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Invasion of Manchuria
Manchuria, China was attacked by Japan. Japan was becoming increasingly crowded and Manchuria offered nearly 200,000 square kilometers which would easily accommodate the overpopulation issues of Japan. Japan also believe, Manchuria was rich in minerals. Japan took over the Chinese area of Manchuria and established how powerful they were. -
Blitzkrieg into Poland
Blitzkrieg, or "lighting war", is a military tactic designed to create disorganization among enemy forces through the use of mobile forces and concentrated firepower. 1.5 million German troops invade Poland along its border while German Luftwaffe bombed Polish airfields and warships, and u-boats attacked Polish naval forces in the Baltic Sea. Hitler claimed this to be a defensive action but Britain and France were not convince. Two days later they declared war on Germany, initiating WWII. -
Battle of the Atlantic
The allies wanted to prepare for the cross-channel invasion by bringing supplies to Britain. German U-boats made the Atlantic a dangerous place. Allies begin using Convoys and using newly invented Sonar to navigate. This is important because in the end the allies win the battle and preparations to the cross begin. -
Germany takes Greece
In the Spring of 1940 Germany and Italy capture Greece from Britain.This is important because then they start going after North Africa. -
German invasion of France
Germany captured Holland, Belgium, and Luxembourg with their next target as France. When Germany blitzed into France it drove a wedge between Britain and France causing Britain to evacuate and leaving France alone. Italy then declares war on France and starts to invade southern France. This was why France surrendered on June 22,1940, giving Germany Northern France, and setting them up to invade to Britain. Germany also set up a Vichy government in France to control the Southern part of France. -
Dunkirk
The evacuation of British and other allied troops from the French seaport of Dunkirk to England. With the use of Naval vessels and civilian boats 198,000 British and 140,000 French and Belgian troops had been saved. Germany had trapped the armies on the beaches around Dunkirk and the 333,000 troops were a sitting target. Without this escape the allied powers would have lost many valuable trained soldiers. -
Battle of Britain / The Blitz
French signed an armistice and quit WWII on June 17, 1940 which left Britain alone against Germany.Churchill was able to get the politicians to agree to fight the war.Germans had poor intelligence and even wasted time waiting for Britain to surrender.After a failed attack on London Hitler permanently postponed a landing on the British Isles and suspended the Battle of Britain.This was a turning point in the war b/c it saved Britain from a ground invasion & possible occupation by German forces. -
Operation Barbarossa
Was the codename for Nazi Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union. The Germans totally underestimated their power. The failure of Nazi germany forces them to enter a two front war. -
Pearl Harbor
Hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl harbor. Although only lasting two hours, the results were devastating. 20 American naval vessels including 8 huge battleships & more than 300 airplanes were destroyed. More than 2000 American soldier & sailors died & another 1000 were wounded. This day after President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked for war against Japan & congress accepted. Germany & Italy allied with Japan & after two years, America finally joined WWII. -
Bataan (battle and march)
After Pearl harbor Japanese aircraft began an aerial assault on American forces in the Philippines. General MacArthur began preparations to defend against Japan. MacArthur knew they would lose so he left with,“I shall return”. After the surrender to Japan around 75,000 Filipino & American troops on Bataan made a 65- mile march to prison camps in intense heat with harsh treatment by the Jap guards. The US was not as prepared as we thought to go against a highly trained military like Japan. -
Philippines 1942
Led by General MacArthur (Supreme Allied Commander in the Pacific) the US fights to maintain the Philippines. We start to run out of supplies after 3 months of fighting so we are forced to retreat to Australia. The Japanese gain the Philippines on May 6th resulting in a loss for the allies. -
Doolittle Raid
Commanded by Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle, 16 B-25 bombers attacked the Japanese capital Tokyo&other places on Japanese mainland. A top secret training program began immediately to solve the problem of how to achieve take off on 450 ft when the usual minimum is 1200 ft. By April 18th they were ready. The raid did little real damage to Japan, but it did hurt the Japanese government’s prestige. Doolittle was eventually awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor,&American morale was raised. -
Coral Sea
This 4 day battle was when the Japanese were seeking to control the Coral Sea. They were planning an invasion in southeast New Guinea but the allied forces intercepted their plan. American code breakers had an edge on enemy communications. Once the Japanese landed, they were meet with an attack from American aircraft carriers. Japanese did't have enough planes to cover the attack resulting in Allied victory. This reduced Japan’s resources for a key battle, the Battle of Midway. -
Midway
