Island of Sicily
This was the first major step in this assault . -
D-Day.
the date of the D-Day invasion; postponed from the original plan of June 5 because of bad weather -
Operation Overlord
D-day; The Invasion of France -
Battle of the Bulge
Last German offensive attack on the western front; winter 1944; near the northern portion of the French border with Belgium and Germany; 101st was surrounded at Bastogne but refused to surrender to the Germans -
Battle of Leyte Gulf
Large naval battle in which the U.S. began the process of liberating her soldiers on the Philippines; decisive victory which destroyed much of the Japanese navy -
Battle of Iwo Jima
Feb. 1945; Allied victory; volcanic island with miles of underground tunnels; famous Joe Rosenthal photo of flag raising on Mt. Suribachi -
Battle of Okinawa
April 1945; Only 350 miles from Japan; largest invasion force in the Pacific; bloodiest battle in the Pacific; American victory -
Victory In Europe
VE (Victory in Europe) Day; the official surrender of German forces to the Allies -
Atomic Bomb
On August 6, 1945, an American B-29 named the Enola Gay flew over the city of Hiroshima (hee-roh-SHEE-mah) and dropped its atomic bomb. Seconds later, the bomb exploded. Some 80,000 residents died immediately, and 35,000 were injured. Two-thirds of the city’s 90,000 buildings were destroyed. Fires raged everywhere. -
Victory in Japan.
VJ (Victory in Japan) Day; the official surrender of Japanese forces on board the USS Missouri