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Invasion of Poland
This battle spanning a little over a month, marked the beginning of WWII. It was originally between the Polish and the German army (the Nazis). To guarantee success in this battle the Germans signed a treaty with the Soviet Union agreeing to split Poland evenly between the two after the battle. So the Soviet Union invaded into Poland through the East securing the first major Nazi success. This battle showed the rest of the world how powerful and dangerous the Nazi army was. -
The Fall of France
It took just a little over two months for Hitler to capture France. Hitler knew that taking France head-on would not work on their strong military but catching the country off guard would give his Nazi army a chance to capture the city of Paris and then eventually all of France. So, he staged a invasion of France through Belgium to distract the French army. But in reality the Nazi troops were attacking through the Ardennes Forrest. This battle showed the world how sneaky the Nazi army was. -
Battle of Britian
By far the biggest threat to the Nazi army was England. For almost four months Germany attacked Great Britain mainly from the air. The Germans tactic was to drop bombs on British cities but with new technologies the British were able attack German planes by using a radar to identify and track them. They also had a machine that would decode Nazi messages. When British fought back they showed the world that it was possible to defend a country from the Nazis and succeed. -
Pearl Harbor
On the Pacific Theater, Japan was going to war with the United States. Earlier in the war the US had been providing military strength to the Allies. So although the US weren't in the war, Japan launched an attack on american grounds in Pearl Harbor. Japan dropped bombs on US boats ending with a victory in this battle. The US citizens were engraged and war was declared on Japan. This battle provoked the United States to officially join the Allies in WWII. -
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway happened in the air via planes and on the ocean via boats. In an attempt to take US island the Japanese launched a attack. The US suffered extreme losses but their aircraft carries were not very damaged meaning that they were still able to fight and have a chance at continuing to fight back. This battle showed new defense policies. -
Battle of Stalingrad
The battle of Stalingrad took place in the Soviet Union between the formally allied Nazi and Soviets. The battle of Stalingrad is one of the biggest battles that took place in WWII. This event was important because it shifted the war to the allies favor and it was the first battle that Hitler acknowledged defeat. -
D-Day
D-Day marked the beginning of the end of German rule in France. The allied troops brought the Germans out of central France and brought them North to fight along the coast line where they were then airlifted out by the British. Because of this battle Paris was liberated and it led to the Nazi surrender. It showed the world that the end of the war was near. -
Battle of the Buldge
This battle was the last major German offensive attack. However the Germans still lost the battle and it led to Hitler committing suicide. This showed the rest of the world that Germany had accepted defeat and that there was little to no hope left for the Nazi army. The allies were winning the war. -
Dropping of the Atomic Bombs
The Atomic bombs has gone down as one of the single most deadliest bomb droppings in history. The US had been working on a bomb that would destroy huge amounts of land and lives with just one bomb. After a long war the US decided to drop two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in a attempt to get the Japanese to surrender. The Japanese had no way to protect from these bombs and were caught off guard. The atomic bombs changed the way the world saw the United States.