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Blitzkrieg into Poland
- Allies support Poland and promise to defend them. Germany uses a tactic called “Blitzkrieg” known as lightning warfare. Which is fast moving troops supported by air power. The Germans attack from the east but Poland’s military were outdated. They used horses which were very ineffective.
- It’s significant because Britain and France declare war on Germany
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Battle of the Atlantic
- Continuous military campaign from 1939 to 1945. Allies want to prepare for the cross channel invasion by bringing supplies to Britain. German U-Boats are making the Atlantic a dangerous place. Allies begin using Convoys and the newly invented Sonar. And the Allies win the Battle.
- Preparations begin.
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German invasion of France
- Germany defeats allied forces Holland, Belgium and Luxemburg. Next they go for France and drive a wedge between British and French troops. They force the British to evacuate 340,000 troops from Dunkirk to Britain.
- France surrenders and falls to Germany.
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Dunkirk
- Using Blitzkrieg, Germany storms western Europe and heads to Dunkirk, France where hundreds of thousands of British and French troops are forced to evacuate.
- France is defeated by the Germany. This means the “real” war is about to start. And Italy now declared war on Britain and France.
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Battle of Britain
- Britain’s Royal Air Force is able to hold off Germany’s air force because they have better pilots and better planes. In addition they now have the radar. Germany gets desperate so they start bombing Britain’s cities including London. But the British use blackouts to hide from the bombings.
- Britain gained air superiority over Germany. They were able to save their country from occupation by the German Forces. And British morale stays high along with temporary hiatus from Hitler.
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Germany takes Greece
- The attack on Yugoslavia was brutal. 17,000 civilian deaths. All of Yugoslavia's airfields were bombed and most of their aircraft's were destroyed while they were still on the ground.
- Greece pretty much lost everything and they were stuck in a deep hole.
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Operation Barbarossa
- June 22nd 1941, Hitler launches a massive invasion on the Soviet Union. The invasion spanned from from the North Cape to the Black Sea. At this time, Germany's combat effectiveness has reached its highest point.
- The failure forced Nazi Germany to fight a two front war against a coalition possessing immensely superior resources.
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Pearl Harbor
- 360 Japanese planes attack Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. It was a devastating loss for the US. 19 ships, 150 planes, and 2400 soldiers. But the Japs were not able to destroy any of our aircraft carriers.
- Axis declares war on the USA and vice versa.
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New Guinea
- Japan invaded the Australian-administered territories of the New Guinea Mandate. The Allies consisting primarily of Australian and US forces, cleared the Japs from Papua, Mandate and finally the Dutch colony.
- Crushing defeat and very heavy losses for Japan.
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Bataan
- 3 month battle started by the Japs. Japan takes control of Bataan and the U.S. forces in Corregidor collapse. Gen. Edward P. King surrenders to the Japanese and tens of thousands of prisoners, both US and Filipino, are captured. It led to the famous Bataan death march where 60,000 prisoners march 70 miles through the steamy jungles to the POW camps. Over 10,000 die.
- As of then, the only US holdings are Hawaii and Midway.
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Doolittle Raid
- James H. Doolittle presented a plan for B-25 bombers to launch mainland attacks on a number of Japanese cities. The only problem was it was hard for the bombers to takeoff of the small carrier deck. The raid was successful.
- Although the raid was small, it had a monumental impact. There was huge morale for the US and Japan was humiliated.
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Coral Sea
- The Japanese set up for an invasion of Australia. It was the first naval battle fought in the air. US is victorious and Japan was forced to retreat.
- The first air battle of the war that showed that the US air force superiority.
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Midway
- For Japan, Midway would be a stepping stone to capturing Hawaii and maybe even US mainland. US code breakers learn of the attack and Admiral Chester Nimitz prepares to defend Midway. Heavy losses for the US but even heavier for Japan. Jaan loses 275 planes, and 4 aircraft carriers.
- Major turning point in the Pacific. Japan loses their ability to fight an offensive war on us.
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Guadalcanal
- The first major offensive and big victory for the Allies in the Pacific war. While the Japanese being stationed there, U.S. marines launched a surprise attack in August 1942. They took control of an air base under construction. And suffered a far greater toll of casualties, forcing their withdraw from Guadalcanal.