A massive Japanese armada set sail for Midway. Luckily the US had an advantage the Japanese were unaware of, American cryptologist had broken Japanese military code and were reading secret intercepts of an invasion of “AF”. Not sure what “AF” was, Adm. Chester Nimitz decided to gamble and send and uncoded message and wait for a response. The US prepared and using American intelligence could keep up on Japanese plans in Midway. Midway was an allied win and ranks as a truly decisive battle. -
Stalingrad
Was battle between Russia and Germany that was deadly street fight in the ruins of a big city. This is important because this is one of two battles that ended Germany’s ability to fight offensively on the Eastern Front because Russia captured 300,000 thousands German troops. -
Guadalcanal
Taking place on the Solomon Islands over six months. In order to communicate in secrecy on the battlefield, we used the very complex native language of Navajo.Throughout this battle we learn to fight in the jungle which would later become handy in the future. -
El Alamein (2nd battle of)
This battle took place near the Egyptian railway halt of El Alamein, Egypt. In the end the axis powers retreated leaving the allies victorious. This battle marked the watershed of the Western Desert Campaign. It revived the morale of the allies. Churchill said “Before Alamein, we never had a victory. After Alamein, we never had a defeat”, speaking of Great Britain. -
Operation Torch
Was the British- American invasion of French North America in WWII. Said that they would create two front and go from Africa to Sicily to Italy and Churchill used a picture of a crocodile to show that they were going to attack the soft belly of the crocodile by going up through the middle. It was put into action on November 8, 1942 when the US invaded Algeria and moved to the east led by Gen. Dwight D. “Ike.” The US and British trapped Germany forcing Italy to retreat. Created a second front. -
New Guinea
One of the longest battles in World War ll. The Japanese started by going after the North Coast of the island. The Allies took an offensive approach and the Japanese were pushed back to the North coast of Papua. The Japanese ended the war with their base at Rabaul on New Britain and all of Nearby New Ireland. This is important because New Guinea had been a key part of the Japanese defensive perimeter. -
Kursk
Kursk was a battle between Russia and Germany and was a famous tank battle that was a key to why we won the war. This is important because this is one of two battles that ended Germany’s ability to fight offensively on the Eastern Front because Russia captured 300,000 thousands German troops. -
Sicily
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 form the northwest coast of France where the Allies planned to attack in the future. After 38 days of fighting the US and Great Britain successfully drove German and Italian troops from Sicily. This allied gain has prepared them to assault the Italian mainland. -
Salerno
US 5th Army landed along the Salerno coastline while British commando units & their American counterparts landed on the peninsula itself. Salerno was chosen as the 1st site for invasion because it was the northernmost point to which the Allies could fly planes from its base in Sicily. The landing was easy & it wasn’t until 2 days later that the Germans & Italian came with a heavy counterattack. The allies won Salerno which was a morale booster & another step closer to Italy’s surrender. -
Gilbert & Marshall Islands
The Marshall Islands represented part of the perimeter of the Japanese Pacific Empire. This is important because it would create airfield and naval bases. When the Japanese heard of this, they were uncertain of the location of each air strike which caused the Allies to come out with a win. -
Philippines 1944-45
The Battle of the Philippines 1944–45, or the Liberation of the Philippines was the American and Filipino campaign to defeat & expel the Imperial Japanese forces occupying the Philippines, during WWII. The U.S. 6th Army's 2nd major target to attack was Mindoro. MacArthur's main goal in taking it was to be able to construct airfields on it for fighter planes that could dominate the sky over the most-important island of Luzon, which had major seaports and capital city of Manila -
Anzio
Allied troop landed in Anzio to attempt an attack from being. It took 4 months & many casualties on both sides before Allied soldiers broke through German defenses. On June 4th Rome fell, but the Germans still held their positions in northern Italy. It wasn’t until May 2, 1945 that the German forces in Italy finally surrender. This was important because it would act as practice for the D- Day landings and opened a second form on the continent of Europe to help take some pressure off the USSR. -
D-Day
When 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on 5 beaches on the coast of France’s Normandy region. It was the beginning of the Battle of Normandy which resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany’s control.The allies conducted a deception campaign in order to mislead the Germans about the intended invasion target. By late August 1944, all of France had been liberated. The Normandy landings have been called the beginning of the end of war in Europe. -
Guam
The Americans invaded the Japanese on Guam territory. The Japanese set off a counterattack but it wasn't strong enough to push the Americans back into sea. The Americans continued to push back and the japs until they had them pushed into the Southern mountain regions of Guam. This then declared the island captured even though there were still months of fighting to continue. Guam was taken by the Japanese and it was important for the Americans to reclaim their territory. -
