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China Falls to Japan
Japanese armies take over Manchuria which was a region we depended on for recourses. China was an ally of ours and since we were after Japan their overtaking of an ally hurt us. -
Blitzkrieg into Poland
An invasion of Poland by Germany the Soviet Union and Slovakia. German forces invaded Poland from the north, south, and west the morning after the Gleiwitz incident. As the Germans gained ground the Polish withdrew their forces near the border of Poland and Germany and moved back to the more fortified east. This gave the Germans a distinct advantage. -
Battle of the Atlantic
The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest lasting battle in the war and it started with the allied blockade against the Germans which was followed by a counter blockade by the Germans. This battle pitted U-Boat against ships and ships against aircrafts. -
German invasion of France
This was the German’s successful attempt at taking France which Started May 10th 1940. The Invasion consisted of two attacks the first moving the French and British out of Belgium and the second was an attack in France and ended with German troops entering Paris on June 14 1940. -
Dunkirk
The Battle of Dunkirk was part of the Battle of France on the Western Front. The Battle of Dunkirk was the evacuation and defense of British forces in Europe. -
Battle of Britain/ Operation Sea Lion
Operation Sea Lion was the Germans plan to take the UK after the Battle of France. The plan was unsuccessful because the Germans would have needed air and naval support which they could not get. -
Germany takes Greece
On April 6th, 1941 Germany invaded Greece and in less thena month the operation was over. This was important in the war because it gave Germany land near Africa for oil and it gave them control of the Mediterrean Sea which was huge for transportation. -
Operation Barbossa
Operation Barbarossa was codename for Germans invasion of the Soviet Union which turned out to be the largest invasion of the history of warefare. This was important for WWII because if Germanu could take over the Soviet Union the United States would be the only world power in the world. -
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor was a lagoon Harbor in Hawaii to the west of Honolulu. It acted as a US Naval Base. It was bombed on December 7th 1941 by the Japanese and 4100 Americans were killed causing the USA to enter WWII for the first time dissolving their neutrality treaty. -
Phillipines
The Phillipines were invaded by Japan in December 1941 just after the Japanese bombed pearl harbor. They attacked the Philipines because the USA had important military and Naval bases there. It was a fueling station for planes and boats. The Japanese took over in April 1942 but resistances of Americans and Filipinos fought back throughout the war. -
Bataan Battle and March
The Bataan Death March as it is known was the forced march of 60-80000 Filipino and American prisoners of war by the Japanese after the battle of bataan. The march was from Bataan to San Fernando where they were then loaded into box cars and brought to Camp Odonell. This march took place after an uprising against the Japanese in Bataan. -
New Guinea
The New Guinea Campaign was when the Japanese first entered into Africa and took them over. This ended up starting in January 1942 and ended along with the war and ended with the Allies taking New Guinea back. -
Doolittle Raid
The Doolittle raid aslo known as the Tokyo raid happened on April 18th 1942. It was an air raid by the USA in the capital of Japan Tokyo and it also happened to be the first to hit Japan. The raid led my Leutenant colonel Jimmy Doolittle was sent as a response to the attack on Pearl Harbor. -
Coral Sea
The Battle of the Coral Sea was a naval war fought May4-8 1942. This battle saw the Japanese navy face off against the USA and Australian Navies as well as the US Air Force. This was the first time that air craft carriers actually engaged eachother and was the first time Japanese and American ships fired on eachother. -
Midway
The Battle of the Midway in the Pacific was one of the most influential battles of all of World War Two. The battle took place June 4-7 1942 and it was started by the Japanese. The Japanese Navy attacked however the US Navy defeated the attack and left irreparable damages to the Japanese fleet. -
Kursk
The Battle of Kursk was a battle between the Germans and the Soviet Union and it took place just outside of Moscow in the City of Kursk. This battle was initiated by the Germans and countered by the Soviets who ended up winning the battle by a fairly large margin. -
Guam
In the Second Battle of Guam US troops obtained Guam which was already ours but was being held by the Japs. This battle was important in WWII because they captured back a territory that had been taken from them and they also were then able to build bases on the island for future attacks of Japan. -
Guadalacanal
The Battle of Guadalcanal was the first major offensive by the allies in the pacific. This was a military battle fought in the Pacific near Guadalcanal. -
Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle between the Germans and their allies against the Soviet Union for control of the Stalingrad. Due to close quarter combats this is one of the bloodiest battles in history. The Germans suffered such great losses that they were not able to recover which created one of the turning points of the war. -
El Alamien
This was the battle that took the axis powers out of Egypt once and for all. The axis powers had taken over and took control of Egypt and this was a battle for its independence. This took the Axis Powers out of Africa for good. -
Operation Torch
Operation torch was led by General Dwight D. "Ice" Eisenhower, an excellent strategist. The plan was meant to create a second front for the Allies. The U.S wanted to get Africa, then move onto Sicily, and finally Italy.The U.S begins Operation Torch with the plans to invade Algeria and move to the East. By May of 1943, the Allies controled North Africa. This was important in WWII because it succeeded in getting Africa, Sicily, and Italy from the Axis powers. -
Sicily
The Battle of Sicily was a major turning point in the war as the Allied Powers invaded Sicily and took it away from the Axis Powers. The attack was made both amphibiously and airborn. The battle proved to be a major turning point in the war. -
Salerno
The Battle of Salerno is also reffered to as the Allied Invasion of Italy. This was when the Allied powers first started their takeover of Italy. It was a massive assault that very likely was the deciding factor in the war. -
Gilbert and Marshall Islands
The Purpose of the Gilbert Marshall Islands were to set up air bases that would allow for support during the upcoming naval confrontations in the Pacific. -
Anzio
The Battle of Anzio was a Naval battle pitting the Allied forces against Germany right off of the shore of Anzio Italy. The attack was made by the Allied powers due to the fact that they were trying to bomb and then take over Rome. -
D Day
D Day was the Allies attack of Normandy France which took place June 6 1944 early in the morning. Like most missions used by the Allies D Day was used as the name of the mission in regards to the day they would attack. -
Operation Dragon
Operation Dragoon was the Allied Invasion of southern France which took place on August 15 1944. The battle was won by the Allies as the German troops had to evacuate due to troops on the ground and in the sea. -
Battle of Leytte Gulf
The Battle of the Leyte Gulf is considered to be the largest naval battle in history. It was fought in waters near the Phillipines. The Japanese first displayed their use of kamikaze pilots (suicide bombers).This battle ended with a W for the Allies. This battle was important in WWII because we retook the Philippines and nearly destroyed the Japanese Navy. -
Battle of the Bulge
This was a German offensive attack that took place on the western front of Belgium and France towards the end of WWII. The attack completely surprised the Allies and turned out to be the biggest setback in the war for them. Although the USA took the blunt of the force of the attack but it also severely depleted the Germans ammunition. -
Bastogne
This was a battle between American and German troops at the Belgian tower of Bastogne. It was also part of the very famous battle the Battle of the Bulge. The Germans were trying to move quickly due to American air force temporarily being unavailable. -
Yalta Conference
As Germany is crumbling, the big three have a conference on what to do next. Stalin really wants control of East Europe and FDR gives that to him as long as Russia helps in the Pacific and free elections in those territories. This is important cause this leads up to maybe a reason on why the Cold War started -
Iwo Jima
America needed an island closer to Japan. Iwo Jima was the perfect option since it was halfway between Japan and Marianas. 60,000 marines attacked and over 6,800 were killed but it was a crucial American victory. Now the United States could easily bomb Japan and they would quickly be weakened. -
Okanawa Events
Japan was not showing any sign of backing down and the United States needed something even closer than Iwo Jima so they could stockpile an invasion on Japan. Okinawa was the perfect place but Japan was hiding in the mountains causing American trrops to fight uphill. 12,000 soldiers died but by June 22, 1945 it was captured. The United States was ready to attack Japan as they were basically surrounded. -
Hitler's Suicide
Adolf Hitler took his own life and his girlfriend's and then he shot himself. The Nazi guards then burned his body and burried his body in a small grave. Hitler's suicide was very important in WWII because German troops began to surrender after learning about their leader's suicide. -
German Surrender
After hearing about Hitlers suicide it was it for Germany. They accepted the terms of unconditional surrender and on May 8th it becomes V-E day for Victory in Europe. -
Potsdam
This was a conference of the Allied Powers where US President told the allies that we had a nuke but that we would only use it if we absolutley had to. This made for a serious advantage in our favor because the axis powers did not know about it.