- It was a turning point of the Pacific War. The Japanese lost two-thirds of the 31,000 army troops. While the U.S. marines and U.S. Army had lost less than 2,000 soldiers of 60,000.
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Stalingrad
- The Battle of Stalingrad was a deadly street fight in the rubble of a big city. One of the Russians successful defenses to stop the German. It was considered the greatest battle of their Great Patriotic War and historians consider it to be the greatest battle of the entire conflict.
- They captured 300,000 German troops
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El Alamein
- A battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian railway half of El Alamein. The Allies are victorious. They prevented the Axis from advancing further into Egypt.
- Revived the morale of the Allies, being the first huge success against the Axis since late 1941.
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Operation Torch
- Allied invasion of French North Africa in November of 1942. It was the first time the British and Americans had worked together on an invasion.
- Allowed the Allies to clear North Africa of Axis forces and control.
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Philippines
- Invasion of the Philippines by Japan, also known as the Battle of the Philippines. Defended by the Filipino and the United States forces during the second war. The Japanese were outnumbered 3 to 2 but most of the Filipino army was non-combat experienced soldiers. Gen. MacArthur is forced to retreat to Australia but he vows “I Shall Return!” And Japan captures the Philippines.
- It was considered the worst military defeat in the US’ history. And now Japan has control over the Philippines.
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Kursk
- The Battle of Kursk was a famous tank battle. It was an unsuccessful German offensive against the Soviet forces.
- Ended Germany’s ability to fight offensively on the Eastern Front.
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Sicily
- Allies are not ready for a cross channel invasion so they start Operation Husky. They would attack Sicily then Italy, and create a 2nd front and gain control of the Mediterranean Sea. 160,000 Allied troops invade Sicily and gain complete control in 39 days.
- Mussolini is jailed, his Fascist gov. Collapses, then a mob breaks him out and hangs him in public.
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Salerno
- After Operation Husky is a success The Allies attack Salerno, Italy (in the south).
- Italy surrenders
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Gilbert & Marshall Islands
- These islands in the pacific would be a great gain for either Japan or the United States. The U.S. Marine and Army troops launched an assault in the Marshall Islands where the Japanese had established their defensive perimeter in WWII. They would end up being defeated and captured by US troops.
- This capture would allow the Pacific Fleet to advance its planned assault on the island and its drive towards and Philippines and Japan.
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Anzio
- German takes control of Italy and continues to fight. After 10 months the conflict ends.
- Allies control Southern Italy and Rome.
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D-Day
- June 6th, 1944, troops land in Normandy, France beaches, not where the Germans expected. The invasion was relatively easy due to surprise but there were some very difficult beaches. Beaches were filled with mines and barbed wire. 2 American divisions charge the beach but 60% of them are killed. 10,700 Allied troops die but we control the beaches.
- By August 1944, Paris is liberated, Charles de Gaulle sets up a new French gov. Germans are pushed out of France, Belgium, and Luxemburg.
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Guam
- Guam was a Japanese held island. In 1941, Japan had taken Guam away from the United States. Since then it was Japans until 1944 when the United States recaptured the island.
- This was a crucial capture for the United States because they were able to capture back the island that Japan took from them. And it was also significant because they were able to stay close to Japan if they wanted to launch another attack.
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Operation Dragoon
- Allied invasion of Southern France.
- Captures French ports were put into operation, allowing the Allies to solve their supply problems.
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Philippines
- An American and Filipino campaign to defeat and expel the Imperial Japanese forces occupying the Philippines.
- The US and Philippine commonwealth military forces were progressing in liberating territory.
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Battle of Leyte Gulf
- In October of 1944, the US landing at the Philippine island of Leyte. When the Japanese saw them they converged on Leyte and successfully diverted the US Third Fleet with a decoy. Eventually the US Seventh Fleet destroyed one of the Japanese forces and forced a second fleet to withdraw.
- With much of Japan's surface fleet destroyed during the battle, Japan was stuck because they did not have the ability to move its resources from Southeast Asia to their home lands.
