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Germany's invasion of Poland
Germany invaded Poland from the west, and the Soviet Union invaded from the east. Both Germany and the Soviet Union worked together. The divided Poland using rapid invasion and surprise attacks, these attacks were known as a "blitzkrieg" in Germany. Germany wanted more power and that's why they invaded Poland. -
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German Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg was a war tactic used by the Germans, this term also meant "lightning war". Hitler used this tactic against Poland in 1939 and then against Belgium, the Netherlands, and France in 1940. This strategy of fighting wars saved lives and took less time. -
Fall of Paris
When Germany had invaded Poland and succeeded, Paris began to prepare for war. Then the Germans launched an attack on France. France was quickly defeated. Paris had been fully occupied by the Germans by June 14, 1940. This was a crucial battle for the Germans because this meant they have even more power. -
Pearl Harbor
The U.S. Naval Fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japan. Nobody at Pearl Harbor was prepared for this and it was early in the morning. Japans plan was to weaken our Navy so the U.S. couldn't fight back but they did not succeed. President Roosevelt called this "a day that will live in infamy". -
Allied Invasion of Italy
After North Africa was liberated the Allies put there focus towards invading Sicily and Italy. They believed the Italians would be a weak opponent. Sicily was conquered in 1943 then after hard fighting the allies entered Rome an year later. A year later, Mussolini was killed by his own people. This invasion was also called "Operation Mincemeat". -
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D-day
Churchill, FDR, and Eisenhower planned a land invasion on France. Stalin also promised to attack Germany at the same time from the east. The invasion consisted of 150,000 soldiers, 5,000 ships, and 11,000 planes and gliders. D-Day was also known as "Operation Overlord". The beach invasion started at dawn. More than 1 million Allied troops were sent into France. Paris was finally freed from Germany's grasp in August. Paris could now live in freedom, free from German control. -
Battle of the Bulge
This was Hitlers last attempt to defeat the Allies in Europe. 80,000 out of the 600,000 Americans died fighting bu Germany lost 100,000 men. Germany eventually lost the battle because they ran out of fuel. Hitler commits suicide after Germany surrendered. -
Battle of Iwo Jima
There was multiple battles in Iwo Jima between the U.S. and Japan. These battles allowed the U.S. to get air bases within striking distance of Japan. These Japanese island now were under U.S. ruling, every island captured was a step closer to the U.S. defeating Japan. -
Battle of Okinawa
Like the battle of Iwo Jima, the battle of Okinawa consisted of small attacks the U.S. made on Japan. The U.S. was slowly gaining back small island that had belonged to Japan. At the end of these battles the U.S. was finally in striking distance of Japan. -
V-E Day
V-E Day marks the day Germany surrendered to the Allies. V-E stands for Victory in Europe. This was the end of WW2 in Europe, but WW2 still continued in other places such as the U.S. and Japan. Europeans celebrated for they could live in peace and without fear. -
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Dropping of the Atomic Bombs
To save American lives from a land invasion President Truman decided to drop an atomic bomb on Japan. The first bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. 70,000 people died instantly and 65,000 more died of injuries and radiation. The secon bomb was dropped on Nagasaki on August 6, 1945. 40,000 people died instantly and 10,000 died from radiantion and effects of the bomb. This was devastating for Japan. -
V-J Day
V-J Day was the day that followed the atomic bombings on Japan. V-J stands for Victory in Japan. The U.S. had finally gotten Japan to surrender and this was one of the events that marked the end of WW2. This was not a very happy day in Japan but in America there was lots of celebrations, for WW2 was coming to an end.
