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This event led to American involvement in World War II. The Americans had a fleet in Pearl Harbor, but the Japanese wanted control of the Pacific. The US thought that the Japanese could be trusted due to prior peace talks, but the Japanese planes fly to Pearl Harbor and put all eight battleships out of action, wound 1178 Americans, and kill 2403. America would declare war on Japan twenty-seven hours after the attack, and on Germany three days after.
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With supplies very much in need, women begin working in factories all across the country. They are responsible for manufacturing weapons, cars, planes, and boats. This would lead to the feminist movement as many more women now have experience and understand that they should be able to do whatever a man can do.
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Rouen was the German's biggest railway marshaling yard in northern France, and trains supplied the Axis powers with their supplies. The Allies dropped 36,900 pounds of bomb on the rail yard using a special technology that allowed for greater accuracy. This technology would lead to today's GPS-guided smart bombs.
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D-Day marked the beginning of the Battle of Normandy. 70,000 American troops invaded German-held France across five beaches, including Omaha Beach. A total of 126,000 Americans are killed, wounded, or go missing during the Battle of Normandy, but within a month of D-Day, the Allies have land 877,000 troops.
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General Dwight D. Eisenhower lead his men through France to Paris and was able to make the German resistance of 20,000 troops surrender. German General Dietrich von Choltitz was commanded by Hitler to destroy the city and its many landmarks, but he defied that order so as to not go down in history as the man who destroyed the "City of Light." On August 25, after a very long four years, Choltitz signed a document surrending Paris.
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The Battle of the Bulge was Hitler's final major offensive in World War II. His goal was to split the Allies as the began making their way towards Germany, but the Allies were too powerful and defeated the Germans. This was a major morale booster for the Allies, as they truly believed they could win this war.
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Known as Victory in Europe Day, or V-E Day for short, May 8, 1945 was the day that Germany stopped their fighting and terror. Surrender documents were signed in Berlin and eastern Germany. 13,000 British prisoners of war were released. The only thing stopping the war from coming to a close was Japan.
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Lead by physicist Robert Oppenheimer, the atomic bomb was tested in the Alamogordo Desert, New Mexico. It was proven to be even more powerful than they thought, and it would change how wars can be fought forever.
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The Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed on August 6 and August 9 of 1945, respectively. 120,000 citizens would be killed instantly and 80,000 would be killed in the years after due to the harmful effects of radiation. The US was sending a message to Japan that they would go to any lengths to put an end to this war.
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After six years of death and evil, World War II came to a close on August 15, 1945 after Japanese Emperor Hirohito surrendered. August 15 has been known as Victory Over Japan Day, or V-J Day, for short. Hirohito knew his people would be upset with his surrender and pleaded with them, and blamed the use of the "new and most cruel bomb" as to why they were forced to surrender. General Douglas MacArthur was then put in charge of Japan to put them on the right course.
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