Operation Dragoon
This operation was postponed after lack of available resources to fulfill a dual operation with Operation Overlord. After the ports of Normandy were get crowded the reconsideration of this operation raised in order to supply the Allied forces. Once approved the goal was to secure the vital ports of the French Mediterranean coast and increase pressure on the German forces by opening another front. This helped with the victory in D- day. -
Battle of Leyte Gulf
Adm. Nimitz and Macarthur converge in the islands where the Japanese fleet meets US fleet in the gulf. This is the biggest naval battle in history and the US traps the Japanese in a straight and pounds them. This is where Kamikaze pilots first appeared. In the end we destroy most of their army and retake the Philippines. -
Battle of the Bulge
Was a major German offensive launched toward the end of WW2. It was an attempt to push the Allied front line west from northern France to northwestern Belgium. It has its name because the Germans created a bulge around the area of the Ardenne forest in pushing through the American defensive line For the Americans with 840,000 men and 89,000 casualties, this battle was the bloodiest they fought. -
Bastogne
Was and engagement between American forces and German forces at the Belgian town of Bastogne. This was a part of the larger battle of the Bulge. The goal of the German offensive was the harbor at Antwerp.The allied win of this territory allowed the allies control of major road networks. -
Yalta Conference
During this conference with the big three, Stalin demands control of Poland and much of Eastern Europe. FDR approves but demands them help in the Pacific and that in the areas Russia controls free elections must be held. Now the US has reinforcements and influence on Russia. -
Iwo Jima
This battle stemmed from the need for a base near the Japanese coast. They fought from an elaborate network of caves, dugouts, tunnels, and underground installations. After a month of fighting,the marines wiped out the defending forces. The battle earned a place in American lore with the publication of a photograph showing the US flag being raised in victory. This victory also provided a landing and refueling site for the US. -
Okinawa
This was the last and largest, most bloodiest battle of the Pacific Island battles of WWII. With the use of many different tactics, the result of the battle were devastating. After the 82 days, there were more than 100,000 Japanese casualties & the Allies had suffered more than 65,000 casualties. In these casualties were were soldiers, civilians, generals. In the end the Allies won the battle & occupied Okinawa and it served as a way of showing how deadly the invasion of mainland Japan would be. -
Hitler’s Suicide
Adolf Hitler killed himself by gunshot in his Führerbunker in Berlin. His wife Eva committed suicide with him by taking cyanide. After his death due to Hitler’s prior instructions their bodies were carried out an emergency exit, covered in petrol, and set on fire. Before he took his life Germany’s military situation was on the verge of total collapse. Only 8 days later the German forces issued and unconditional surrender leaving Germany to the Allied powers. -
German Surrender
The German High Command, General Alfred Jodl, signs the unconditional surrender of all German forces. After the suicide of of Hitler and the slow decline of the German forces, the hesitant surrender was signed. This is important because now we can focus on the war in the Pacific. -
Potsdam
Potsdam was a meeting where the big three meet to plan the invasion of Japan, and Truman tells the allies about the two atomic bombs made during the Manhattan Project, and the decision is made that if it is necessary they can use it. On July 26, 1945 the US gives Japan the option of “Unconditional surrender or face prompt and utter destruction” referring to the atomic bombs. This is important because Japan ignores us and this leads to the reason we used our atomic bombs and why Japan surrenders. -
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
These are two cities that the US dropped the atomic bombs on, after Japan ignores our warning. The first one, Little Boy, on August 6th was on Hiroshima. 80% of the city was destroyed and 68,000 people died instantly while thousands more died later. We did not even know the severity of the effects. The second bomb, Fat Man, was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9th. 35,000 die instantly and thousands die later. -
Japanese Surrender
After the severe losses of the Japanese they surrender unconditionally to the allies. On September 2, 1945 the peace treaty is signed. Japan feared for what other devastation the US could fring after the two atomic bombs. Fortunately for us the surrender was in good timing because we did not have another atomic bomb. -
China falls to Japan
Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong declared the creation of the People’s Republic of China. The announcement ended the costly full-scale civil war between the Chinese Communist Party and the Nationalist Party, or Kuomintang, which broke out immediately following World War II and had been preceded by on and off conflict between the two sides since the 1920’s. The “fall” of mainland China to communism in 1949 led the United States to suspend diplomatic ties with the PRC for decades.
