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Germany's Invasion of Poland
This signified the start of the war. This was essentially the first German offensive and was followed by a Soviet offensive later. -
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Germany's Blitzkrieg
They invaded the Netherlands and Belgium on May 10th, 1940. Allied troops stayed defensive and Germany's forces were sent through the Ardennes Forest. This meant that the Allies were vulnerable and they went through and headed towards the English Channel. Once German troops reached the Channel, the Allied troops were completely outnumbered. -
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Operation Barbarossa
This was an invasion planned out on the Eastern front., occurring on June 22nd, 1941.The Germans believed that they could reach Moscow in about 8 weeks, so they launched a massive air campaign, utiliizing their tactics of Blitzkrieg. However, they didn't get any further than Smolensk. Hitler decided to stop the attack. -
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Attack on Pearl Harbor
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Bataan Death March
Americans and fellow Filipinos fighting at the time that had surrendered ended up being captured by the Japanese. They were forced to march 65 miles to San Fernando. -
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Battle of Stalingrad
Germany tried to take over Stalingrad to get their oil fields in the Caucasus Mountains and to get rid of the city, since it was an industrial capital for the Volga River. They reached Stalingrad in August of 1942. The Soviets took a massive beating and Stalin demanded that they protect the city no matter what. However, the tides turned once the Winter came around. This gave the Soviets a chance to send tanks. -
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D-Day
This was the day that Germany invaded France via Normandy. There were three divisions that parachuted behind German enemy lines. The Germans fought back really hard, especially at Omaha Beach. -
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Battle of the Bulge
German tanks drove in about 60 miles inland onto Allied territory, creating a "bulge" in the lines (giving the name of the battle). After fighting for over a month, the Germans lost 120,000 troops, 600 tanks and weaponry, and 1600 planes. Since these things couldn't be easily restored, they retreated. -
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Battle of Okinawa
United States Marines invaded Okinawa, Japan in April of 1945. The Japanese responeded by sending kamikazes. This resulted in the deaths of around 5000 Marines and the loss of 30 ships. Once on land, the Japanese took a major beating and the fighting stopped on June 21st, 1945. -
VE Day
Known as Victory in Europe Day. It happened on May 8th, 1945. However, President Roosevelt didn't get to see this joyous, seeing as how he died on April 12th, 1945. It was instead seen by Harry S. Truman. This day happened because this was the unconditional surrender of the Third Reich. This was the official end to the war over in Europe, but it continued on in Japan. -
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Dropping of the Atomic Bonbs
President Harry S. Truman gave the orders to drop the bonbon Japan. On August 6th, 1945, the United States dropped "Little Boy" on Hiroshima. In just one minute, 78,500 people were killed. Waiting 3 days to drop the next bomb, "Fat Man" was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9th, 1945. This caused the Japanese to surrender. -
VJ Day
Also known as Victory in Japan Day. This occurred the day after the Japanese surrendered. And this surrender from the Japanese happened because of the atomic bombs being dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
