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Germany Invades Poland
Germany invades Poland, starting World War 2. The territory of Poland was then divided between Germany and the Soivet Union. -
Paris Surrenders
After holding out as long as possible, France was ultimately forced to surrender their capital. Germany in World War 2 achieved in weeks what they failed to do in years during World War 1. -
Battle of Britain
In a series of air battles between the Luftwaffe and the Royal Air Force, the fate of Britain was decided. After the Royal Air Force was victorious, the Germans were forced to suspend Operation Sea Lion, which was a plan to invade England, -
Japan Bombs Pearl Harbor
The Japanese fleet launched a surprise attack on the American Fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor. They caused significant damage to the fleet itself but the American carriers were elsewhere in this time. All of the battleships were sunk or damaged. However, after seeing the success of the assault, the Japanese called off later waves and failed to damage or destroy the drydocks or the United States fuel reserves. -
America declares war on Japan
"December 7, 1941. A date which will live in infamy..." Roosevelt went before Congress to ask for a formal declaration of war. -
Battle of Wake Island
The Japanese launched an attack on Wake Island only hours after the Pearl Harbor Attack. The weak American garrison was defeated by the Japanese adn wake was occupied by the Japaneses throughout the war. -
Doolittle raids
16 B-25 Mitchell Medium Bombers took off from the U.S.S. Hornet, an aircraft carrier, and bombed Tokyo. While the damage itself was minimal, the impact of the raids were devestating because it shatterred the belief that Japan was safe from all enemies. -
Battle of the Coral Sea
The Battle of the Coral Sea was significant in the fact that it was the first naval battle where none of the ships actually saw each other. It also stopped any Japanese invasion of Australia. -
Battle of Midway
In what was possibly the most decisive naval battles of World War 2, the American fleet of 3 carriers defeated a larger Japanese fleet of 4 carriers. One american carrier was lost along with 3 of the Jpanese carriers. -
Guadalcanal Campaign
The Guadalcanal Campaign ended after months of fighting since it started on August 7, 1942. The total casualties for the allies was around 7,100 and it marked the transition from the Japanese power to the American power. -
Battle of Attu
The Japanese invaded Attu Island in the Aleutian Island chain in Alaska. It was the only land battle fought on territory incorporated into the U.S. and it was also the only battle fought on a snowy battlefield. In the end, the Americans retook Attu. -
D-Day
The Normandy invasion was launched on June 6 after an opening in the weater was found. The night before, airborne troops were dropped throughout northern France to take out key positions. The combined allied army landed at Normandy at becahes codenamed Sword, Gold, Juno, Omaha, and Utah. The entire operation was titled Operation Overlord. -
Battle of Leyte Gulf
The Battle of Leyte Gulf was comprised of 4 major engagements. One of the most interesting was the Battle of Samar. This battle sent the Japanese Center Fleet against a small American task force called "Taffy 3" The Japanese had 4 battleships, 6 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers, and 11 destroyers. Taffy 3 had 6 escort carriers, 3 destroyers, and 4 destoryer escorts. In a naval version of David versus Goliath, the Japanese Center Fleet was forced to withdraw. -
Battle of the Bulge
The German counteroffensive was launched at the allied lines near Belgium. The entire operation was higned upon the ability to capture supplies from the allies. Unfortuantely, this did not work and instead, allowed the allies to push farther towards Berlin. -
Iwo Jima
After much heavy fighting on the island of Iwo Jima, Marines raise the Amrican flag on Mt. Suribachi in a historic moment. Iwo Jima was the last stepping stone needed before the actual islands of the Japanese archipelago, because with Iwo Jima, we had a base from where we could launch heavy bombers against Japan. -
Germany Surrenders
Germany surrenders to the allies. For them the war has been lost and several high ranking German officials have committed suicide. A formal treaty was signed on this date by what remained of the high ranking officials. -
Battle of Okinawa
The 82 day long battle of Okinawa, ended after very hard fighting. Nicknames have been given to the battle like "Typhoon of Steel" because of this. Okinawa was the largest amphibious operation in the Pacific War and was planned to be the location of allied airbases which could launch raids onto the mainland Japan. The loss of Okinawa along with the atomic weapons, prompted Japan to Surrender. -
U.S.S. Indeanapolis sunk
The U.S.S. Indianapolis was sunk by a Japanese submarine after have delivered parts for the atomic bomb to an American base at Tinian. Only 317 of the 1,196 crew survived. -
Atomic Bomb Dropped on Nagasaki
Atomic weapons were used for the first time against Japan at Nagasaki. The bomb, Little Boy, was dropped from a B-29 nicknamed the Enola Gay. The effects of the weapon caused Japan to even doubt its existance. -
Japan Surrenders
Japan surrenders aboard the U.S.S. Missouri. Surrender for them was actually rather hard due to the fact that the Japanese culture centered around the Bushido, or the code of the Samurai. This code forbade surrender