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Battle of the Bulge
- The Battle of the Bulge was the last major German offensive campaign of World War II. The surprise attack caught the Allied forces completely off guard. American forces bore the brunt of the attack and incurred their highest causalities of any operation during the war. It was also the largest battle fought on the Western Front in Europe and the largest battle fought by the US Army. In the end the Allies won.
- Brought the end of the German army and the Nazi reign.
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Bastogne
- Part of the Battle of the Bulge. Some US troops are trapped in the middle at Bastogne. The USA digs in and stops the offensive, then forces a retreat.
- The US loses 80,000 troops but the Germans lose 120,000. Liberation of concentration camps.
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Yalta Conference
- This conference was the second wartime meeting of the “Big Three.” The conference became controversial after Soviet American cooperation degenerated into the cold war. Stalin also broke his promise of free elections in Eastern Europe and also installed governments that were dominated by the Soviet Union
- The three leaders agreed to demand Germany's unconditional surrender and began plans for the post war world.
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Iwo Jima
- Iwo Jima was a island in the Bonin chain which was about 575 miles form the Japanese coast. This was a difficult place to attack because there were 23,000 Japanese troops defending it. Also they used networks of caves, dugouts, tunnels, and underground installations that were difficult to find and destroy for foreign army’s. At the end they ended up taking over Iwo Jima.
- At the end America lost 5,900 to death and 17,400 were wounded. This helped us get closer to Japan and plan an invasion.
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Okinawa
- This was the last and the biggest battles in the Pacific of WWII. It involved 287,000 US troops and 130,000 Japanese troops. At stake were the air bases which were vital to the projected invasion of Japan
- At the end of the 82 day war, Japan had lost more then 77,000 soldiers and the Allies had suffered more then 65,000 causalities which included 14,000 dead.
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Hitlers Suicide
- May 2nd Hitler committed suicide. Hitler was warned by officers that the Russians were only a day or so from overtaking the chancellery and they urged Hitler to escape to another area. But instead of escaping he decided to kill himself. Both him and his wife committed suicide together in the bunker that they were inside of.
- This left the Germans leaderless. Even without Hitler they still were able to do harm. The Germans had no choice but to surrender or be forced to by Eisenhower's army.
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German Surrender
- On May 7th 1945 Germany signed an unconditioned surrender at Allied headquarters. At first the German hoped to limit the terms of their surrender to only the forces that were still fighting the Western Allies. General Dwight Eisenhower demanded complete surrender of all German forces.
- Ended the conflict in Europe. Germany was accused for the cause of the War. They would have to pay a lot of money for the damages that they caused to all of the countries.
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Potsdam
- The Potsdam Conference was the last of the World War II meetings that were held by “The Big Three." Most of the conference was focused on postwar Europe. The leaders arrived at various agreements on the German economy, punishment for war criminals, land boundaries, and reparations.
- They all had decided that Japan should surrender unconditionally. The talks also established a Council of Foreign Ministers and a central Allied Control Council for administration of Germany.
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Hiroshima and Nagasaki
- These two cities were bombed by the U.S. Hiroshima was the first one to be bombed. The explosion in Hiroshima wiped out about 90 percent of the city. It also killed 80,000 people immediately and tens of thousands died later from radiation exposure. Three days later another B-29, which was an Atomic Bomb, was dropped on a another city in Japan called Nagasaki. It killed about 80,000 people.
- Forced Japan to surrender unconditionally and ended World War II.
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Invasion of Manchuria
- Japan was in need for some territory. They noticed a Chinese city, Manchuria, which was rich in resource and would also accompany many people from the overly crowded Japan. This was good for Japan but obviously not for China. Japan has easily went into Manchuria and took it over.
- This was when US and the world took some action and told Japan to leave Manchuria and give it back to China. But they ignored the world and the world really did not do anything about it
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Japanese Surrender
- In August 1945 Japan had officially unconditionally surrendered. We had the ability to destroy all of Japan. We had dropped two Atomic bombs on Japan and it caused major damage and casualties in those areas.
- The end of World War II. It was good that Japan surrendered because if they didn't the U.S. would most likely keep bombing Japan until there was no more Japan left.
